Now this is where the adventure begins, travelling into the unknown! From Mackay to Toowoomba just seemed like that holiday you go on to catch up with family and friends, it was something we had seen and done before, now the fun begins!?

Queen Mary falls is only 127km from Toowoomba. The country from Toowoomba to Warwick was eyecatching; it was a beautiful contrasting landscape, something that we both hadn't seen much of before. Lush well worked farm land bordered by sharp jagged ranges, so our eyes were wide open taking in all the views. It is a shame it is so cold down this way in winter because it is a beautiful part of the country, and houses and land are cheap! We pulled into Yangan Park for some lunch on the way.After James spent time chatting with a local he got all the do's and don'ts for our visit to The Falls?!Queen Mary Falls is a beautiful park, bring ON nature! We got some fire wood delivered to the site for $10 and bought some marshmallows from the shop, open fires are allowed here, the kids were excited! Let's burn some stuff! Happy Hour started a little early this day! We sat back and listened to the birds, and enjoyed the peace and quiet. (read: got half cut beside the fire) The shop has bird seed so you can feed the birds, there are plenty of King Parrots and Crimson Rosella birds, they are beautiful and aren't shy when it comes to a free feed! But the girls really took to the possums later that night. They fed them pears, and duly named them Lila and Appelly? WTF!? So after dinner we lit the fire toasted marshmallows and just layed under the stars, what a great way to spend a night. Looking over I saw Chelsea laying on the picnic blanket beside the fire with her hands under her head and her legs crossed looking up at the stars, she turns and observes "this is life" We laughed thinking she is only 4, and the things they say. We woke next morning to the sound of kookaburras. After breakfast we headed to Queen Mary Falls which was straight across the road from the park. To ours and other park guests disappointment, the 2km track to the bottom of the falls was closed. It had suffered damage from the recent flooding. We were still able to go to the lookout; this was only a 500m walking track. The main bridge to it was damaged also, but a temporary one was put in place. These falls are well worth a visit. They are part of the very first headwaters of the Condamine river system and the water starts here before going west and south, also spilling over into the east as the Teviot river system. We then got in the car and ventured on to Carr Lookout, 8km from the park. This offers spectacular views over the Condamine valley, and a little further down the track are Teviot Falls and The Moss Gardens. The road in follows part of the "rabbit fence" This probably very useless contraption makes up some of the NSW/QLD border. ( as close as anyway for this cane toad!) The Teviot Falls were not sign posted so we ended up going straight past them, but eventually found them on the way back to the caravan park. The place is great. We met another few couples up in the park for a weekend, and it turns out James knew many of the same people as them!? It is a small world after all. (not all my fault living and working in Mackay and Mount Isa tend to shrink it a little!)

Our time spent in the Darling Downs had been very enjoyable and relaxing. The brilliant weather we cracked also added to our pleasant experience. Those that live in this area are probably saying "told you so" about now. Our track leads us away from the bush now and into the circus that is the Gold Coast strip. One fully loaded caravan, two chilled out parents, two wound up kids and a Datsun tackle the Glitter strip! Should be interesting, aye?