Home Away From Home: May 2012

Fasten your seat belts for a Great adventure in the Australian Outback and away from civilization ..

The hardest part was waking up very early in the morning since Winter just started but the weather was much nicer than expected ..

The ambassadors spread in 4 different cars .. Our car "The Royal Car" had Marjorie (USA), Kylie (Australia), James and King Ming (Singapore) and Myself King Hussain ..

Ming and James sharing Breakfast

We left Brisbane around 8:30am .. The trip to Mt. Barney and the Scenic Rim takes around 1 our and 45 minutes ..

The View in the Way to Mt. Barney

First Stop was Mt. Barney Lodge. in the lodge we had our Complementary Morning Tea while waiting for the next tour to Start .. and of course it was time to look around and take pictures in the place ..

We are Finally HERE!!!

The Ambassadors heading inside The Lodge

Beautiful Views ..

Morning Tea

Home Grown Citrons

Situated at the base of Mt Barney is an Ecotourism retreat that offers self contained accommodation and optional meals. Relax in one of our Queenslander Homesteads, Rustic Cabins, Deluxe Camper Trailers, or try camping.

After morning tea we took a tour in the place with Innes!!

Innes ..

Talking about one of the plants they have and the ways to use it in cooking

who showed us around and talked to us about the way they maintain the lodge being Eco and also about the plants they have and most importantly about alternative ingredients we can use in cooking ..

Macadamias

Macadamia Tree ..

also gave us some recipes to try and finally we tried some of the local made Goat Cheese ..

Goat Cheese

Video about The Lodge ..

At the end of our tour we met the other groups of the Ambassadors who just arrived at the lodge ..

The Ambassadors discovering the Lodge ..

Next stop was the Barney Creek Vineyard Cottages .. but before we reach there we had to do a couple of stops to take some pictures of the nice scenes we saw .. The Pictures Say it all ..

at the Cottages it was a self tour so we walked around the place passing by the Lakeside Bungalow, The Hill Station, The Garden Cottage and The Grape Farms ..

Kylie and Marjorie Playing like Little Kids ..

Lakeside Bungalow ..

Kylie's way of Taking Photos ..

Marjorie Posing while a 3-1 photo is being taken ..

Relaxing by the Lake and a Creepy guy in the Background taking a photo of us!!!

At the Grape Farms ..

Finally, it was time for the other ambassadors to do some wine tasting .. and as we are leaving the other groups arrived so it was time to take some group photos ..

Wine Tasting ..

Red and White Wines ..

Group Photo with the Ambassadors ..

Kylie was in charge of taking us around .. Thanks Kylie ..

Third Destination was The Thistledown Country Retreat .. a fantastic place! The House, The different Gardens they have and also the backyard where they have a small area for Croquet and Bowling .. not to forget the High Tea and Scones ..

Guests Book ..

Thistledown Country Retreat is the ideal setting to create special memories – be it a honeymoon, a romantic or relaxing getaway. We offer gourmet dining in an opulent candlelit dining room or dine al fresco in the provincial style courtyard, the chance to renew friendships or perhaps attend a life changing focus workshop and retreat. There is also the chance to explore the World Heritage listed Mt Barney National Park or you could completely relax and just ‘be'.

The Fourth and Second last Destination was the Rathdowney Alpaca Farm ..yeeeesssss ALPAAAACCCCAAAAAAAASSSS

Feeding The Alpaca and The Llama ..

Kylie Taking some great photos

The Ambassadors Taking Pictures and Elsa (Indonesia) putting a big Smile for the Camera ..

James Being Artistic in Taking his Photos ..

Shao (Malaysia) and Kylie (Australia)

Claire (China) Afraid of the Llama ..

Rathdowney Alpaca Farm operates from the picturesque property "Triple Peaks" situated in the foothills of imposing Mt. Barney. A holistic experience "to all things alpaca" awaits you during an on-farm visit to touch and feel the amazing alpacas and their llama cousin.

Finally, The Journey ended in Classi Di Cucina Italiana ..

James Taking a nap in the way to the last Destination ..

Great View at the Entrance ..

Unfortunately when wee reached there they ran out of dough and couldn't try their fantastic Pizza's ..

Despite the disappointment we tried their tasty Ice Creams and some of the Ambassadors had some soup while the others were looking around the place ..

ICE CREAAAAAAM

Trying The Soup

The Alpaca Decided its food time and came out looking for food!

Since living full time at Rathdowney, they have been sharing their culinary experiences with people who have a passion for Italian food Anyone who comes for a cooking class also enjoys their animals and their sculptures.

The journey in the Scenic Rim was Great! I'm pretty sure I will go back again there but will stay more next time and discover more and more about that beautiful place ..

it was time to go back to Brisbane but the Ambassador were hungry so we head back to Sunnybank in our way back home .. most of us had dinner together in Market Square .. we had Vietnamese Cuisine ..