Blogs from Bega Valley, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania

.....they're feeding them out of barred containers, the cows suck, chew, nibble and clutch at, the straws sticking through the bars, otherwise not very much has been moving except on the house site. And it seems to have been a blogwhile so...for those of you patiently waiting, here's a bit of an updato. ...it seems all my creative juices have been absorbed by the construction and all the associated efforts so I'll let the pix do the talking.....(I know some of you will appreciate this!) Progress has been rapid, problems overcome, fu*kups corrected (as much as possible!) and looking at it now it is hard to believe so much has been achieved by so few in such a short space of time.....truly amazing!! ...and another big storm last weekend, winds to 130 kph but only 120mm ... read more

Two big bulls have been moved to the house paddock. They are looking forlorn…actually they’re looking ‘for lawn’ but it’s all frozen over. Maybe they are forlorn, it’s 5 degrees below zero and the ground is white to the horizon. But more depressing for these big guys is the disappearance of 95% of their job satisfaction. Nowadays everyone wants artificial insemination. These bulls are very placid, laid-back (or comatose?) occasionally picking at bits of grass and then just gazing, more gazing than grazing, blissed out or spaced out? They are big, reddy/brown and curiously furry, with low ears and a ragged topknot. Not your sleek, Aberdeen-Angus-Naugahide-look-a-likes, much furrier and no horns, which is always nice when they are up in the house paddock, a few metres from the veranda. Borne on a cold dawn. By 6.30 ... read more

Saa blev vi kastet ud i farmerlivet nogle hundrede kilometer syd for Canberra. Vi ankom til farmen fredag aften, eller "the caravan" som David sagde, og det er ogsaa mere korrekt, for det var bare en gamel campingvogn med en halvfaerdig/halvbegyndt tilbygning paa siden. Foer vi naaede frem til den havde Magnus vaeret ude og aabne adskillige porte, for derefter at lukke dem igen naar vi var koert igennem. Portene var en del af det kilometerlange hegnsystem der deler deres land op i flere omraader saa det er nogenlunde muligt at styre hvilke dyr der gaar hvor. Og med dyr menes der kvaeg, faar og 3 heste. David mener at han har lidt under 100 stykker kvaeg og omkring 50-60 faar. Stedet havde ikke rindende vand eller elektricitet, i hvert fald ik udover det 12-volts batteri ... read more

Hello Ellie here but daddy is typing. We arrived on Tuesday night had dinner and went to bed. The next day we went to watch granddad play tennis. Then we went to bed. Mummy and daddy left on Thursday to go to Melbourne. It took them 8 hours to get there. Then when they left half an hour later they came back to get Aisha’s prescription so they could get her Malaria tablets. Then we watched Anastasia again. Then, err, an hour later after we went horse racing. We were very, very bored and just before we were going to leave we saw Santa. And then we were very, very, very, very happy and stayed until the last race. On the last race nana voted for cha cha with me and it won. She won $21.30. ... read more

My next adventure was a drive from Canberra to the NSW coast and then onto Melbourne. I picked up my little hire car from the city and hit the road towards Bateman’s Bay. The sense of freedom was fantastic - I think I smiled the whole way from Canberra to the coast, especially whilst spiraling up through an amazing mountain range even though I could hear the poor car groaning!! I slowly made my way south, exploring the coastline and I came across some really beautiful beaches with gorgeous blue sea. I spent a morning on a dolphin cruise from Jervis Bay and watched a fairly large group of dolphins which was a great experience. I ended up taking so many beach photos that I’ve lost track of which beaches are which!! The bunch of pics ... read more