We were invited to spend a weekend with friends and their friends on a farm very close to Canberra in an area called Tharwa. We could only leave late on the Saturday afternoon because we had a soccer game in the morning, and a soccer game in the afternoon, and we still had to do the shopping and packing before we left. We arrived there in the dark, but at least there was a fireplace in the house / "barn" we stayed in and it was much warmer than we expected.
The awareness about the danger of bush-fires in Australia is pretty big, which means that the last time I saw a "real" fire was a couple of weeks after we got here and attended a bonfire with fire works evening in the area Sutton in NSW, near Canberra.
The girls ran around outside playing soccer by torch, adding logs to the bonfire and enjoying marshmallows on sticks.
I think we were about 30 people, kids included, and there must have been about 10 - 15 bedrooms, all with bunk beds, pillows and sheets, so we only had to take warm "doonas". I would love to have all the family and friends there for a weekend. We would have an absolute blast!
We did a lot of walking, cycling and resting on Sunday. We stayed until just before dark, which means we helped clean up - because - there are no cleaners! :-) At least all the tools were available and we could finish the job fairly quickly.
It was one of the best weekends we've had since we came here. The absolute peace and tranquility of the area was really, really good for the soul.
The one very special thing that I did not get a picture of was a doggy kennel in the middle of the bush with an inscription reading - "RIP mate!!". It looks out on a grassy area with the dog's blanket and ball still in the kennel. It was a bit of an emotional moment!
I'll add a couple of photos to this post to see how it works - herewith the first one - A FIRE!!!! Wow!!
Marshmallows on sticks and we smelled like wood smoke and LOVED it.
Mike and Kaylee at the fire. Not sure for how much longer Kaylee would be able to get on Mike's back!
Part of fire place left from demolished house.
Very wild Kangaroos - in that they kept running away from me when I wanted to take a picture. This was taken from quite a distance.
Walk up the hill.
On the way back to the house.
Ladder on fallen, cut tree.
Beautiful, beautiful tree.
And another old bathtub made into a water trough!
Open gates between feeding camps.
Fire wood.
Pulley system.
Outside the place we stayed in and where the bonfire was made.
Old, but in working order, windpomp.
View from the house.
The house / "barn" we stayed in. The place is huge. It sleeps about 40 people. It has a double volume section in the middle with rooms right around with 3 bunk beds in each room. Industrial sized kitchen with industrial sized fridges, freezer and dishwasher (thank goodness!!)
Jade was a natural with the bow and arrow and became quite accurate in hitting the target.
Kaylee also joined in for a little bit - but she spent more time playing soccer and basketball with the bigger kids.
Mike on the bow and arrow!
And.... No cleaners - so all cleaning done by whoever is last out! This is one of the best vacuum cleaners ever, and I definitely want one for the house!
The website address of Caloola Farm is www.caloola.org.au
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