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Mitsubishi 4WD Owners Club of Qld (Inc) |
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Paradise - Feb '07 |
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Paradise Country Aussie Farm Tour - 4 February 2007Participants: David & Loretta Young (Trip Leaders) Don & Margaret Williamson Peter & Elaine Warren Brock, Sandra, Shannon & Oriel Coward I am sure that you have heard of the Gold Coast hinterland being described as “The Green Behind The Gold”. Well, welcome to Paradise Country, which can only be described as a bit of Australiana situated behind Wet and Wild and Movie World on the northern end of the Gold Coast. This very Australian farm tour started its life at Nerang mainly aiming at the South East Asian and Japanese tourist market and moved to its present location approximately two years ago. It is a purpose built attraction to show case the best that the Australian out back has to offer and while it is still aimed at the overseas market the owners have realised that the local market is an area that has been untapped and are now starting to explore that market.
We all met in the Paradise Country car park at 9am, bought our entry tickets and were chauffeured to the Aussie Homestead where we were given directions to the attractions and our vouchers for the sumptuous barbecue lunch that was at the end of the tour. After getting our bearings, it was off to the see the koalas at the koala village, there was also the opportunity to have your picture taken with these cute little marsupials, kangaroos and emus that in some cases were running free in the enclosures. This was a great opportunity to get up close with these animals as they were very docile and enjoyed all the attention. It was then off to the animal nursery where all sorts of animals were on show including baby lambs, goats, piglets, calves, puppies and their bigger brothers and sisters. We also had an opportunity for my daughter Shannon to bottle feed the baby lambs and goats. She was amazed to see just how fast they devoured the milk in the bottles. The aroma of burning timber and fresh damper was wafting through the air and this led us to a camp fire where we all gathered to hear stories from the local Paradise Country stockman. He showed us the art of boiling the billy for that perfect cup of tea which also included revolving the full billy for 360 degrees above your head without spilling a drop. Audience participation was also on the agenda and one of the gathered throng was also enticed to have a go. No problems for our overseas visitor, he didn’t spill a drop. With a hot cuppa in one hand and damper in the other we were off to the Stock Horse arena where we experienced displays of horse riding, cattle mustering, whip cracking and a horse drag race won by a very talented young horseman on his trusty steed. It was then onto the show paddocks where the stockman and his dog showed us how to round up sheep. The dog (Clyde) was having one of those days when he really didn’t want to be there and spent most of his time just running around not listening to any instructions. It was here that one of our group quipped “at least the sheep know where to go”. We were also treated to another display of whip cracking, the sound of the crack of the whip is produced when the tip of the whip breaks the sound barrier, and boomerang throwing. This was a hit and miss affair with some of the throws living up to the song of “My boomerang won’t come back” but overall it was very entertaining. After this spectacular had finished, it was onto the sheep shearing shed where two of our party disappeared only to be found later in the outback restaurant. They were also christened “beer tester #1” (Dave) and beer tester # 2 (Don). As I have already mentioned, audience participation is a part of the day at Paradise Country and the show in the shearing shed is no exception. Four of the audience were chosen at random and this included our own Peter Warren. He was chosen because of his young and virile looks and the promise of a new head of hair. As we all know, Peter is folically challenged and the promise of a new mop of hair and his ten minutes of fame was too much and he was up on the stage as quick as a speeding bullet. The head shearer introduced us to the different breeds of sheep that are in Australia with the merino being the most popular amongst Australian farmers. We were then treated to an actual sheep shearing demonstration with the chosen audience members who were on stage also having a go. At the end of the sheep shearing, Peter was given his new woolly hair mop which he proudly displayed. The day was drawing to a close and as it was around lunch time we headed off to the outback restaurant for our sumptuous barbeque lunch where there were choices of steak, chicken or fish. It was here that we found the lost two, “beer tester #1” and “beer tester #2” who told us they had been high jacked and forced to hang onto a can of beer each and then a second can of beer each, both of which mysteriously opened by themselves and when they went to return them were told that because they were opened they had to be drunk as there where no returns. Lunchtime entertainment also included traditional Aussie songs with beautiful renditions of Waltzing Matilda and I Still Call Australia Home which were sung by an extremely talented young singer. Another highlight of our lunchtime entertainment was the club arranging for this young singer to sing a few verses of happy birthday to my mother who was celebrating her birthday on the day. Unfortunately our Aussie adventure was drawing to a close and as we left “beer tester” #1 and #2 were still sampling their favourite amber fluid (the next excuse was that it was a very hot day and someone has to do it) and we also had the opportunity to walk through the horse stables to get a closer look at the behind the scenes preparation that is needed to groom and feed the Paradise Country horses. A quick look in the carriage shed revealed a selection of memorabilia from old Australian horse carriages and we were then chauffeured back to our cars in the car park. A big thumbs up to Dave and Loretta for organising this great social day out which is suitable for all ages and a special thank you to all the club members who came along for also making this a special day and helping in celebrating my mother’s birthday. Brock Coward Back to Top
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