TOD Tour 2.0, Day 9: Emerald - Botanic Gardens, Mosaic Walk

Artist Maxine Wilde (right)

This will be a quick read as the head cold I have been battling since we left home has deteriorated into a course of antibiotics and today has been a bit of a stagger. Sue is doing her bit, with a knee injured the last time she visited our daughter, now causing her some serious gyp. Oh the joys of passing into your seventh decade!

Back into town late morning for a coffee at a cafe named for our eldest grandson. We took a photo with the little mascot which has been provided for such times and after seeing the cafe he announced "Mummy, we are going to get into the car tomorrow and go to Queensland and visit my new cafe".

We went back to the information centre to find the Mosaic Walk - 100 Years in 100 Yards. A series of round frescoes, perhaps 800mm across, depict the century since Federation, have been installed in a footpath. A local artist, Maxine Wilde co-ordinated a group of local aboriginal women in the creation of the mosaics, from mostly her designs. They are very colourful and interesting. An added bonus was having the artist on hand to explain the creation process, as she is currently undertaking restoration work on them.

The afternoon was spent at the Emerald Botanic Gardens, which is a wonderfully laid out 42 hectares on either side of the Nogoa River. The six kilometres of walking and bike tracks wend through the different environments you will find in Qld, each represented in the Gardens. I know when I think Botanic Gardens, I think flower beds but in this layout, it is the major plant species and trees which feature. There are a number of art installations, such as the marble game and the Federation Panels. On the southern end of the Gardens, a large windmill pumps water into a reedy lagoon, simulating the importance of artesian water in Qld agriculture. Even though we couldn't cover the ground we might have, it was a deeply impressive green space.

Click for today's photos

Both knackered well before our usual expiry date, we returned to the caravan to sulk but couldn't achieve the appropriate state when laughter kept getting in the way. A guy fronting a laptop band and crooning slow, Slim Dusty style country songs was the culprit, although we kept our reactions behind the walls of the van. He finished strongly with "Folsom Prison" as as his sign off. Shades of Charlie Saliva and January in Tamworth.