Nowadays we take what is considered to be the back road when we go to Tara.  It’s more scenic than taking the highway through Ipswich and Toowoomba.

Unfortunately, the roads are quite a lot rougher and in places there is only a dirt road and no tarseal.

Still it means we get to drive through places such as Kaimkillenbun or ‘The Bun’ as it is known locally. Kaimkillenbun has the longest name for a town in Queensland.

Accomodation and great meals are available at the local pub.

The town is a regular finalist for the Tidy Town award and has also won this distinction. There is a population of approximately 129 within a 7 klm radius of the town centre and  it is 24 klms from the nearest small city of Dalby.

Nicole Kidman made a movie at Kaimkillenbun, named ‘Chase through the Night’ and it is also the birthplace of John Dorge the Olympic basketballer. 

Kaimkellenbun is part of the Queensland Motocross Series run by Motorcycling Queensland and the Darling Downs Trail Ride will be held on 17/18 May 2008.

The sign is showing the 2007 dates at the time the photo was taken.

After a quick cup of tea we hop back into the car and head of down to Eden.

We are becoming really brave as we have not booked a hotel for the night, deciding instead to see what we can find when we arrive.We drive to the end of town, down the one main street, and finally decide to check into the Twofold Bay Motor Inn.

It appears to be relatively new and everything is in the room is very clean and tidy and at $110 for the night, it is very reasonably priced. So we unpack the car and head off for a look around the town.

We have dinner at the local club which is situated across the road from the motel. The table is situated in pleasant surroundings overlooking the water and we dined on the local delicacy of fish and chips.

Eden was once a whaling town and legend has it that a group of killer whales named old Tom, Hooky, Humpy and Stranger would herd the baleen whales into Twofold Bay. This group would return each year during the whaling season and they were identified by individual special markings. The killer whales would alert the whalers that there was a whale in the vicinity by thrashing the water with their tails – “flop-tailing” as it is known. Once a whale was harpooned some of the killer whales would roll over its blowhole to stop it breathing while others would swim beneath it to prevent it sounding.

In reward for this service the killer whales would take the tongue and lips as a reward and leave the carcass for the whalers to bring ashore. Whaling from Twofold Bay continued until the last whale was taken in 1928. Old Tom’s body was found in Twofold Bay on 17th September, 1930 and his ORCA skeleton is now on exhibition in the ‘Davidson Gallery’ at the Eden Killer Whale Museum.

Eden no longer participates in whaling however the whaling museum gives a detailed account of the towns previous activities and is well worth a visit.

Whale watching is a fascinating pastime and the whales can be seen off the shore during their twice yearly migration. There are local cruises available for those who wish to venture out and see these magnificent creatures close at hand.

Eden has a thriving fishing industry and the fleet operates out of Snug Cove. There is also a timber industry in Eden and there is a display of logging and milling operations at the visitors centre on the southern side of Twofold bay.

There are plenty of activities in and around Eden, such as bushwalking, swimming, surfing, sailing, squash, tennis, golf and bowls.Mound Imlay gives a fantastic view of the Sapphire Coast to the north, the Victorian border to the south and the plains of the Snowy Monaro region to the west.

Plus there is a great range of accommodation and plenty of shops and eateries.

I am currently in Tara, a small rural town in Queensland with a population of approximately 851. Most of the basics of living are available in the township and the larger town of Dalby is only 80kms away for the larger stores such as Woolworths, Target, Coles, KFC, McDonalds etc.

We are actually about 13kms out of Tara, and forutunately our property has power and phone lines. So many properties out here don’t have either.

Today it is raining and it is cold,  Usually it is pleasant during the day and cold at night. The sandy soil has turned to mush and gets dragged into the house on our shoes.  So its a constant job sweeping to at least keep the house in a reasonable state.  Tara as most of Australia has been in drought conditions so the rain is very welcome.  All the tanks are full and so are the dams. 

