Heading North from Brisbane 29-6-2022

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So i booked in to Paronella Park and set up in the caravan park (part of the entry fee) then headed up to the shower .
I was so looking forward to the hot shower as its been days since i had one … water hot, check. Got wet all over with a great spread of water, check. Soaped up … hang on … wheres the soap .
Dried off, packed up, drove to the nearest shop and bought both bars that the shop had so i would have a spare, drove back to park, set up, went to put soap in plastic bag as a soap holder … found two (2) new small motel soaps still in their wrappers in my shower bag ……

Got the middle site so plenty of sun and 4 bars of 4G



Oh well ... time for a reward.

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After watching a rather large tour group head off with Mark the Owner i finished my scones then went off wandering around by myself taking pics ... occasionally Mark could be heard talking to groups but i tended to keep clear although he seemed to have quite a passion for the place and was a very friendly bloke.
There is a lot of repairs and rebuilding going on as the place has been through fires, floods and a few cyclones in its time and the steel reinforcing in the concrete is rusting due in part to the mica content in the sand used which came from the creek and was used in the concrete.

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I headed down the Grand Staircase [you can see the flood markers on the steps, 1946 is by far the highest] to the lower level to the picnic area beside the creek, Black Bream and Silver Perch, Turtles and large Eels were in in abundance right throughout the waters in the park.

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The old Kiosk with its changing rooms along the sides.

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The Tunnel is now home to a few thousand bent wing bats.

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The grand ballroom was hit by fire then a flood and then a couple of cyclones took out the walls.
The Mirror Ball [not the original] was the first in Australia.
After the night tour they gave me a small piece of the wall in a presentation bag.

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The restored cottage is now the home of a museum with a lot of pics and equipment.

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I just kept wandering around taking pics with no map and no plan.

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I just kept wandering around taking pics with no map and no plan.

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Some flood levels on the grand staircase.