Hello, zorsted Mouse here.
We’re all a bit weary, but of course, as Leader of the Expedition the burden of responsibility falls to me, and I’m tolly zorsted. For the past two days we’ve driven on dead straight roads through endless broadacre landscapes of human food and fibre, none of it suitable for doggos. Not a steer or a sheep or a chook, or even a juicy ahem, fluffy rabbit to be seen.
We drove through wheat stubble.
Through sorghum,
Through cotton.
And then through chickpeas, pumpkins, alfalfa, peanuts, potatoes, melons and barley.
There was light relief when we stayed at Crow’s Nest (a nice caravan park, big ensuites, lots of space for everyone and especially the doggos, on-site café with good reviews – Mum) and Mum served me proper food, thank goodness.
But the next day we were back amongst the crops. Oranges, this time, and more melons, and sugar cane, and corn. It was Awful.
But then we got to Goomeri and the source of earthly delight, the Bakery. And suddenly, the world came back into focus. There were Pies, at last…
Mum’s Angus Beef.
Dad’s Chicken, Bacon and Leek.
I got a whole load of the big meaty chunks out of Mum’s pie. Dad, the canny devil, had got himself a pie I wasn’t allowed any of, due to the leeks which are Bad for me.
Me. After Pie. A small snooze was required.
Mum says she feels the same way. Goomeri is now No. 2 on the Top Pies list, knocking the Cardwell Pie Van into third spot.
Tonight, we’re in Bundaberg. It’s OK, but Mum says she’s not recommending it. The area’s noisy, you have to share your en suite bathroom with another caravan – luckily no-one’s on the next door spot – and the road work outside the gate is horrendous, you have to go all around the houses to get in. We’ll give it a miss next time.
Tomorrow is Yeppoon. Paws crossed it’ll be nicer.
Till then.
Those pies look delish. Mum says she likes your Dad’s way of thinking although I’m sure you were a tad disappointed not to be able to sample his pie. Our Dad does a similar thing with anchovies if he doesn’t want to share something with Mum.
We hope the next stage of your journey is a bit more varied – the same view through the window but of different crops made us laugh.
Flo & Stan x🐾
Hi Flo, hi Stan! Mum doesn’t have any choice in the matter of pie sharing, since she and I both need to avoid the same thing and her pies are safe for me except for the pastry which causes, er, digestive upsets, shall we say. But the filling is another matter! What’s hers is mine and what’s mine is mine too! Mouse ∑:>
I’ve been to Yeppoon ^^
Enjoyed a very nice Works Burger there ^^
It’s a very popular holiday destination! Also a very easy staging post before home, so our last evening away should be as relaxing as possible.
Mmm, chicken, bacon and leek… the G.O. is averse to leek… winner! The Deez would vote for a taste errre glimpse of rabbit, but we humans don’t mind a bit of agricultural scenery. Onward to Yeppoon, which we liked, and found a nice cafe on the corner up the end the main street… Bundy except for the rum factory was a bit mmmmm. Wishing you fine weather and happy travels.
Hi Aunty Dale 🙂 Mum doesn’t mind a Bit of agricultural scenery either, but this was flat and endless and the only variation was the colour of the crop. I’m with Deez, frankly; food is much more interesting to look at, even when it’s on the hoof/paw/claw. Mum drew the line at the Bundy factory as she is a rum snob and says it’s dreadful stuff. Dad looked a tiny bit disappointed, but only a tiny bit, especially as we have a bottle of Good Stuff hidden in Mum’s locker… (You can’t hide anything from a dog, can you? – Mum) No rain tonight, so Mum’s laundry will dry, too. More tomorrow!
You’re on quite an exciting adventure. Thanks for taking me along on the ride
Hello Miss Sharon! This particular bit wasn’t that exciting, but it has been an interesting trip – we’ve visited new places to stay so Mum can update her list of good’uns.
Did you happen to drive through Gympie? My grandmother lived there from 1912 to 1925, and my Great Grandfather is buried there…noticed a shop called Beefy’s, sounded promising…
Hi Miss Kjerstin! Not this trip, but we go through there a lot when we go south. Mum says if you remind her next time we travel south and tell her where, we can take a photo of the gravestone for you? Mum also says the Beefy’s is up there on the list, currently at No. 4, and she makes a sort of whimpering noise when Dad drives past instead of pulling in…
So pleased that the pies are good… the previous pie-disappointment has now., hopefully been erased.
Hello again! Yes, the Angus Beef experience has wiped out the lack of adequate and satisfying nourishment for both Myself and the Staff 🙂 It has also pretty much guaranteed the route we’ll be taking on future inland trips south!
I love a route based around pies – what a way to navigate.
But… Aunty Jan, is there any other way? The Staff don’t seem to think so, although Cake does seem to play a part too. Not my bowl of kibble at all, but the humans seem to like it.
Bundaberg? Yeppoon? And I thought WE had funny names over here 🙂
You think those are funny? Mum says she should definitely have taken a photo of the sign for Goodnight Scrub… Australia is fully of funny, rude and downright weird names!
