Apple and Grape Festival Holiday - Feb/March 2024 - Day 6

Day 6:  Thursday 29/2/24 -  Jondaryan Woolshed to Sandy Creek Hotel

We're up early and just coffee this morning.  Packed up camp a bit, then headed off to look at the machinery museum.  Caught up with the Caretaker again as we were walking through the village and he let us in the locked shed that's not open to the public at the moment where they keep the wagons, just extraordinary how they were built and have lasted.  The wagons are awaiting their turn to be cleaned and set up again for everyone to see.

We thanked him and we carried on walking around the machinery sheds, again it's just amazing some of the machinery they have saved, repaired and are now on display.  Obviously there is still a lot of stuff to repair and it's the same with the buildings we wandered around yesterday, some that were open last time we were here aren't open this time because they are having work done on and some that we weren't able to look at last time have been restored to their previous glory and we were able to look through them, like the beautiful homestead.

Oh,  I do love me a good windmill too!!  don't you....

Woolshed

Sightseeing all done, finished packing up everything and hit the road about 9am.  Stopped for a toasted sandwich at the Pie Face United Servo on the highway near Oakey,  just WOW.  One of the best toasties we've every had. Craig had the bacon and egg one that apparently had heaps of bacon and 2 eggs on it, mine was ham and cheese with a lovely seeded mustard on it.  And they were huge.

Decided we'd stop in a Rudd's Pub for a beer since we'd never been to it, what a cracker pub - it's like the Tardis, it's bigger on the inside 😅, it is truly a lovely old pub though.  We were too early for lunch unfortunately, put the menu looked great, maybe next time.

Rudd's Pub 

Back on the road again, heading to our next overnight stop at Sandy Creek Hotel.  Again, it's another one I've read about on the Country Pub Camping Facebook page and everyone has good things to say about it.  Arrived about lunchtime but unfortunately they don't do lunch on Thursdays, but they do dinner and guess what night it is, bet ya can't........  Parmi night!!  We had a couple of drinks at the bar in the air conditioning, chatted to the lovely lady behind the bar and found out about the camping out back.    Decided we'd better go set up now, have a bite to eat and head back to the pub later on for dinner.

Camping at Sandy Creek Hotel is free but you are expected to patron the pub for a drink and meal, which I don't think is an issue.  The camping area is nice and grassy and is gated to keep the animals in and you have access to toilets and showers after the pub is shut.  Oh and it's pet friendly.

Mate they've got big ants at Allen,  we moved 3 times because we kept parking right next to a big ant hill!  There is a Kart track behind the pub where you camp, which kept us entertained for a little bit.  

Afternoon's entertainment

Started to rain a bit and get windy, so we put the anti-flap kit on the awning and pegged it down and of course it stopped raining then!  At least it has cooled down a bit and the wind continues to blow.  Craig went in to have a little old man nap but was awoken by the go karts racing and the gale force wind, so he got up and watched the karts for a bit until the next storm front started coming across and the kart people went home and we decided to retreat to the pub around 4.30pm.  Quite a few locals in the bar now and the owner Kev was behind the bar.  He introduced himself to us and us to him and asked if we were out the back camping.

Nearly forgot to mention Kerry and James Alpaca and their sheepish mates that roam around the campgrounds freely.  Kept me amused for a while, but they're not very talkative.

Had a game of pool to pass the time and Kev's daughter Megan challenged the winner, which fortunately was Craig but she trounced him!  Kev also has a son Joel, who works at the Endeavour Foundation and was awarded Employee of the Month, which he proudly tells everyone about.  Joel took us out back to show us his birds and the new aviaries being built for them.  Joel is a lovely young man and is responsible for  feeding all the animals. 

As I said, it's Parmi night at the Sandy Creek Hotel and that's all you can order.  However you can order either Chicken, Beef or Pork snitty and then choose your topping.  Craig had a Pork Parmi and I of course had Chicken.  Kev's son Joel joined us for dinner and chatted away to us.  The Parmi's were delicious.  After dinner we decided not to stay for their pool comp and headed to bed.  It had been a rather large afternoon 🍻🥂