Tuesday, August 31, 2010

A breath of fresh air..

Hello and happy new week to you all! I have read some of your weekend posts and it sounds like most of you enjoyed a great one. The kids and I are no exception and early (very early!) on Saturday morning we kissed Marshall goodbye and drove three hours into the stunning Kangaroo Valley South of Sydney. On our way to an adventure that included hiking a mountain, dipping our feet at the bottom of a deep forest water fall, off-roading, standing face to face with kangaroos and lots more!

Sign on the way to our cabin. Kangaroo Valley village bridge. View near Belmore. 

This place is so 'me' - it's rugged, mountainous, remote and incredibly stunning. The air is fresh, the  people down to earth and friendly, the villages quaint, (and full of antique stores!!),  the vegetation lush and there is plenty of wildlife. And just generally, you kind-a know that if you drive on something called 'Ruins Fire Track' then you are bound to end up somewhere fabulously adventurous..! :)

 Our rented cabin and property gate. The mountain track, sign & our garden.

The cabin we rented was pitched high up on a mountain side in the middle of nowhere. It really was in the middle of no where! Having climbed the mountain on a smallish road for ca 8 kms, our turn off was onto a 'fire trail' (dirt track) that lead us another 6kms straight into the bush! Something that made the kids a little unsettled at first but that made me squeal in excitement from the first bump to the final stop at our gate. I have a thing for 'off road driving'..! :)

 This is where I stood as I finally was able to send Marshall an SMS - the track to my right, a very steep drop in front of me and the rest of the mountain behind my back. Such a fabulous place to be whilst tapping in a message on an iPhone..! :)

There was no phone line or mobile connection where we were staying and having promised Marshall I would call 'as soon as we got there' I had to power-hike for 30 minutes up to the mountain to be able to use my mobile. As I stood there in the silence of this amazingly vast sub-tropical rain forest I felt so peaceful and centered. I remembered how much I miss my beloved mountains in Sweden and how really I feel more at home in hiking boots than in a bikini..! You can take the girl out of Sweden, but not take Sweden out of the girl...!

 Isabella eying a family of kangaroos on the lower terrace of our garden. We counted 8 of them before they hopped off.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the terrain and stare in amazement at our neighbours - 8 kangaroos, five wombats, lots of foxes and an abundance of birds! A BBQ dinner, glass of red wine and the soothing crackles of the fire place later we all felt totally relaxed and our busy lives in Sydney felt very (!) far away. As it was so completely pitch-black outside and a crisp & clear night, we got to enjoy what to me was the best view of the 'Milkyway' I have ever seen (and I have been in some pretty remote places in the world before..!). It took my breath away and when I saw a shooting star I knew this place was truly magical. The perfect ending to a long and fun-filled day.


If you are wondering about Marshall.. ? Well he enjoyed a kid-free morning (I know all you parents out there sigh in envy..!), breakfast with a friend at a gorgeous cafe, a wine tasting in the Quantas gold club lounge and a late-afternoon flight to Asia where he will work for the next ten days whilst I run a 'one woman band' back in Sydney with the kids.. :)


Happy Tuesday all!

xx Charlotta

33 comments:

Unknown said...

What a fabulous way to spend the weekend Charlotta!! I ♥ your photos! that one with Isabella and the cute Cangaroo in the back is precious. I am glad you got some time to decompress =D

I spent all saturday by the pool with a girlfriend and our kids, tons of fun and talkin and drinking lemonade. All sunday was spent doing some shopping [i am getting a new stove yay] xoxoxox

Lilla huset på prärien said...

Hej söta du!

Jag vill att du ska veta att jag blir så glad för dina söta kommentarer - de värmer! Och så blir jag också glad av dina härliga bilder. Våra barn börjar ju (äntligen) bli lite större nu så vi har börjat fundera på resor. Min låtsas familj i USA vill att vi ska komma dit (familjen från mitt utbytesår...) men mannen min vill ju att vi ska åka till Australien. Han bodde ju där ett år på stipendium och spelade aussie rules. Vill till båda ställena såklart men det hade varit jättekul att se Australien. Och jag blir väldigt sugen när jag läser dina inlägg :)

Kram Jenny

THE ALTERNATIVE WIFE said...

That sounds and looks absolutely spectacular Charlotta!!! The photos are breathtaking and it sounds heavenly to get away to somewhere so remote and filled with such beauty.

Glad you had a fabulous time :) xoxo

debra @ 5th and state said...

looks divine charlotta and a lovely place to have a blog convention :-)
debra

Kelly Frances Dunn said...

Oh I am smiling about the off roading enthusiasm :) I can almost smell the fresh air from these pictures. My kids would be just thrilled to the bone to have a day like that. They both love to watch Bindi the Jungle Girl and my oldest just wants to have a day outdoors without paying for it at night. I'm interested in hearing about the other remote places!! Onward and upward, enjoying life as we go :)

XO,

Kelly

jeanette from everton terrace said...

What a weekend - fantastic. I would so enjoy to spend some time there. That view of the vista with the trees is breathtaking!
I also prefer hiking boots to a bikini.

