Weekend in Wandoan

I mentioned in my last post that DH and I drove to Wandoan for our #4 granddaughter’s birthday. I thought I’d share some of the photos I took. 

First of all, here’s a map showing the town's position in regards to where I live in Brisbane. 

The family live on a property about 70km from the township of Wandoan. It’s a cattle property. 

The afternoon we arrived, DsD1 took us for a drive around part of the property. It was in that farm Ute in the photo above. I got to sit in the cab but the rest of the family sat in the tray at the back. DH told me later it was a rough ride! 😜 lol 

Even the birthday girl sat in the back with her Grandpa Jim. 


There had been rain in the weeks before we were there and instead of being brown, the property had turned green and lush...such a transformation! 




Our son in law jumped down from the back of the Ute and opened and closed gates for us...

This group of cattle took their time getting off the track...


After the drive we walked around past the big sheds to the main house...the girls loved the 7 farm dogs!!


Next morning, we followed Grandpa Jim around while he did some chores.

Horses to be fed...

And I plucked up the courage to pat this friendly equine. 😉

We also helped feed the poddy calves...

Those calves sure have strong suction on those feeding bottles...I needed both hands to hang on to it. 

And that filled in the morning until it was time to drive into town for Abby’s party. 

And after the party we headed for home with just a stop for a late lunch at our favourite cafe in Chinchilla. 

It looks a humble establishment but the food is pretty good. 

Last weekend continued...

I mentioned that some of us went for a tour of the property on the Saturday afternoon. I don't know how many hectares the family owns but we saw a completely different part of the farm than we have on previous trips. 

DH and I were in the group who went with Dan...

There are lots of gates to open and close of this kind of property; mostly DH jumped out of the vehicle and opened them...but some were a bit tricky so Dan opened them.

 

Kilto is a property which raises cattle to be sold on to graziers who fatten cattle for market...so at times there are lots of calves on the property and we saw quite a few. Some of the calves were only a few days old.

The farm is so green at the moment...the result of unexpected winter rains.

Dan said he would have to stop and check the 'turkey nests'. My ears pricked up at the mention of turkeys...could my 'gardening Nemesis' the scrub turkey be a pest here too?? But no...

Out here the term 'turkey nest' refers to the earth dams used for storing water. The water is then gravity fed to open concrete tanks from which the stock drink.

So first there was a climb up the mounded earth, and then we could see the water. 

It was great getting the chance to see so much more of the property on this visit. 

Then it was back to the house to get ready for the party as guests would be arriving at 6pm.

A roast beef dinner with all the trimmings had been cooked in camp ovens and it was served from the tray of a ute. ( a utility truck with a flat bed) 

Here are some photos of the food being enjoyed. 

DsD1 was positively glowing in her lovely frock...the lady beside her in the top photo is her mum, who had worked hard to make the party a success. The middle photo is with her sisters and niece. 

Anthea was wearing an outfit that I had bought her...I called it her 'boho' look outfit...

Later in the evening the couple cut the cake which was made by DsD2. 

And look at the gifts table!

There were a LOT of envelopes in that blue box on the left as well as those intriguing big parcels. I bet DsD1 and Dan had lots of fun opening parcels and envelopes next day. I'll have to get them to tell us all about it when they're staying with us in Brisbane next month! 😉

On the Saturday...

This post is all about last Saturday...the day of DsD1 and Dan's engagement party. 

After breakfast we drove out to the property. Before we left town we saw the sign for the golf club. DH loves his golf, so we took a little detour to have a look.

Hmmm. It looked a bit quiet for a Saturday morning.

And the only group out on the course were these 'fellows'...

Yep! It looks like the kangaroos have full run of the golf club/course. 

And then it was time to head out to the farm; 60km with the last 10 km on dirt road.

The front gate to the property...

It's still a long drive to the buildings on the property...

The cattle found us to be interesting! 

I could just imagine this one saying, 'Password!'

This one didn't like the look of us and took off! Lol

The road into the property is a little rough in places, deeply rutted, steep and winding, but eventually we reached the buildings...

The main house with its beautiful garden...

Some of the outbuildings...

Dan and DsD1's little house...

Some of the lovely view from their house...

After lunch, friends and family worked to get things ready for the party...

Dan used farm equipment to manouvre the giant 'ice bucket' bathtub into place.

And in the mid ground of this next photo, helpers are filling the tub with ice.

And DsD1 set up her Lolly Bar.

Later on in the day there would be lots of children enjoying this feature; lots of 'sugar highs' 😆

Next post will feature photos of our tour around parts of the farm and also photos of the party. Just seems too much for one post.