Our first day dawned bright and early with the cacophony of bird sound. While Mum sat out on the verandah drinking a cup of green tea I went and introduced myself to the natives...
Mum's friend Tania had several things planned for us today, but unfortunately two of them, the Japanese Gardens and Animal Park were closed.
We went to see the Woodlands of Marburg which is a beautiful old estate that is now a conference and wedding venue. It has beautiful gardens with lots of photo opportunities. When I heard the words conference and wedding I was a bit dubious, but actual it was lovely there and I enjoyed exploring.
Here I am at the entrance way to the grand house. Inside were lovely wood panelled rooms and pretty tea services...or at least Mum thought they were pretty, me, I wasn't bothered one way or another, but did hear that they did yummy food there sometimes...unfortunately the tea room wasn't open today.
A bit too pink for my liking but I am sure some of my sisters and friends that are girls would like it...oh and maybe Frances would as well as he is into all that fancy stuff...like poetry etc...
The gardens were great for exploring in.
The chapel was sweet.
Cool cart - you could imagine using these back in time when horses worked the land.
Lots of rocks and plants to investigate.
Unusual seed pods.
They were huge!
These plants collect and hold water.
More carts adding to the rustic air about the place.
I wanted to explore in this ramshackle old building but I wasn't allowed!
Although the Animal Park was closed we did get to see the bats - they were really noisy!
On to Ipswich River Heart Parklands.
We enjoyed a walk along the river bank.
I spotted a white Heron in the river.
Information board showing the history of the area.
The old town road bridge...
The new one
An amazing lizard that was as big as me! There were lots of these just lounging around.
This was a water feature, but the water doesn't show up in this photo.
Mum's school friend and riding buddy Tania.
A pretty house in Ipswich that Tania thought my Mum would like as she loves blue and white things.
Later in the afternoon we took Peppi to the park...
Just sitting around with friends.
Riding Peppi...
Oops, hang on there Peppi, I am nearly falling off!
Oh Rory, look at this, a frog! You would have loved riding this.
In the evening we went to see if we could see some kangaroos, we were not disappointed.
The evening ended with a lovely roast pork dinner at the local pub.
Looks like 'Dear' Henry is already knee deep in yet another 'down under' adventure.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that the Woodlands of Marburg has the perfect seetings for wedding photos ....but I'm not sure that I'd enjoy seeing or meeting the bats and lizards!
Ha ha, there was a lot of wildlife roaming around indeed. Have to say the lizards fascinated us both! The bats were interesting, never seen any like that before.
DeleteBeautiful setting for weddings indeed.
Careful Henry, those seed pods look like bombs.
ReplyDeleteThe decorated verandah on that house reminds me of similar old buildings in Cape Town.
What a brilliant start to your holiday in NZ Henry - good thing you didn't get too close to that lizard, and Peppi looks as if he could be a very comfortable ride if you could get a bit more practice - perhaps with reins attached to his collar!
ReplyDeleteLove your photos. The bats are amazing, our local bats are much smaller. So nice to see the kangaroos in the wild and really enjoyed all of your photos. Hugs, xxx
ReplyDeleteForgot to mention that I'm amazed at how well the Kangaroos blend into their environment..
ReplyDeleteThe blend in really well don't they? You had to look carefully to see them.
DeleteFascinating to have seen the Bats hanging around. Also love to see the lizard and kangaroos. Will follow this page....
ReplyDeleteHappy to see you back. Love Fanny
Hi Fanny, good to be back. It is going to take a while to get through all the photos...but there will be quite a few more posts yet!
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