Saturday...28 August

Went out to morning tea with old friends today.  Was lovely to see Stella and Bill again. They are such warm and welcoming people, they instantly make you feel comfortable and at home. We chatted, then chatted some more and suddenly it was lunchtime. We made moves to leave but Bill wanted to take us for a personal drive of discovery around his town which was most informative. On return Stella had lunch ready and we ate and chatted some more. Was not expecting lunch so really enjoyed the company. Big thank you to Stella and Bill for the hospitality.

After all that yummy food we motored off to Paronella Park.
An interesting place, built by Joseph Paronella in the 1930's. He was way ahead of his time with creative ideas. He built two castles on the property and a simple house that he and his wife lived in. The castles were used for balls and weddings and a tea rooms etc and people were encouraged to travel to Paronella Park way back then for picnics, games of tennis or boccie and rowing on the lake full of fish and eels with a backdrop of a natural spring fed waterfall. The water from the waterfall was harnessed to run the first hydroelectric generator in Qld. He planted trees and built a tunnel through the hill on his property to make it easier for his guests to look at  the whole property.
Himself went back for the night tour which he tells me was very good too. I believe they have floodlit the big waterfall etc.

Tomorrow we move on.....in the direction of Townsville but not necessarily to Townsville...but then again...