Scenic Rim, Queensland

Summer Land Camel Farm

On Tuesday 25 June we visited the Camel Farm at Harrisville in the Scenic Rim district in South East Queensland.  The camels are ones retrieved from Central Australia where there are plague proportions of camels just wandering around in the desert.  Summer Land has professional cameleers who train the wild camels and people can enjoy riding these strong, stable, gentle and intelligent beauties each with their individual personalities.  The rides are on tandem saddles for a traditional camel caravan ride.  The property has stunning natural beauty with an abundance of native flora, fauna and birdlife.  There is also a cafe and retail store on the farm where you can sample the dairy products such as camel milk, cheeses, gelatos, chocolate, delicious camel meats and charcuterie, cakes and camelccino.  There are also anti-aging skin care products and I bought a small jar of lip balm.

There were many Camels who came to greet us, especially when they saw we had purchased bags of grass which they devoured when we held out a handful for them.

There are over 500 Camels on the property.  Summer Land began in 2015 when the Government began a culling programme targeting wild Camels.  These Camels were rescued from a gruesome fate. 

This is the shop and cafe where we purchased some retail products and also bought some gelato ice cream.  Summer Land is Australia's largest Camel dairy and Wild Camel Training Centre.  Camel milk is also good for the skin.

Here is my bowl of strawberry gelato ice cream which was delicious.  Studies have shown that Camel Milk has many nutritional benefits and is thought to be the closest milk to human breast milk.

Milora

Tamborine Mountain

To-day we took a drive to Tamborine Mountain in the picturesque Hinterland of the Gold Coast.  We drove through lush rainforest to reach the top of the Mountain, a place popular with hang-gliders.  We had lunch at the Fortitude Brewing Co. where they serve meals, as well as brewing their own range of beers.  After lunch we continued to drive around this picturesque area

The view from Tamborine Mountain.  There were some hang gliders there, soaring high up in the air after taking off from a grassy slope

 A spectacular view over the surrounding countryside.  We then drove back down to the Scenic Rim region to a town called Boonah and stopped for a coffee at Cafe 17.  Boonah is a very pretty place in an area bustling with farms producing produce for the Brisbane markets.

Back at the farm the chooks were in the chook pen, waiting to be fed and let out for a scratch around outside their cage.  We were lucky to get a couple of eggs.

Some of the cattle on the farm, grazing on the stubble.  There is drought up here and rain is desperately needed.  The dam is almost empty and the cattle now have to be hand fed with hay.

Two water tanks on the property that take up bore water for using as grey water in the laundry and toilets.

Milora

Down on the Farm 

Last Thursday 20th June, we travelled by Qantas plane to Brisbane and were met at the airport by Ken's daughter Diane and her husband David who drove us then to their farm in the Scenic Rim region of South West Queensland at Milora near Ipswitch.  We spent four days on the farm enjoying a little bit of country life and a big family get together on Saturday when grandchildren and great grandchildren arrived to welcome us.

Inside David's shed which he has constructed to house memorabilia of old utensils used around the district long ago.  It is a fascinating place to explore and a historical record of life in a bygone era.

Here is a view of the homestead with a Wattle tree ready to burst into bloom.  The house has a sweeping view of the surrounding countryside.  My bedroom had a sliding door on to this front verandah which was a great place to sit and enjoy the winter sun.

There are lots of rusty old farming equipment placed as sculptures throughout the garden which add a country vibe to the property.  This old tractor stands in the garden along the front driveway.  Zoe, one of the great grandchildren, had fun playing on this with Delilah (the dog) when she arrived on Saturday.

This is a view of Munbilla Road from the front of the property.

Here is the front driveway looking down, over the cattle grid, to the woodpile which is near the front entrance to the property.  David and his brother are splitting the wood and chopping it into sizeable logs and bagging it for firewood, which they are selling.  He also keeps wood for the combustion stove in the house which is kept burning all day and night to keep the house nice and cosy.

Leura

Sorensen's Glasshouse and Gardens

Today we drove up to Leura to visit a new venue, Sorensen's Glasshouse and Gardens at 8 Herbert Street, Leura.  This is on the site of renowned Danish-born landscape gardener, Paul Sorensen's original house and garden.  The Glasshouse is set on two acres of heritage listed gardens which still need a lot of replanting and work to bring them back to their original glory.  The work is being undertaken by Alexandra Munro and her partner, John Klugt describing the Glasshouse as their “dream business”.  They have leased it from the owner 

The couple has transformed the former nursery into a beautiful cafe/shop.  They have also employed a gardner to restore the gardens where the master plantsman, Paul Sorensen, once ran his nursery.  The site has been subdivided and twenty townhouses developed next door.

Paul Sorensen established the nursery in 1920.  He raised his family in the house on site and planted hundreds of cool climate trees in the arboretum, which he designed to give customers an idea of what mature specimens would look like.  The nursery finally closed in 1989, six years after Sorensen's death.

  

When Alexandra and John took out the lease, the Glasshouse was a complete mess and they spent five months stripping it out and refitting it into what is now a bright airy space selling locally made wares, greeting cards, skin care products, plants, etc.

The food, in the cafe, is fairly simple, as there is no kitchen on site.  There are teas, coffee, cakes and light snacks as well as soup and hot pies.  There are also ready-made picnic baskets for sale for eating in the garden, when the weather is suitable.
After lunch, we took a drive to some of our favourite lookouts in the Mountains.

Above is a view of the escarpment, taken from the track to the Sublime Point lookout in Leura.