Walking with Friends Down Under: January 2026

Kyogle - 17 January

Thankfully the festival was held last weekend as the temperatures have soared over this weekend. 34C yesterday. 35C today and tomorrow 37C plus the humidity factor. Not sure that I can complain as Prince Edward Island has extreme cold and I believe most of North America is readying for a big freeze and heavy snowfalls.

Summerland is the greater area around Kyogle. Afterlee is a 15 minute drive west of Kyogle and where my cousin Robert lives on the home farm that I write about quite often. Robert spent his teaching years in Sydney, but retired to Afterlee10 years ago. He quickly became very involved in the Kyogle community and became President of the Progress Association, which organised this festival. I visited 3 years ago and was impressed. The committee has worked extremely hard and this year's festival was brilliant.

Local news wrap up of the event.

Wow! What a day, congratulations to the organisers, volunteers, performers and townspeople of Kyogle, this years pumpkin festival was bigger than ever and was a credit to all involved.

Congratulations to Councillor Rob Cullen and the planning team - a great day! Well done! Vote 1 Rob Cullen for mayor!

A big shout out to the community that came and enjoyed a fantastic day……what a tremendous place to live

Big thank you to the volunteers working behind the scene and the extraordinary growers ~ from little things big things grow !

Lovely to see the town coming to life

Huge thank you to the organisers of Summerland Giant Pumpkin and Watermelon Festival and the town of Kyogle for such an excellent weekend! Giant pumpkins, great food and an exciting ride on the Rainforest Rattler

Both organisations mostly, if not entirely run by volunteers. Thank you again for keeping such wonderful community events alive.

I was initially only going down just for the festival, but Rob asked if I could help him with quite a few things. This involved driving his huge twin cab ute. I was very hesitant at first, but absolutely loved being behind its wheel.

Going 2 days early allowed me to attend the first event of the festival, the Arts and Crafts Exhibition held Thursday evening. This included presentation of prizes to the section winners, wine, cheese, sandwiches and cakes. It was an incredible evening for such a small community. [Sorry about the colour change, something weird happened because of the above copy and paste.]

The guideline was, "Llittle things make big things grow".

There was an amazing range of creativity and interpretation of the guideline. From 2D pieces to 3D creations, the local talent is quite something. What would your interpretation be?

The farm had a stunning flowering gum. I could enter one of these photos next year - From little things big things grow!

On Friday it was extremely hot and humid as we loaded and unloaded gear for the festival, but thankfully Saturday dawned with a very fine drizzle falling. The clouds hung low over the town all day making for very pleasant conditions for the 4 1/2 thousand people visiting. [Kyogle's population is 3000]

Rob and I were on the road to town at 5am and were soon joined by many volunteers helping to close the small street off, sort banners, chairs, stage, market stalls, marquees etc.

The first pumpkins arrived at 8 am.

There were 16 in total, with some grown by children. I imagine quite a bit of parental help. Note the misty background.

Weighing got underway at 10 am and the crowd swelled.

The giant watermelon - 57.5 kg

The melons were cut up and given away.

Winning pumpkin - 580.5 kg

I'm not sure of the weight of the winning child entry.

These pumpkins are not edible. They are taken back to the farm and the seeds harvested for future use. The cattle then get to eat them.

A fun pic with a local.

This local TV interview will give you an idea of how they are grown.

A video round up of all the action until the final event, the gumboot toss.

I must add that all events were free to participate and prize money was quite substantial. In the senior boot toss, first prize was $100 dollars. Children winning the watermelon eating contest took $50 home if they won. There were second and third prizes as well.

Mid afternoon was the watermelon eating contest. I was amazed at how many lined up in all age groups. A plate of four wedges of melon [already weighed] was placed in front of each contestant. On go, they had to eat as much as they could in just 10 seconds. The plates were then reweighed and the winner announced.

The serviettes were watermelon themed.

A medallion for each winner as well as money.

The plates of melon.

We thought there would be melon left over, but some of the senior men missed out on competing as there wasn't enough.

At least 25 senior men managed to compete.

The Gum Boot toss - toddlers to seniors. All welcome. There were strict rules on how to stand and both boots had to be thrown underarm, at the same time.

Last year a perpetual trophy was introduced. Unfortunately an out of towner won. It hasn't been returned so a new one had to be purchased.

Explaining the rules.

The sun had come out, so everyone was looking for shade.

'The Taste of Kyogle' competition had been running during the two weeks prior to the festival - . Local eateries trying to create the Best Pumpkin Dish, Best Watermelon Dish, Best Drink. The 2 butchers in town, joined in with special sausages.

I'm glad I wasn't a judge for this. My samplings over the four days, were all delicious.

I was however, asked to judge the best decorated market stall. There were only 3 real contenders and I was worried that my choice was purely personal. It was such a relief when I noted that my choice was the only one of the three too incorporate watermelons in their decoration. Note the watermelon banner on RHS.

The heritage 'Rainforest Rattler' rail motor, was back in town Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is seasonally operated by volunteers. The 6 trips each day were totally booked out. There were 2 journeys. One north to the rainforest of the Border Loop with its 3 tunnels - 1160 metre, 192 metres and 177 metres. A very historic journey. The second journey was south, through farmland, to the town of Casino.

My mother was a nursing sister at Kyogle Hospital during the late 30's and 40's. Last year the hospital celebrated 100 years. Its first ambulance in 1938, was a Dodge, and Artie Dodd was the station Superintendant and quite a legend for his skill and compassion. The ambulance came back for both celebrations. Artie Dodd, a name I had forgotten from my childhood, but with the ambulance returning from a southern museum for the festival, many memories surfaced.

You might like to take the time to read about Artie Dodd and his bright yellow ambulance.

https://nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/news/dodd-legacy-and-lifesaving-kit

Finally, my cousin Rob Cullen, a volunteer whose name I can't remember and Brett McNamara, the power horses behind this incredibly successful and enjoyable day!

I would love to read your comment.

Tuesday 13 January

Coochie Mudlo Island, starting 7am with the Gaiter Girls.

Coffee and cake followed at the Curlew Cafe, before taking the ferry back to to Victoria Point in time to watch the very poigiant movie "Choral".

Wednesday 14 January

The Hungry Hikers - Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, north side of Brisbane. Another 7am start to beat the heat and sweat!

The tranquil Pine River borders the wetlands.

Landscapes we walked. The roos were there, but unlike last week's Coombabah Wetlands, they were unaccustomed to humans and remained distant or hidden amongst the trees.

Spotting the roos! Overall these kangaroos were much bigger and some quite intimidating. Their numbers appeared to be much smaller, but they were hiding. So different to last week.