Wednesday 23 September 2015

Some things don't change...some things do.

Gone is the long hair, the plaits and homemade dress with the gathered waist. These days the hair is short and grey, gathered waists have given way to comfort dressing but the background is much the same from Toowoomba's beautiful Picnic Point which is perched on top of  the the Great Dividing Range and where you can look down onto the Lockyer Valley - Australia's Salad Bowl. 


In the above somewhat blurry photo taken in the 1950s,  I am the smallest of the three girls and we must have travelled to the Big Smoke of Toowoomba for a ballet exam as we lived in a smaller regional town. In the background behind the tree on the left is Tabletop Mountain which you can see more clearly in the photo on the right. Some energetic people walk from Picnic Point to Tabletop and back in a couple of hours apparently but I am not one of those ;-) 

As we are in Carnival of Flowers mode this week my son and I visited the park today and joined in with all the tourists taking snaps of the gardens and the fantastic views. We made our way up to the Cafe and Restaurant which is often the venue for weddings and obviously is now the venue for tired tourists.





I spied this sign which was for a Wattle and Violet Sundae which I had never heard of before and, as my son offered to buy me one, I decided to have my monthly intake of sugar and partake as I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try violet ice cream. 



Thankfully they are only small servings but big enough to get a good taste of the combination of wattle seed caramel sauce on top of violet ice cream which is made here in Toowoomba by Home Ice Cream. It was the brainchild of the restaurant owner in 2012 when he came up with the unique idea of creating an ice cream based on the floral emblems of our city. It actually tasted quite nice and not sickly sweet at all and definitely something to try if you are ever at Picnic Point during the Carnival of Flowers as it is only available there at that time. 


After leaving the cafe we saw Mr.Kookaburra having his afternoon bath.


Of course there are gardens everywhere and we came across another plaque like the one in Queens Park which has a different scripture on it and I wonder if these were donated to the various parks by one of the locals.


This Azalea bush is huge...



...this garden is full of snapdragons and petunias and the next one was full of pansies. 



It is a long time since my children have visited the playground there and I noticed that there is a new one there which is quite quirky and will be a fun place to show my grandchildren when they visit.


There is a huge water tower which is always impressive and often appears on postcards...



...as well as a huge flag which flies well above the gum trees and can be seen right across the city which is just as well as I can never remember which street to drive up to get to Picnic Point as I always get lost over that side of town. LOL!


There are also many walking trails as well as a scenic drive down the Tobruk Memorial Drive where you can stop and have a picnic and take in the views. It is definitely the place to visit when you are in Toowoomba and we always spent time here when I was little and we had a day in town. We used to love it then but there is much more to do these days. 


Talking about when I was little, this is what a child looked like at the Carnival of Flowers in 1952, just a couple of years after the Carnival started. Cute eh? :-) I think my hair was put in rags the night before our big day out in the city!



















17 comments:

  1. I am amazed that parks would allow religious tracts in them?! Australia is so religiously bland compared to the rest of the world and quite openly non-religious as a nation. In my part of the country they may be tolerated (I live in a 'bible belt' but I could see them being disposed of in other suburbs.....interesting.

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    1. I was a bit surprised as well, Phil but pleasantly so. Our city would be viewed in some quarters as 'conservative' ...whether that makes any difference or not.

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    2. Sorry Phil. I thought I pressed 'publish' but it said your new comment was rejected so I must have pressed 'delete' instead and I can't restore it. Silly iPad!

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  2. Lovely pics Chel. I think that when I was a kid, we went to Picnic Point every time we went through Wombat (as spellcheck calls it). Gorgeous memory pic too.

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    1. Yes, we always visited Picnic Point on our visits to Wombat as well, Barb. Queens Park was popular too.

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  3. Beautiful shots Nanna Chel. I recall taking my daughter there when she was about 2. I still have lovely framed photos on the wall of that day. The gardens were simply stunning. Mimi xxx

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    1. It is so nice to look over the Range at the Lockyer Valley below, Mimi. Such a beautiful spot.

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  4. Beautiful pictures! You were gorgeous little girl you were! And still are! :)

    xx

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  5. lovely pictures nanna chel, some wonderful memories no doubt too
    what fantastic views!
    thanx for sharing

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    1. Wonderful views, Selina. There is a telescope there as well for seeing the landscape close up.

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  6. Gorgeous Photo's Nanna Chel and you look so cute then and now :) I love the look of that ice-cream to, yummy xoxo

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    1. Karen, it was very yummy and not sickly sweet as I expected.

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  7. Awesome looking icecream, Chel - bet you savoured every mouthful of that (as I do with my monthly sugar treat). Thanks for sharing your treasured "black and whites" - I love old photos

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    1. A monthly sugar treat...hmmm, that is interesting, Blinky. I did feel a tad guilty but that didn't last long. LOL!

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  8. Darling photos of your childhood. Do you go every year? I was wondering about your socks. Those white socks are worn here by children (although nowadays they are mostly different colors and are often of two different, but similar designs, go figure) replaced by other kinds of socks and are back on the feet of old babes (like us) in our dotage. Same for you?

    I have had violet ice cream and candies and quite like them. I also like rose flavored sweets, especially lemonade.

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    1. J, I wear socks in winter to keep warm but never in summer as it is just too hot here. I haven't really noticed young people wearing socks of any kind here but perhaps they do and I just don't look ;-)

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