AROUND-OZ MOTORHOMES

One word describes Armstrong Creek Country Getaways - amazing! We really do feel guilty about writing about this place as it truly is a hidden hideaway known to just a few. It is so hard to believe that you are only one hour north west of Brisbane - the peace and tranquility is just something which you have to experience. The hospitality provided by Lindsay and Lynne Chicken with able assistance from Joanne (reception) and Ron (the very important wood and horse man) is Australian country at its very best.

The road in is an adventure in itself. From home on the south side of Brisbane we had an easy drive up the Gateway Arterial Road, over the Gateway Bridge, to the end of the Arterial Road, over Pine Rivers Bridge and left turn into Dohles Rocks Road. This takes you through the outskirts of the greater Brisbane area (Pine Rivers Shire) and you see such scenic sites as North Pine Dam and Lake Kurwongbah. It isn't long before you hit Dayboro Road and meander through undulating hills. But the best is to come, Dayboro township itself is just beautiful - it is a time warp and thankfully the architecture has been retained in keeping with its origins. No big supermarkets here - just little shops with true country folk. we loved the local produce store - the front fence must have cost $12,000.00 with its magnificent signage.

From the main "T" intersection at Dayboro, turn left into Bradley Street and then a few hundred metres right into Laidlaw Street at a delightful park. Be aware that there is no signage whatsoever pointing you in the direction of Armstrong Creek. This begins a most picturesque section of your inward journey - some of the hills are quite steep - our Possum House had one hill which was definitely first gear (because we were dawdling!) - but the views are just magic. Watch out that you don't turn left into Armstrong Creek Road as it "feels" the correct way. Fellow A'vanners Heather and Siggy did this and we almost did it to on our second visit would you believe! Down Woodward Street which is the no through road and you see even more of the tranquil landscape. Cattle grazing nearby, tall stately gums and isolated homesteads - it is really just too tough to take! Do watch out - there is one switchback which warns 20 kms/hr and they mean it! Over another beautiful "picnicy" causeway and the serenity continues. The water is crystal clear.

You descend into the hidden valley where a camping delight awaits. The road in is bitumen all the way until you hit the property. There is a welcoming sign at the downward side of the last hill and soon the large barn and animal yards are in sight. In front of the barn is a sign saying "Reception" with a sign pointing up a dirt track - here you will find the house and either Lynne or Joanne will organise the necessary paperwork. Reception is not the best spot to visit when towing, as where one has to turn around is a fairly restricted area. Similarly with motor homes you must watch out for over hanging limbs. On our first visit, we were personally escorted by Lyne in her 4WD to Fig Tree Flats and offered a choice of two spots. When old hands book they reserve the "site near the young Jacaranda"! Really cute!

Absolutely, one of the best things here is that you don't have heaps of people on top of you - numbers are very sensibly limited and if you want to come in school holidays or long weekends, bookings are a necessity. Probably mid week would not require any bookings, but as there is 4WD driver training school area, stockman's quarters for school groups and the local TAFE conduct various bushman courses such as chain saw operation and maintenance, it wouldn't be a silly idea to check. We would have to say that the biggest attraction here for us is in the attitude of the owners towards the environment.

Attention to detail is superb and you learn a little more each time Lindsay makes his daily visits. I mentioned how thoughtful he was leaving all those neat piles of cut timber up in the hills. "Oh no that wasn't me - we had a TAFE school learning chain saw skills so I got them doing something useful'! I mentioned the interesting floor in the barn - dozens of Telecom pit lids. Turns out the factory that makes them is in Pines Shire and the rejects were just dumped as land fill. Re-cycling at it's best. The iron on the "new" barn had to look very old and had to be rusty. It came from the old derelict banana packing shed buried up the back of the property! Yes this is bush camping (sort of!) with flush toilets and hot showers. The amenities of course are made from the obligatory old corrugated iron and blend in beautifully.

