The Wendy House is Now Closed for Christmas

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DAY 393


Another perfect Australian morning, the bed is cosy, the sun is up although the morning is still nice and cool we are shaded by the trees. Andy sleeps in longer this morning but I get up and make a cup of tea.

Looking out into the long grass and beyond I can see lots of kangaroos and if you look hard into the grass you can see more of them if only just their little dark ears flicking around in the grass.

Much further out I can see several Emu’s walking across the plain, out onto the dam, people are bobbing about in their boats fishing, maybe they are still there from last night, who knows? While others are out on their jet ski’s, in speedboats while some are being pulled along on skis.

I leave Andy’s tea outside for him, he does not want it in bed, it will coax him out like a wild animal from its lair.

We both sit outside and read for a while, we have some breakfast cereal using the last of the fresh milk between us. I manage a couple of chapters of my book, but soon feel restless and the need to start getting ready to pack up takes over.

We start moving around but no sooner than we do I look into the long grass and find half a dozen or so kangaroos standing and watching us, I am pretty sure that they are as amazed at us as we are at them. If you look hard enough into the long grass you can see the occasional flicker of their long ears, they are there, you just have to look hard.

Before folding we empty the inside of the tent, the bed linen and sleeping bags are brought out and folded up nicely in the back of the car, everything will be either dumped in the washing machine or taken to the dry cleaners.

We are packed away without any fuss, we are hooked up and chocks away! We are ready to hit the road, dumping our rubbish in the bin on the way out.

The landscape here is beautiful a mixture of golden grasses with green trees and specks of wild flowers of different colours in areas.

The Blowering Dam has a fishing competition this weekend, we can see tents and gazebos lining the shores of the lake with plenty of 4wd’s glistening in the now warm sun.

We are overtaken near a corner by a car towing a boat, it does not cease to amaze me at how risky some drivers take things over here and overtake where solid white lines dictate that you should not and pulling just before the corner, I have held my breath on may an occasion.

We arrive in Tumut, we stop to go the Post Office to post a couple more Christmas cards and pop into the bottle shop for some bubbles for tonight at Woodstock, however the Post Office is closed so I will have to go into Wagga Wagga next week to post them.

Back on the road, we are just about a kilometre from Josh’s mum and dad’s homestead “Catanga” we take the right hand turn towards “Mundarlo” as Andrew Wemyss said that this was the quickest way to Helen and Roberts farm “Woodstock”.

If we had gone the conventional way we would have to drive 40 K’s in to Wagga then another 55 K’s out to Nangus, but in only 20 K’s we are pulling up at Helen and Roberts farm Nangus.

Inside Helen is sitting quietly having a well earned rest, we gently knock on the door and are greeted by Helen, who is pleased to see us.

After the round of hugs and kisses Helen tells us that Susan, their Daughter has gone in to Wagga to do some Christmas shopping, including buying a new Christmas tree as she does not like the one that Helen has got.

We sit and chat over a cup of tea for a while, but in a short space of time the telephone rings and Helen now needs to pop out and pick up some peaches. We all jump into Helens car and head off virtually in the direction that we came in, eventually ending up at Mrs Petty’s farm as Helen wanted to collect some fruit.

Helen rings the buzzer and Mrs Petty comes over to see who is ringing the buzzer, Helen introduces us and we sink in to conversation with Mrs Petty, who insists on us calling her Margaret.

Margaret has been to the UK and loved it, she asks us how much of Australia we have seen and we do our best to give Margaret the condensed version, she seems delighted that we have seen so much of this vast continent.

We collect two trays of peaches, that are in the cold room and put then in the car, we say our goodbyes and Merry Christmas’s even though it is about 36 degree’s this afternoon.

We get back to Woodstock and Susan is back and she has just about decorated the Christmas Tree, Helen tells us that Jason and Kristy are coming over tonight, along with Roberts Brother John, his partner Cathy, and Amy, a friend of Susan’s so we will have a full house. Caroline helps Susan finish off the tree, of course the bubbly comes out to help with the finishing touches, so the girls are starting early!

We unload the truck and park the trailer in one of the garages to keep it out of the sun, we wheel our cases up to the house.

The next important thing to go and do is say hello to all the dogs, they are all chained up in their shady little place and they are pleased to see us.

Next on the list is getting a shower, whilst Caroline is showering Helen asks me to make a start on cooking the steaks on the Barbecue, me a pommie boy cooking for Australians, the cheek of it, I better had do a Pukka job, or a will cop a flogging for this one, if everyone gets crook!!

Can you see how well we are integrating within our Australian surroundings, we are even starting to sound like Australians (not really)

The steak, chicken kebabs and the spare ribs are all cooked, everything else is prepared and we all sit around the table and have an excellent night of banter.

We have had a fun packed day, busy, busy busy, it feels nice to be back on the farm in familiar surroundings we are here, for the rest of December and January so technically the Wendy House will not be used, I hope to make some meaningful modifications to it, to make it easier on us for the next part of our adventure.

So Helen dishes up a yummy pudding (not just yummy but that is actually what its called) and with all the food eaten or should I say most of, and a few bottles of wine and beer polished off, it is now time to sink under the sheets, until tomorrow bloggers, we say goodnight.


We have a P.S ON THIS ONE.

One thing that has just tickle my fancy recently, I was reading the sequal to Diamonds and Dust, about a cattle Queen up in the Kimberly's, and an Aboriginal Child living on her station, said to her about the Jesus Fella and the Chritsmas Fella, were they one and the same person.

What a simplistic take on life.

KJ

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Photos

Kosciuzko National Park
And then there were two

Our last 2009 Pitch
Our Pitch at Yatching Point NSW

Comments

[John and Sylvia]

Happy Christmas
Glad things worked out well. Envy you your travelling. We are looking forward to going to the Birdsville races in August, then off on the big trip the following year. Had intended it this year but the GFC got in the way! Drop in and see us at Budgewoi if you are going past. John.