Love it. Send them all, please.
Well, you asked for it….(https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/some-of-the-funniest-and-crudest-place-names-around-australia-919677)
(https://www.list-directory.info/lists/place-names.html)
(https://www.souvenirsaustralia.com/blog/funny-actual-australian-place-names)
OH.MY.GOSH. I am crying with laughter……. Are you guys serious over there, about anything???? ……………………………..
Rarely… Which are your favourites?
It’s difficult to pick out favourites because they’re all epic, but I did particularly like Bong Bong, Shag Point and Peculiar Knob.
My personal favourite is Dongdingalong, NSW.
How fun! Terry and I would have enjoyed all the farming. Even stopped and visited with the farmers. YAY for PIES!!!
Hi Miss Linda! The average farm size is about 10,700 acres, so finding the farmers might be a bit tricky… But I bet they’d love to say hello and exchange notes.
🙂 It would be fun trying, anyway.
I agree! And you could compare farm machinery. The Husband follows The Millennial Farmer from Minnesota on YouTube, and he’s always talking about how different the equipment is there from here. Different crops, different machines….
Yep. Different ground.etc. 🙂
Well, that pie must have been amazingly good to have knocked the Caldwell Pie Van off second spot. High praise, as your Mum and Dad know their pies.
Unfortunately long stretches of flat countryside is the price for travelling in Australia, however it would have been nice to see a change from stubble!
Hi Miss Anne! The pie was very, very good, I can attest to that. The Cardwell Pie van still holds a place in her heart, though, because it does Steak & Kidney pies, and Goomeri doesn’t… Mum says the flat countryside was OK; the colour changes by crop were interesting, but she does wish they could have stopped by the cotton so she could collect a fluffy white boll or two. Sadly, nowhere to pull over the caravan 😦
Those crops looked pretty good to me, Mouse. Here. its still winter and there’s nothing in the fields, save for winter wheat…which is grown about 200 miles north of us where I was born. Moma says that soon, the grass will be green here. I’ve not seen green grass before. Moma shared a bit of chicken with me last night, but I’m not sure it’s really food. I have kitten crunchies to eat, a warm lap to snuggle on. And this morning, I discovered Moma’s fish. I ate one… he had stripes so I figured he was on death row anyway. I scared another fish so bad it jumped out of the little tank ( Mixing bowl~ Moma) but Moma grabbed it before I could have it for a snack. Bad Moma. I like fish. ~ Leah Mae
Hi Leah Mae! I’m not a great one for fish, I’m a doggo, after all, but I must confess I’m a bit partial to sardines! Mum keeps them as a special treat and a change from chicken necks and brisket bones!
Hello, Mr. Mouse! I’m so glad that you and the Staff had a bit of proper pie after the last foray was so disappointing. When I do my big drives up north, I spend a lot of highway miles in agricultural areas, but there are usually enough cows and sheep dotting the landscape that I don’t get bored. I hope you all have wonderful scenery the rest of the trip.
Hello, Miss Marty! It’s not the miles of landscape, it’s the depressingly *vegetable* nature of it all that gets me down… Today has been good, and I shall be dictating some interesting stuff to Mum tomorrow ∑:> (Mouse)
These pies are so delicious. It seems to be great fun on the adventure. Amazing pictures
Thank you!
Glad you all found pies at last!
Yes, indeed, and it was worth the wait!
Making me very hungry for PIE!!
PIE is hard to beat! Actually, although meat pies are Mum’s thing, she’s still rather nostalgic about that apricot pie, which was apparently quite delicious. I’ll leave that to the humans. Fruit. Yeuch!
You have been a very good reporter Mouse. I’ve enjoyed reading about your travels, even the ‘boring’ bits. So glad there was eventually excellent pie to relish (no pun intended). Hope the rest of the journey home is peaceful.
Oh, thank you, Miss Sue! This trip hasn’t been quite as picturesque as some of them, since South-East Queensland is mostly about flat countryside and farming, it seems to me. But there have been interesting places and people. And Pies. Mum says the last post will be a good one because the place we’re staying is lovely, and very pretty. And of course, we’re nearly home 🙂
I haven’t been keeping up, sorry, but I do see a pie theme running through Mouse’s travels. I like the sound of that style of travel!
Hi, Miss Carla! In the interests of full disclosure, I must point out that the pie-stops at pie-shops are solely in the interests of keeping the Staff happy, and since I rarely score any pie from either of them, it’s very noble of me to permit this ongoing aberration. (Ooh, get his fancy language – Mum). Mouse xx
Hi, Mouse! It is rather inconsiderate of pie makers to include so much onion, garlic and leek in their pies. Don’t they know they are bad for dogs? They will be adding chocolate and and sultanas next, just to add insult to injury.
Not to mention the pastry, which has unfortunate, um, repercussions later on. Mum doesn’t do well with onion or leek herself, so generally she shares her fillings with me, but I have to take her word about the nice crispy pastry, etc. Mum also had an apricot pie at one point, and let me lick a bit of filling off the bag. It was OK, sort of…. I like Mum’s steak & kidney best.