Monday, May 07, 2007

Eightieth Birthdays, the Granite Belt and New England



Photo: Bellandean Lodge, Front View

I am still on official strike so far as blogging is concerned. But I will be getting back into it!

I am just back from my wife's uncle's eightieth birthday party. The family decided to hold it in the middle of the Queensland Granite Belt wineries.

For those who do not know this area, the New England Tablelands extends past the Queensland border into southern Queensland. This part of the Tablelands is Queensland's main wine growing area. The place where we stayed is shown in the photo above.

While I had driven through the area a number of times, this was the first time I had stayed there since 1982. I was astonished at the development.

In 1982 there were I think just eight wineries. I visited them all over the weekend I was there. Now there are more than forty eight, of whom some forty have cellar door outlets. There are also all the trappings associated with a significant tourist area.

I have enough material to write half a dozen stories across several blogs and will do so. But I have to regather my strength first!

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