Prenzlau, Minden, Marburg...

Well, you might think I am back in Germany, not so, instead I find myself southwest of Brisbane, in beautiful rolling hill country that has been settled by Germans, back in the 1870s.  These are all small townships with populations of a few hundred each, a highway passing through some of them.
Map in Marburg area....

Des, the man that comes around in the afternoon to collect the site fees at Marburg Sportsground, tells me that he is 100% of German heritage, both his parents, grand parents etc. are all of German descent and Des, with his bright blue eyes does look very German even though he is a dinky-dye Aussie. 

I had a great drive yesterday from the town of Esk, about 130km west of Brisbane, through the city of Toowoomba, finally arriving at Marburg.  Esk is a quaint small town to the west of Lake Wivenhoe which is hidden behind a range of mountains.  I did like the setting there, the weather sunny, a few small shops selling Antiques, others selling Motorbike gear and one shop with what I call Hippiegear, the smell of incence aesily identifyable a few shops away.  There were also, what must have been well over a hundred Bikies with their heavy motorbikes rolling into the parking lot of the local Pub and I am told, its a popular stop for the biking community.  I stayed for 2 nights.

Note that the State of Queensland has buit a whole lot of artificial lakes to provide water for the various communities.  They can be found to the West of the Eastcoast from about Bundaberg all the way to the border to New Sout Wales.  Many provide great locations and facilities for people in Caravans etc.

Since my last blog entry I have been travelling to yet another lake, Lake Monduran, just to the West of Bundaberg, through Biggenden, then on to the really beautiful area around Maleny, located in the Highlands, west of Noosa Heads.  The countryside a bright green after all the rain in previous days.  I really enjoyed being there, also catching up with 'old' friends, Babs and Klaus who have been running a great Bavarian Restaurant at Maleny for many years, called "King Ludwigs" .  I very much enjoyed their company and hospitality, allowing me to camp at their hillside property.

View from the Bunya Mountains

From Maleny I travelled a little further west to check out the Bunya Mountains which rise to about 1000m above sea level.  I did not put into practice my original intention to stay up there as I found it too cold, so, instead I stopped at Kumbia.  The next day I travelled back to the coast, spending the night at Tewantin, just to the north of Noosa Heads.