Run to Oakey & Beyond
LABOUR DAY WEEKEND
Sat 30/04/11 to Mon 02/5/11

Saturday ~ 30th May:

John and Sandy, Greg, Leanne and Graeme, Tom and Kelli were waiting for us when we arrived at our usual meeting spot, Yamanto car park, but no 'President and First Lady'! For reasons known only to them, they arrived with a couple of minutes to spare before the designated time of departure: 9:00am SHARP! Then Geoff and Deb arrived shortly after. After a short meet- and-greet, we headed-off to the highway via Churchill, Leichhardt and Wulkuraka.

Arriving in Toowoomba, our first stop was at Queen’s Park. What glorious weather awaited us there! This was to set the pattern for the weekend. Then it was onto Highfields to check out a few places. After leading us down a side street to get to one place of interest, Ron realized we couldn’t get to it that way, so instead, led us back to the main road and on to 'The Village Green'. This was a great place, lots of shops for us girls and a nice spot on 'The Green' for the guys to sit and relax in the sun with a coffee.

We were about to leave when we realized one of the girls was missing - she was soon found buying some goodies, then we headed-up the road to the Danish Arts and Crafts shop before heading to Cabarlah for lunch at The Farmers’ Arms Pub. Here we ran into a rellie of mine who works there. (see, you really can’t go anywhere - you don’t know who you may run into, or where!).

After lunch it was time to head for Oakey and our motel for the weekend. Travelling through Crows Nest, Goombungee and Kingsthorpe, we stopped at Haden to check-out the historic general store. Photos were taken with the owner before we left this quiet little hamlet. When we turned onto the highway, it wasn’t long before we passed through a shower of rain (the only rain all weekend) just before we hit Oakey.

Arriving at the motel, we soon had our rooms sorted (we took-up six of the eight rooms), with Tom and Kelli staying at another motel for the first night, then back with us on the second night. Our motel backed onto the river and was next to a park (which we visited later that night). Unpacking done, we set-up tables and chairs and settled in with nibblies and drinks before deciding to go to the RSL for dinner. This was great, but soon it was time to head back to the motel for more revelry. This is when we adjourned to the aforementioned park so as not to disturb the other guests . Then birthday cake was brought-out for Leanne and Geoff (the cake was for Leanne but she let Geoff share the accolades, plus Greg put his name on it for him), who were both celebrating their '21st birthdays. All too soon it was time to hit the hay, as we had a full day of sightseeing ahead of us next day.

Sunday ~ 1st May:

Waking to another glorious day, a few members decided to go for a walk up town while we waited for Wayne and Sandra to come in from Kingaroy to join us for the day. A quick fuel stop, then we were on our way to Jondaryan and the Woolshed. What a great place! Lots to see, including listening to a guy called 'Snow' who gave us an insight into the workings of the place and how it all started. He also showed us how to shear a sheep and got his dog to round up some sheep in a paddock.

Then after a good look around, we headed to the 'Damper Shed' for lunch. Some of us decided to have lamb rolls which made me feel a bit guilty for a second. After a bit more of a look around, some members wanted to go off to Mt. Tyson’s Nougat Factory and the Preston Peak Winery, so off they went, leaving Geoff, Deb, Pete and I to stay and have a bit more of a look around the property.

When we had had our fill of this fascinating place, we headed back to the motel, thinking that the others wouldn’t be back yet. But they beat us back, the Nougat Factory was closed and they decided to skip the winery and come back to the motel. Wayne and Sandra left us there to head home to Kingaroy as they had other plans. More drinks and nibblies later then it was decided we would have pizza for dinner, which Tom and Graeme kindly picked up for us. Then once dinner was over, more revelry before we hit the hay once again with another big day ahead of us.

Monday ~ 2nd May:

Another glorious day greeted us on our last day in Oakey. After packing-up the cars and saying goodbye to our terrific hosts at the motel (and having photos taken with them), it was time to head-off. Out onto the highway, heading to Pittsworth then Clifton for breakfast/ morning tea. What a great little place. A bit of window shopping for the girls, not much for the guys as it was a public holiday. Then after a while it was time to leave and head for Cambooya (Pete’s home town), driving past Rudd's Pub at Nobby, then onto East Greenmount to see a replica of Rudd’s Hut on the acreage known as his 'father’s selection'. (This would be a great place to come back to sometime for a club run/barbecue lunch).

Then it was time to head to Cambooya for lunch at the Bull and Barley Inn. Here we met-up with Pete’s brother and his wife, who had kindly booked a couple of tables for us at the pub. The meals were really great, the atmosphere, ditto. None of us wanted the weekend to end, but as the saying goes 'all good things must come to an end'. After lunch, Tom and Kelli, Greg, Leanne and Graeme, and Geoff and Deb left the rest of us to head home as they all had other things to attend to. So, it was just Ron, Shirley, John, Sandy, Pete and I left to travel home together.

Before we left Cambooya, we headed to Pete’s brother’s place so that the guys could check- out some old race cars, while Maria (his brother's wife) and I took Shirley and Sandy to see the house where Pete grew-up. All too soon it was time to head off home. So off to Toowoomba where, before heading down the range, we spotted my Mum, who had been out walking.. Unfortunately we couldn’t stop to say hello but Mum understood, then onto Helidon and Grantham, where we stopped for ice cream at the newly opened shop. We thought we would inject some money back into the community. What devastation there must have been, we only saw a small portion of what some of the homes were left like. After a short stop there, we said our final goodbyes and left for home.

What a great weekend away; terrific company, glorious weather, so much fun. It doesn’t get much better than this. So thanks to all who came away with us, it was just terrific and we look forward to more good times.