Friday....13 August

This means it is not only Friday 13th (why wasn't I told?), but my BB birthday. Happy birthday Ted.
Another nearly perfect day in paradise today. Bit nippy this morning, down to 15 and I heard the ladies at the clothes lines discussing who had to get the spare doonas out of storage last night. However it got up to a pleasant 27 during the day. They are offering the same for tomorrow! It can be tough being a tourist....
Today we set off to visit one of the local coffee farms, so popped into the local tourist information centre first to find out which of the many offered the best value for money tour. Big mistake. The local information centre is also a FREE museum full of interesting bits vaguely remembered from our childhood or at least our growing up years. Old 78's on the HMV record player, cream seperators, wash boards, hand water pumps, ink wells, sixth grade readers, I could go on and on. Departing from there we saw that right next door was the local art and craft shoppe. More time lost!!

By the time we got done there and the museum, it was a bit late to visit the coffee farm before lunch after all, so we headed to the local shopping centre to get fresh supplies. That done we came home for lunch, then set off again to visit the best local coffee farm. This time we had more success and made it in time for one of the tours. We got to see coffee trees, coffee cherries which is what they call the fruit until it is washed and hulled then fermented and eventually hulled again to reveal the actual coffee bean in the middle of the cherry. We drove past the machinery that is used to harvest the trees and then onto the mill that processes the fruit. They did not show us the drying process but when we got back to the centre the entry fee included a cup of your favourite coffee ( latte, cappucinno etc) and free tastings of the coffee liquers they make, very yum. And yes they did make me a cup of tea instead. The farm is totally organic being pesticide and herbicide free etc.
The Nerada tea farm is also in this district so am hoping to do a tour there too eventually.
Tomorrow we plan to go to Uncle someones distillery (hic!) and a peanut farm then in the evening there is a bull riding and bronco riding rodeo type of event up the road at Mt Carbine we may attend, this is after going to the Saturday markets in the morning, back at the blessed Information centre!!
You may find my perils amusing (as did my BB regards yesterdays little trek!) and I am pleased to give you a daily chuckle but in all honesty this is not what I set out to do. I was merely documenting our travels so that we have a diary type record without having to carry yet more paperwork and excess baggage!!!!!
I did a bit of a head count this afternoon and came up with close to 20 folk that I know for sure are reading this blog, this makes me wonder a little as to how many are reading that I do not know about.... work with me people, do not let me wander alone in the wilderness.