Bus trip to Country Gardens at the Carnival

On Friday 18 September there were 31 people on board at Redcliffe and picked up another 8 at Pelican Park for our Country Gardens at the Carnival trip to Toowoomba. Travelled over the Gateway, along the Logan Motorway making our way to Darren Lockyer Way before turning off and making our way up the new Toowoomba Bypass road. Our first stop was at a 5 acre property at Biddeston a few kilometres west of Toowoomba where we had morning tea and a guided tour of the garden by the owner and he talked about the garden.

Then headed off to another rural garden at Wellcamp and also had an opportunity to purchase some plants. They are doing very well considering how dry it is.

We then headed off around the outskirts of Toowoomba to Meringandan Hotel for a great 2 course lunch and the meals were huge including the desert. Some of us checked out the camels at the back of the pub.

Back on the coach for short drive to Highfields to check out the The Chocolate Cottage and then down the range to Spring Bluff Railway Station. It is a very steep road up to the station; everyone was peddling hard to get up the hill. The gardens are very nice here and the flowers were out in full bloom. Also watched a coal train slowly make its way down the range through the station.

After a walk around the gardens back on the coach and we drew the raffle prizes before heading home through Murphys Creek which was devastated by the floods back in 2011. There was some slow traffic along the Centenary Highway but a good run on the Gateway arriving back in Redcliffe just after 6 PM. A long day which they are when you go to Toowoomba but a great day had by all.