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