Armstrong Creek itself is a seasonal waterway and there is a small pocket alongside part of Fig Tree Flats. Obviously there are times when it is in full flood judging by the debris of wood along its banks - ideal for kindling. Now did we mention Ron earlier? Yes well Ron and his dog Jess have a very very important part to play in your stay at Armstrong Creek. Every afternoon about 1 hour before sunset Ron and his trusty ute personally deliver firewood to each campsite, just in time for you to get your campfire going for the night. Jess guards the wood on the back of the ute, except when she gets excited to see a fellow border collie like Rex. She bounds off the back of the tray back and can leap from ground level up into the back just as agilely. What service? Do you know of anywhere else where the wood comes to you??

The other four legged friend Rex made was Lucy, a short haired border collie. Sometimes Lindsay reckons she goes off for days even weeks at a time when camping numbers are up. She certainly spent the two days of our visit with Rex, going off home at night but was back again at sunrise when I got up to get the fire going. If Lucy is ever missing, the chances are she came home with us. Such a beautiful soft natured dog, she would have to be everyone's friend. I only hope no one ever does her any harm, she is so trusting.

So what's the choice of activities -well there are a number of self guided walks - rough mud maps are very thoughtfully available from the office - you can book a horse ride with Ron - there is a very large dam with canoes, lifejackets and paddles provided - no extra charge at all or bookings required. There is the animal feeding every morning at 8 am - this is an absolute must for the children (big or little it doesn't matter). You get a running commentary from Lindsay and some of the humour is aimed at the adults, but they kids are having such a great time attempting everything from milking a cow to feeding Olive the pig they don't pick up on this Now Olive is only a little girl we are assured - 320 kgs at the last weigh in - so she has been put on a diet! Sorry Olive, it isn't working as yet. The other problem Lindsay has is finding a boar big enough to mount Olive. Lindsay did make enquiries about AI (artificial insemination) but the vet reckoned he would need 1.5 litres of semen to guarantee a pregnancy. So if you know if a frustrated male, Olive would like to get in touch.

One of the highlights of our second visit was the the birth of triplet Boer goats. The Mum (No. 565) was totally tolerant as Lindsay and son Nathan passed the two boys and one little girl over the pen fence to the eagerly waiting arms of numerous children, who wanted a cuddle. Triplets are fairly normal with this breed of goat. Lindsay advised also that does tend to have a tendency to pregnancy toxicity and he had found one last week in the paddock who had birthed only a few days before. Fortunately another doe took over the orphaned kids when her baby was still born. The baby kids (goats that is) are amazingly resilient - only 17 hours old, they were really handled by the children and took it all in their stride. The little girl goat was named Abby after one of the children whose birthday it was. The two little boys were named Blockhead 1 and Blockhead 2 by Lindsay - he reckons the males are far more dominant than the females. The female was smaller and finer boned and she might end up getting some extra hand feeding if the boys pushed her out of the way too often. The night they were born we had frost!

The farm animals are very well cared for. Horses and cattle free graze the 1000 acres and you could find them wandering near your campsite in the early morning or late evening. The goats are penned near the barn and No. 169 has a reputation for escaping overnight. Once you have been here for a few days, you get to know the goat faces by their numbers. Little boys have a fascination with the electric fence, so don't hold their hands while they try it out Mum or Dad or grandparents.

Luggsie is a very inquisitive cow who certainly got into mischief during our visit. Our nearest neighbours (100 metres away) were at the animal feeding and I spotted this dapple brown beast wandering down the hill. No worry, I thought and went on reading my book. Next thing I looked up at a crash and saw her in the middle of their campsite, knocking over bottles and stuff and picking up a box or something left on the table. Down went the book, into the Possum House for the camera and the following are just some of the shots I got. Not only had Luggsie grabbed a box of Uncle Toby's Muesli but also knocked over a bottle of port, another packet of cereal, two tins - Milo and Quix, a torch and several plates. Not being too certain of this animal's temperament, I decided it was best to leave her with the half chewed Muesli as she shook the plastic packet out of the box and onto the ground. Next she started eating the whole inners - packaging and all. I used this diversion to replace all the bits inside one of the tents - at least the majority of the food was intact - and fastened the lids on the Esky's. A minute or so later, the packaging was regurgitated and Luggsie was licking up all the spilt muesli from the ground. We have been camping where brush turkeys take over campsites, but never seen such antics from a cow!

