Life in the Upper Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia

Suzi and Neil’s house in the Upper Hunter Valley

This is where I am staying at the moment. We are in the upper reaches of a valley, in the Upper Hunter, NSW, Australia. We are 80km away from our nearest supermarket, but enjoying our splendid isolation.

Although, strictly speaking, we are not alone. In the immediate vicinity we have chickens, horses, dogs and cats – as well as a variety of wildlife, some welcome, and some not so much – especially the wild pigs, dingoes and snakes.

There are also lots of cattle and sheep roaming around the paddocks.

It’s not often that human visitor treks all the way up the 7 km drive from the road, but we are often blessed by other types of visitors…

…like this echidna, who the children named Fred.

Fred can be seen most days, ferreting for ants, his staple diet. He uses his long snout to burrow into their nests, and fends off any predators with his prickly spines.

This blue tongued skink also visits…

 

…he really does have a blue tongue

Of course, we also have the indigenous beasts like kangaroos, and goannas, plus an amazing variety of birds.

Ready to run! (Me, not the kangaroo)

These goannas can grow quite large.

Unfortunately, in country Australia, it is not uncommon to see dead animals on the roadside. They tend to just appear, and  hop, or run, straight in front of cars.

Although we live in splendid isolation, life is never boring, as there is so much to do. Chickens, dogs and horses need to be fed, then there is grooming, riding, and training dogs, and horses. Life in the country is full on.

Katelyn has her horse, Finale, to look after, and ride..

 …and she is also training her puppy, Jingle,

Who will eventually become a working dog herding cattle

Brandyn likes to help his Mummy with the chores…

…and he also chases the chickens out of the garden

Yes, country life is never boring, and everyone has their jobs to do. What a wonderful life!

Elizabeth Coughlan

Travel to Mount Gambier (Part One)

As part of my trip to Australia, I flew to Mt Gambier, in South Australia, to visit an old school friend, Mair, and her husband, Paul. Although we have been in touch by email for the last three or four years, we hadn't met since we left school fifty years ago. Mair and Paul were really kind, and went out of their way to show me as much as possible of Mt Gambier and its surrounding area in the short time we had together.

Paul and Mair

Mt Gambier isn't a mountain at all, it is really a volcano complex, with the city named after it gracing its slopes. The volcano has three craters, the largest of which contains the amazing Blue Lake that turns a vivid shade of blue in the summer. No swimming or diving is permitted in the lake, as it is the main water supply for the city.

The incredible colour of the Blue Lake

Because of its geological make up this area is known as the Limestone Coast, and the many caves and sink-holes are evidence of this. One famous site we visited, was the Umpherston Sinkhole. It was here, in 1884, that James Umpherston began to create a sunken garden in the natural sinkhole that formed when the roof of a subterranean limestone cave collapsed on his property. Today, this garden is part of a city park, and is a popular venue for weddings.

The Umpherston Sinkhole

On my first evening, I had intended to take Mair and Paul out to dinner, but I was foiled by Paul, and didn't get a chance to pay, as he insisted that I was their guest. We went to The Barn Steakhouse, where they serve the most amazing steaks, grilled over coals. For me, my Peppered Steak looked huge, but was nothing compared with the one chosen by the guy on the next table to ours (see left). He had opted for the Large Grass-Fed Rump Steak, nearly a whole kilogram of meat! He finished it too!

 The Happy Diner

The next day, we drove along the coast. The soft limestone means that the coast is constantly eroding, which leads to some extraordinary features.

We passed some petrified trees, standing in the sea.

There were also strange rock formations, this one is called Rhino Rock.

We looked out from the most southerly point of South Australia. It was quite cold and very windy, as there is nothing between here and the South Pole.

 

During our travels, we spotted this echidna.

We had such fun, but this is only half of what I saw. There is more to come in my next post about Mount Gambier.