6 minute read
Good thymes
Good thymes in the garden
TURNING A GREEN THUMB INTO A PASTIME IS GOOD FOR YOU AND THE GARDEN Words by Graham Goody
Judy and Graham Goody, Halcyon Landing
Some people play tennis, some swim, others play in the garden. Gardening is a physical activity everyone can do and we can all benefit from getting out in the sunlight.
I grew up on a pineapple farm. Later I had an engineering business in Maroochydore and also worked on my avocado farm on weekends, so I’ve had a fair bit to do with working on the land. My wife, Judy, is as involved in the garden as me because she was the main gardener and I was the labourer at our previous place. We had five hectares, so there were a fair few gardens! At Halcyon Landing, there are several gardening areas that include raised garden beds in a community garden, a separate garden that also houses a chicken coop and beehives, and several homeowners also grow their own produce in their backyards. I moved to Halcyon Landing two years ago and the garden beds and fruit trees were already well established. I’ve recently taken over as one of the new gardening team coordinators at Halcyon Landing, which basically means overseeing what’s happening in the community gardening area and its eight garden beds. There are around a dozen of us on the team who are involved in tending their own garden beds, selling the fresh fruit and veg at our Friday afternoon markets or using the produce to make marmalades and relishes. It’s a mixed bag, but we all work together harmoniously. We grow the fresh produce that people want to use regularly and sell it cheaply to cover our expenses and buy fertilisers, new soil and sprays for the garden. At the moment we are growing tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, spinach, beans and silverbeet. Our citrus trees have been going gangbusters this year and have just started fruiting, so in a few months we’ll have lemons, oranges, mandarins and cumquats as well. There are so many benefits to growing your own fruit, herbs and vegetables. Along with the physical, mental and economical benefits of gardening, if you have an interest in something and you can find a way to express that interest, then that’s good for you, too. Our gardening team works simply but organically. It’s a village atmosphere where everyone pitches in and helps. I think everyone benefits from the community garden – we like playing in the dirt and people get cheap veggies!
Get ready to roadtrip
KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A CARAVAN AS HOMEGROWN TRAVEL GROWS IN POPULARITY Words by Matt Kurvink, General Manager, Bushtracker Caravans
Flinders Ranges, South Australia
Acaravan really is your home away from home – it’s somewhere comfortable where you have your own bed, pillow, food and other things you are used to, which makes the trip a lot more relaxing when you’re not living out of a suitcase.
It’s worth investing in a quality, heavy-duty caravan that is built to last and fully self-sufficient with solar power and the capability to carry a lot of water, especially if you plan to go around Australia or travel to remote regions. My advice is to take the time to do your research. Narrow your search to five caravan builders who you feel can build the right caravan for your needs, then go on factory tours to see the construction process and inspect the product quality. You want to have the confidence that the van you decide to buy is going to meet your needs in the long term. Bushtracker Caravans specialises in luxury off-road caravans. Each caravan is completely customised to the owners’ specifications and in 25 years of operation, we’ve never built two vans that are the same. Our customers have some really interesting road trips on their bucket lists. Many want to go up to Cape York and do The Savannah Way in Queensland as well as drive through the Kimberley region or from Perth to Broome in Western Australia. A lot of people are keen to do the desert tracks at least once, such as the Tanami Desert in Western Australia and the Donohue Highway from Queensland’s Simpson Desert to the Northern Territory border. My favourite caravanning location is the outback. I love just getting out there and camping. There’s nothing quite like sitting by the fire in the outback and seeing how many stars are up in the sky because there are no city lights around you.
New home, new life from $375,000
Halcyon Rise is a 100-acre lifestyle precinct designed exclusively for over 50s. From sunrise to sunset be energised by a range of lifestyle facilities and conveniences. It’s relaxed country living only 30 minutes from Brisbane.
Open for inspection Monday to Saturday, 9am - 4pm 8 Halcyon Way, Logan Reserve Call 1800 050 580 or simply Google
Ballroom blitz
The fabulous quote is often miscredited to the actress herself, but it featured in a cartoon in the Los Angeles Times alluding to the fact her job was harder than her silver screen co-star.
For Rhonda and Arthur Fletcher from Halcyon Waters, it’s truly a team effort and Rhonda said if it wasn’t for her husband – she probably wouldn’t have begun dancing in the first place. “I had a girlfriend who was doing it and I wanted to give it a try, but I didn’t want to go by myself so I dragged Arthur along,” she laughed. Nine years later the couple are fully immersed in the ballroom dancing scene, regularly having private lessons, attending classes each week and participating in their studio’s dance parties. They have even travelled to Canberra to compete in the American Style Dance and Competition (ASDAC) Outback Crown, an annual event which sees dancers of all ages and levels descend on the nation’s capital to compete and participate in master classes. “We didn’t go down to win anything, we wanted to experience it and see some amazing dancers who do a showcase,” Rhonda said. “It was terrific fun and well worth the trip.” The couple attend classes at a local Hope Island studio, Fifth Avenue Dance, where they credit their teacher Maki
COUPLE SHINE BRIGHTLY ON THE DANCEFLOOR
Soto for her support and encouragement for their continued progress. They have worked their way through dance examinations to Silver 3, one of the top levels of the ASDAC curriculum which includes styles such as foxtrot, tango, swing, cha cha, rhumba, merengue, bolero and most recently they learned how to do a Viennese Waltz. “It’s just great exercise and it’s something we get to do together,” she said. Arthur added: “It’s been a wonderful way to meet new friends, to socialise and to be able to do something outside of the gates.” “And it doesn’t matter if you think you have two left feet, you can learn at your own pace and you’d be surprised at what you can actually achieve.” SUMMER 2020 | 34
