Stanthorpe Christmas in July Trip Report – 23 & 24th July 2011

Four couples meet up at Warrick Macca’s at the designated start time of 10:00am while we were
running a tad late. I’ve really got to remember not to do that again so I don’t have to write the trip
report.
Much to my surprise I discovered the unofficial rule that you’re meant to bring your road car on
social trips. Our excuse is that we had to negotiate a dirt track to get up to our cabin so hopefully
this is enough of a defense to avoid yet more fines.

We all checked into the Happy Valley Resort about 11:00 am and got ourselves settled in the nice
little cabins. These had wood burning stoves which were great to keep the place warm and cozy.
We wasted no time in heading into town to find some lunch at the local RSL. This was followed by
a leisurely stroll through the bustling metropolis of Stanthorpe’s main street.
After all that excitement (or was it after all that food and drink) we had to have a nana nap before
the Christmas in July dinner. This was an enjoyable evening with plenty of good food, drinks,
companionship and laughter at our table. Part of the group even managed to take out a prize in the
trivia contest.
We did a secret Santa for a bit of a laugh and then the REAL Santa appeared. WOW I’m a believer
again although it did take him about an hour to get around the room so I’m not sure how he was
going to get around the rest of the world in time.
Sunday morning we all climbed aboard a mini bus for the wineries tour. Funnily enough we all
enjoyed tasting all that wine and port and we even learnt a thing or two about wines and wine
tasting. Lesson number 1 “don’t say it tastes like Mango” because apparently it doesn’t.
The day wasn’t just wineries though we also stopped in at a cheese maker, a liqueur maker and an
olives and fudge place so there was enough variety to keep us entertained. Spent some more of
the kids inheritance with my personal favorites being the Rummy Port from Old Caves Winery and
the Impi Crème slushy (like Kailua) from Rumbalara Estate.
Monday saw some couples leave early to get back to work (surely that’s worth a fine) whilst others
opted for a much more leisurely return to Brisbane.
Overall a very enjoyable weekend away doing things that you don’t normally do.

Thanks very much to Susanne for her fantastic efforts in organizing the weekend.
Bruce