Jude said...

These photos are so fantastic! The one with the kangaroo very sweet. P.S. Despite my tropical upbringing, I too prefer hiking boots :)

Will @ Bright.Bazaar said...

Wow! What a stunning and beautiful place. Perfectly captured in these photographs, too. And, as for standing face-to-face with Kangeroos - amazing! Glad you had fun! xo

A Perfect Gray said...

Charlotta, those beautiful photos are beyond description. Especially the one with the kangaroos. Breath-taking. Enjoy it all! Love, Donna

Nordic Sence said...

Hej!

Tack för din hälsning på min blogg! Blir såå sugen på att resa till Australien när jag ser alla bilder..

Tittar gärna in här snart igen;-)

Linda

Anonymous said...

The second and third photos are breathtaking. As you said, remote, and it's stunning! I hope we get to go there someday, I'm sure my son would love it. Haha kid-free time... yeah tell me about it. Last week was 'family week' (no kindergarten, no office, just play) and we had loads of fun but it was exhausting! He went back to kindergarten today and I just enjoyed the silence at home :-D

Kerri - Driftwood Interiors said...

I love Kangaroo Valley - it's such a beautiful part of the world. What a great way to spend your weekend, and I'll bet your kids loved absolutely loved it! K xx

k said...

what beautiful pics! everything looks so picturesque!

Punctuation Mark said...

what a beautiful place to go to... it's like an enchanted forest... have a nice one!

Stacey said...

Wow! I love the photographs and the terrain is divine. Oh, how i would love to see a kangaroo in real life...

Cath said...

Ahhh.. reminds me of family holidays in the south west of WA in winter. Cold, muddy, with heaps of fun had playing in the bush for hours on end. Every evening we would grab our torches and play 'spotto' with the local kangaroo gang, then mugs of Milo before the fire and off to sleep in bunks in our sleeping bags. GREAT memories!

x Cath

Tuuli - Lumo Lifestyle said...

What a great weekend, gorgeous views! I am still amazed about the variety of Australian nature.

To my delight we also saw kangaroos several times, I saw more in one day than Klaus had seen in twelve months 20 years back.

Unknown said...

It sounds like you had a wonderful weekend in a beautiful part of our country! xx

Signe said...

Amazing pictures, hope I get to see Australia one day!

copywaitress said...

What an amazing pics - especially this one with Isabella and kangaroos:) Oh... lucky you... :)

Greet Lefèvre said...

Hi dear Charlotta,
This trip must have been amazing! Oh my goodness, In Belgium we don't have a place like this! I know it only exists in Australia, the most beautiful country of the world! You are a lucky girl!
Nice to see that you and your family have spent a wonderful time together!
Have a nice week Charlotta and thank you so much for stopping by today!
xx
Greet

Unknown said...

Amazing! Just amazing, the photo with your daughter and the kangaroo in the distance just took my breath away!xx

Linda Merrill said...

Looks amazing - thanks for the tour!

Unknown said...

ahh Such a beautiful place!! Looove the pictures!!! My husband is also leaving in two weeks for 10 days to Japan... so if you have any tip...please help!!! I'm going to need them!!
I am so happy I finally made it here.. I've been meaning to write you an email... dying to connect more as it seems we have more things in common... my sons Tomas, 6 and Mateo 4!!! Love your comments... you so nice!!!
Send you all the energy for this week..!!! Best, Se

Splendid Willow said...

No way! I am saying that dear Marshall missed out! Next time take me with you! I am a pretty good co-driver (haha!) and I would do anything to hang out with some handsome Kangaroos! And with you of course!

oxo Mon

beauty comma said...

hi charlotta,

thanks for your comment! if you want to see sunflowers fields, just go to france in july =)

Kerry said...

Isn't Kangaroo Valley wonderful. So glad you got a taste of its magic. You'll have to go back again with Marshall :)

Tina said...

Charlotta!
What a fabolous peak of your life to share with all of us readers! Amazing pictures, I could almost feel being right there as I was reading and watching them at the same time.
You are really good with words and bring so much feelings into it. Your posts is like watching a movie!
Sounds your spouse had a great time as well:)
Thanks for sharing, I leave this post with a calm and happy feeling inside of me.
Take care!

Ingrid said...

Thank you Charlotta for your beautiful walk of nature...

have a lovely day

Ingrid

Gabby / Gypsy*Diaries said...

The images are so so pretty... what a gorgeous place! You lucky girl!
xxx

http://gypsy-diaries.blogspot.com/

P.S: I'm having a very cute giveaway, come and check it out! ;)

72 and sunny said...

all that I kept thinking was, I need to get to australia, i need to get to australia. Your photos really made me feel a part of the environment.

So often, all I see are photos for travel guides, not the real, stuff.

and kangaroos!!?? how CRAZY is that for an American to imagine.

what's the history on the fort?

D. Jean Quarles said...

Wow! What a great post. Loved the pics. I'm a mountain girl myself and you had me wishing I was there.

Splenderosa said...

Wonderful for you guys, Charlotta. What a delightful experience. Isabella looks precious running after the 'roos. xx's

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