A very rainy start to the day but once breakfast was over the sun began to shine and was with us for the rest of the day. We set off to visit the Margaret Olley Art Centre in the Tweed Valley and an exhibition of work by Bernard Ollis.
The chosen route was somewhat circuitous and included an unsealed road which took us through two beautiful tree lined valleys, one containing banana palms and the other sugar cane. Sometimes unplanned routes, there being no satnav in the car, can lead to adventures, though I was glad no agricultural vehicles were coming in the other direction as the road was rather narrow with some long drops!
There were a number of other interesting works on display at the gallery including two sculptures made from Staedtler coloured pencils which were fascinating. I found one painting by Hui Hai XIE stunning, a large portrait of an Aboriginal face, Jonathan Aatty, which had such amazing detail, his whiskers looked real.
The views over the Tweed Valley from the restaurant and gallery were also lovely and the food we had for lunch was very tasty, the red onion and goat's cheese tart being especially moist and the pastry crisp. It was a shame that the figs wrapped in bacon were off the menu, but perhaps next time!
Having had our cultural fix we set off into the Springbrook National Forest to visit the Natural Bridge. The forest is Semi-Tropical and contained an amazing range of trees and ferns, some claimed to be in existence several million years ago when Australia was joined to Africa and Asia. A rare sight indeed made even more special by the Natural Bridge, created by water tumbling through the roof of a basalt cave. Had we visited at night we may have seen glow worms, as it was we were aware of the many bats that inhabited the cave.
The sound and sight of the water was thrilling and well worth the time spent threading our way on a well made path through the forest to several viewing points. Many birds were present in the forest but mostly unseen though I managed to photograph one colourful specimen in the car park who showed no fear of humans.
The return journey was swift, passing through more verdant countryside with many trees, fields and crops and no shortage of water with hills and low mountains visible all around.
Once home we indulged ourselves with chocolate brownie cake containing crushed walnuts and tea, whilst chatting, editing photos and catching up on the news of the world, which in some cases was a bit depressing.
Dinner was a very tasty Moroccan lamb stew with cous cous followed by a yummy rhubarb and apple crumble with home made creme anglaise. Gennelle is a superb cook and Lesley and I are going to leave here heavier than when we arrived but full of wonderful memories of our time together and it's not over yet!
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