We didn't pollute the natural beauty with TV - the quality is pretty bad unless you like triplicates of everything. We found the total quiet so refreshing and besides making the night and morning fires was very hard work, especially when the wood was delivered right beside you! Rather surprisingly CDMA and GSM come in fantastically well even though you are positively surrounded by hills and in a valley. Curiously our UHF hand helds had trouble going from the house to the camping spot - only half a kilometre. Of course they worked great up on the ridges.

There are quite a few birds but probably not as many as we would have expected on such a large expanse of land - pied and standard butcherbirds, kookaburras, magpies, willy wag tails, wattle birds, crows, were the main ones we saw. Rather oddly we came across no kangaroos at all.

In winter, the sun sets behind the hills fairly early and you don't see the sun's morning light much before 6.30 am. Definitely it is bring heaps of winter woolies and blankets country, because we had frosts the two nights of our last stay - it was 2.3 degrees C at 6.45 am when I got up to get the fire going. Chairs and tables need to go undercover too.

The history of Armstrong Creek shows the hardiness of the country people. Previously the property was used for beef cattle production, fruit growing and timber getting in conjunction with several other family properties. Due to changes in the cattle industry and resultant family circumstances, it now operates as an individual property and has had to diversify into other areas - hence the breeding of Boer goats and the country getaways farm hosting, with self contained cottages, bunkhouse and excellent campsite areas.

It would be easy to rave on and on about Armstrong Creek - the place - the people who make it and the animals. But I have a better idea, why not contact Joanne or Lynne, tell them you read this story and want to visit! All I can promise is that if quiet natural camping on a farm property is your want - you could not get it better anywhere. The pictures tell the story - just go and enjoy it as we have. It will definitely be on our list of worth a return visit camp spots, especially in winter with Ron and the wood delivered to your site. Oh, Rex says he wants to go back and visit Lucy too! It is as doggie friendly as you can get.

Value for money Armstrong Creek is a real bargain at $7.50 each for adults and $20.00 for a family. On one visit we had our 23 year old son with us and Joanne insisted that we only pay for a family. It is ideal for caravan and motorhome club rallies and the large covered barn has good seating and tables - even has a fridge and microwave! Told you it's "bush" camping! Very little info on the internet but they have a web presence at http://www.armstrongcreek.com.au/ which just doesn't do this wonderful place justice and email is bookings@armstrongcreek.com.au. Phone/fax Lynne and Lindsay Chicken on (07) 3425 1264 or snail mail to PO Box 1, Dayboro, Qld, 4521. Puppy dog rating is very well deserved 4 1/2 Stars. Absolutely recommended!
Chrissy Eustace


Fig Tree Flats camping area - very grassy!	The local dogs visit us


The charming township of Dayboro	The produce store at Dayboro


This is "bush" camping at its very best!	The small herd of Boer Goats - delightful!


The various campsites are in small valleys	The same site from up the hill a bit


The "themed" amenities	The Lodge is great for non-camping families


The walking opportunities are just wonderful	You do have to share with the cows!


All the wood is supplied free daily	This is the beautiful Lucy


Armstrong Creek at our campsite	Free canoeing on the large dam


This little guy is 17 hours old!	His little sister is very much in demand!


Start of the walk behind the dam	Kiddies love this hand feeding fun!


More of the day old babies!	Olive at Weight Watchers!


Border Collie paradise!	More very friendly cows!


Delightful Jacaranda Flats camping area	Ron with the 5 PM free wood delivery


The "barn" and excellent camp kitchen	Stockman's Cottage - good for groups