The roads to the property aren’t sealed and so it very boggy and the car slips and slides all over the place.

We will be returning to Brisbane on Sunday as Val and I are flying out to Auckland to go and visit relatives. 

I love to travel and will head off at the drop of  a hat.  I guess that’s the beauty of working from home, you don’t have to work your holiday breaks around a work schedule.

Slept in and went down to the restaurant for late buffet breakfast. Customary fare, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausages, fruit of many varieties, cereals breads, cheeses and cold meats.

Then off to the Concierge to collect the car and head off to Northbridge to purchase the ARA shoes that we have been trying to buy for quite some time. Those who read this blog regularly will remember that we brought our first pair of ARA sandals in Florence, and they are amazingly light to wear and pack when travelling. Got a little carried away, I brought 3 pair of shoes and Paula brought 2, and while we are delighted with our purchases, the lady in the store is absolutely over the moon.

We also found a kitchen shop that was relocating and had some absolute bargains that we couldn’t resist.

Then its back across the Sydney Harbour Bridge into Sydney City. There are 250,000 cars that traverse the bridge every day. Sydney’s population is 4 million, quite small when you think that Manhatten Island which is about the size of Sydney has 20 million, and at the opposite end of the scale, Sydney’s population is as much as the total population of New Zealand. Matt our Guide on the Skywalk took much delight in relaying a number of anecdotes about the rivalry between NZ and Australia, one of my favourites was about when Bob Hawke, the Prime Minister of the time, mentioned to Robert Muldoon, the Prime Minister of NZ that there were too many Kiwi’s coming to Australia and Muldoon retorted that it was a good thing as it raised the IQ of both countries.

After dropping the car and purchases off at the hotel, we headed off to have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and to purchase some pins, something we started to do when we were in the US recently.

Well we couldn’t find the cafe to start with and were just about to give up when we decided to ask at a car rental place if they knew where it was. And sure enough we were on the right street but just needed to walk a bit further up the road. The signage is minimal so unless you were really looking hard for the place you would miss it.

Nearly collapsed at the prices of the drinks but we wanted a glass to match the one we brought in Miami so we ordered drinks and I had an Aussie Burger and Paula had a cheeseburger. Both lived up our expectations. The decor is the customary Hard Rock paraphanalia and the music was at a nice level, we were still able to talk to each other unlike in Miami where you couldn’t hear yourself think.

After lunch we each brought a Hard Rock Cafe pin, there wasn’t much to choose from.

Then it was off to Myer to buy a Jamie Oliver frypan. I have been looking for a new pan for sometime and after reading the reviews on the internet, I decided on a Jamie Oliver pan for quality and design.

We also wanted to pick up some pins from Planet Hollywood, so we set off to try and find the restaurant with the intention of also having dinner there. Well it’s gone, so I think Planet Hollywood should update their website. It is now Star Bar and although the customary planet trademark still shows outside, inside is now just a bar. They have kept some of the costumes etc but no pins and no restaurant. So that was disappointing.

By now it was getting dark and we headed back to the hotel, didn’t want to miss Dr Who. We are both fans and this was the second episode of story. Not much of an excuse to cut an evening short but good enough for us.

Next morning after breakfast we head off to the Rocks street market. Walking around Circular Quay we stop to watch Emma, a contortionist who manages to fit herself into a 16″ perspex box. Absolutely amazing to watch and she is very entertaining, so next time you are in Circular Quay keep an eye out for Emma and don’t forget that these artists rely on donations from the crowd for their living, so if you enjoy what you see make sure you give the act a small gratuity of appreciation.

At the market we find a chap who is selling pins from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games so we buy a few. There is such a lot of interesting stuff at the market so it’s well worth a visit.

All too soon its time to check out, get the car and head off back to Canberra, and after a 3 1/2 hour drive we arrive home. Back to work tomorrow but at least we work from home so a sleep in is order.