My holidays photos: Part 1


A few weeks ago I spent a week with a lovely Christian family of four in Queensland. I have included a map for those unfamiliar with Australia. I live way down south in the A.C.T (where it is cold in winter and hot and dry in summer) and travelled north 1,258 kilometres (or 781 miles) where it is warm and sunny (and tropical) making it a very popular tourist location for those of us who live south in much more wintry climates. And you can tell that I am in the tropical north of Australia as the flower above is the Poinsettia growing wild, isn't it just beautiful.


One of the places we visited was the village of Montville, high up in the hinterland overlooking the Sunshine Coast.  The first white settlers to Montville arrived in 1887 and the town was later named by Henry Smith after a suggestion by his mother (aren't mothers so helpful!), as it reminded her of their early years in Montville, USA (Connecticut) - how about that for a US link in my story!!
This shop was packed full of German cuckoo clocks - not a space was bare and it made quite a noise when all the clocks when "cuckoo"!! The lady running the store was very chatty and was interested to hear where I was from. She said that Montville gets quite cool in winter, however it can be a hot spot in summer. 
Lots of shops to visit - this one sold Alpaca wool and everything was very expensive.  But I did find a beanie made in Nepal that was only $30 which is both thick and warm - my husband loves it and has been wearing it lately as the weather has turned very cold and frosty where we live. 
An ornamental waterwheel we passed on our walk.

The view from this restaurant was just breathtaking (see below) - I do like the red umbrellas against the blue sky. 
The hills were green, the sky was blue and it was just a magnificent vista all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
So lush and green.
We came across this small wedding chapel, recently built, over looking the hinterland and Sunshine Coast. The setting is beautiful, the chapel was lovely with its stain glass windows and detailed carved doors. A perfect location for a wedding. It took a stonemason nine months to build using sandstone (for the building) and bluestone (steps) with Iranian white onyx on the floor inside the chapel. (Link for what it looks like inside)
The view from the chapel over the hinterland. 
Some of the buildings we passed. Many of the older buildings were built from local timber. 
A little path we found leading to a home I think. 
Would you want to live in this spot - a little steep for me :)
We ended our lovely day-trip with hot chocolate. Here is a photo of the children eagerly waiting for theirs - it was both delicious and warming (by this point it was starting it get quite cool)!

And here is a picture of the lovely couple who took such great care of me and provided wonderful hospitality 

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Comments

  1. Aww! Those are lovely photos! I'm glad to hear that you had an enjoyable holiday! :) It certainly is a beautiful spot and an interesting town! :)

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    1. Thankyou :))My holiday was perfect - and very relaxing and I read 1.5 books (which is always a very good sign of a great holiday !!!).

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  2. What a lovely holiday! Montville is just gorgeous. My MIL used to live in the Glasshouse Mountains so we have stayed up that way a few times. Makes me want to go back for a trip, although for us it would be 1,955km (according to Google maps). Wonderful photos.

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    1. I had never heard of it until my trip but I am so glad I did. It looks like the most wonderful place to stay for a few nights, perhaps in one of the B&Bs I saw :)

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  3. Great pics! Enjoyed your holiday =)
    love,
    Bets

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  4. Thank you for taking me on a mini vacation this morning. Your pictures are beautiful!

    The stained glass in the wedding chapel is gorgeous.

    Have a wonderful week and God Bless.

    Linda

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  5. What a beautiful place to vacation! The walk around town was just beautiful, and quaint! It was nice to see the map and to envision where you live and where you vacationed. So thankful the Lord blessed your time away :)

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  6. Hi! Stopping by from Wise Woman Linkup!
    Such beautiful scenery!! I've never been to Australia and would love to visit someday!

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  7. I enjoyed viewing this post and seeing not only the countryside but also the modest apparel the ladies were wearing ! Such a great example that you can tour around the woods or country in a dress or skirt :)
    Thank you for linking-up to Wearing with Wisdom on KingMakerBlog.com
    Blessings, Leticia

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  8. Gorgeous photos Jo. Glad to hear you had a lovely time with your special friends.

    xTania

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  9. Looks like a lovely visit! Thanks for all the pictures. If we make it over there again we'll have to try to go to Montville and the hinterlands. :-) I wish is wasn't so dreadfully far to Australia!

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