We went out to the block for a couple of days camping over Easter with my brother. It started out rainy, but by the time I'd erected the camp kitchen covering (of dubious utility in the end) the rain had eased off and it looked like we were going to have a great time of it.
It was great to get out there and not be thinking about working there, just to enjoy the place. We had a campfire on the Friday evening, and retired relatively early after a big day getting everything together.
On the Saturday morning we took a walk down the eastern gulley, discussing the geology of the region, and examining the rocks in the outcrops we came across. We found some nice specimens of sedimentary rocks that had been broken and reset during their lifetime, where the alternating bands of coloured stone had shifted in relation to one another. I'll remember to get a picture of some next time I'm out there so you can share in our excitement ;-)After that little jaunt we set out for the creek. We'd brought the inflatible boats along so the lads could have a float about which they enjoyed for a while. They've got a bit of learning to do before they get paddling under control though!
After doing that for a while we wandered up the rocky hillside, then returned to camp as there was quite a storm brewing on the horizon. It set in after lunch, torrential rain like we would only expect whilst camping. DW packed the kids up and headed home, whilst brother and I resolved to brave the elements and camp onward.
The rain calmed down in the early evening, so we sparked up another fire and he cooked me up a camp stew. That and a couple of beers helped keep the chill at bay, and by bedtime there were hints of moonlight through the clouds, offering us the promise of a sunny dawn.
Sadly, that wasn't to be, with even darker clouds on the horizon the next morning. We madly packed up the site and set off home, resolving to choose better weather next time. All in all it was a great time, and it helped clear the head of all the issues surrounding the place. It's funny how spending time out there doing jobs prevents me from remembering the other reasons why we liked the place, just for the sheer beauty and peacefulness of it all. Being out there has reaffirmed that, and made me keen to get on with the project so we can live out there (sometime in the next 10 years ;-) )
To that end, I stopped procrastinating over designing the intersection for the laneway, finished drawing it up and had it submitted to council not long after Easter. Back to the waiting game again, but with a bit more enthusiasm than we've had in recent months.
April 30 (if all goes according to plan) sees the end of the fire danger season, which will mean we can camp out and have a fire whenever we choose, rather than needing to organise permits in advance. I think the odd weekend campout will do us all the world of good! I can do a couple of days (or half days) of work there, with a relaxing evening around the campfire to finish it off.
Photos courtesy of Mr M.C. used with kind permission!
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3 comments:
Reading your post brought the memories flooding back. We too spent endless weekends on our block, living off the BBQ plate and sleeping in a swag and of course dreaming of the house we were going to build. Now we're in the house and still building, we reminded ourselves over Easter how important it is to stop and enjoy the place without the pressure of getting jobs finished.
Glad to read you got to enjoy your place over Easter, it's not easy when there are so many jobs to do is it? I'm afraid to think what it will be like when we start building, it's bad enough now lol!
We arrived at the same conclusion as you, we need to make sure we set time aside to have fun there, which makes sense when we say it like that, but up until the Easter break we hadn't realised what we were missing out on, or even that we had been missing out.
Yes! Looks like you had fun. It's always important. Great photos, Geoff.
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