Somewhere to lay your weary head

Work is progressing on the guest room and ensuite and over the next few weeks most of it should be finished with just a few minor fixes left to do.

It should end up a nice quiet, comfortable and private space for friends and relatives to hang out, sleep and enjoy the tranquility.
If your in the neighbourhood; drop in!

Next on the giant list of things to do is the pergola which will be attached to the shed where the grapes and passionfruit will be grown for summer shade and the fruit of course!

One more job almost finished and a hundred more to go!!! any volunteers???

At least you'll have somewhere to lay your weary head! LOL!

It's Raining, It's Pouring!

So the Rain Gods smiled and brought us rain!!! and plenty of it too!

This is good news for us as we can now plant trees.

And, thanks to Kevin, we have a new water tank at the top of the hill and a pump to fill it from the dam. This will gravity feed all the taps on the property so we have even more water to drink in the house tanks.

The Veggies are growing and we now feed ourselves most nights from the garden. The fruit trees are going in one by one and i look forward to the fruit over the next few years.

Who needs the Zoo?

The natives have been out and about with the coming of the warm weather. our house snake has appeared and we have nicked him 'Monty'... every home should have one!

We are surronded by natures treasures, with Finches, Echidnas, Galahs, Martins, Currawongs, Wallabies and Black Cockatoos just to name a few of the species that we have seen on the property since arrinving.



Isn't Mother Nature wonderful!

Job Vacancy... Rain God

With 2 rainwater tanks giving us a total of 45,000 lts. it's surprising how fast it can all disappear!

Of course it didn't help that the previous owners left the tanks half empty.

With our trees and vege garden going in, the water levels have been dropping fast. so money has been invested in a decent water pump to pump water from the spring and an extra 10,000 ltr tank for the top corner of the property which will then gravity feed to the taps along the sheds and garden. luckily all the piping has been already installed and all we have to do is connect the pump, tank and the garden hose for it all to work.

Having said all that; today we have had the worst dust storm in history and the air is dusty and dry and the plants are suffering. If it rains now we will get some great topsoil!!! if you know a good rain dance please let me know!



(Photo Courtesy Tweed Daily News)

A Blank Canvas

The view from the house site looking up Limpinwood Valley, north to the Queensland border. It is wonderful waking up each morning to look out at this scene... I will never get tired of the vista.

The area of land which will be levelled to create the foundations for the house which will made from the soil inself. This method known as Pise' will mean that the walls will be thick and strong (300mm) and the colour of the subsoil.

The view looking west up the land to the road, showing the dual driveway and where the new tank will sit in the top corner, this is to supply water from the spring fed dam to the taps in the garden for irrigation.

An overview of the ridge with the sheds and house site. The road down to the dam will be regraded and the dam wall lifted from the extra clay.

The dam level never drops and the water constanly runs through the overflow to continue it's way into Hopping Dick Creek which flows into the Oxley River and then ultimately becoming the Tweed River.

So what's the plan...

The view south from the property over to Wollumbin (Mt. Warning)


A long and slow jouney now begins... we intend to over the next few years to build our home, using the very earth on which we live as the basis for the walls (Pise`), but we must first start to repair the land and make it more comfortable to live on. So first up is a shade sail over the front of the cottage (shed) we now live in... it looks like it's going to be a very long, hot summer here on the north coast this year. Next will be the extra water tank and pump to bring the water up from the spring fed dam up to the top of the property which will then gravity feed to the taps around the buildings. can't waste too much of our precious drinking water (from the rain gods). we have already started on the vegie garden (heritage variaties) and planting trees and shrubs. The compost bin and worm farm are also up and running.
Will keep you informed as more progresses. Ciao for now!

The story so far...

The view north over to Wanungara and Limpinwood Valley.

The name "Wanungara" refers to the Yugambeh legend of how the rivers were born.

The story* tells that long, long ago, Wanungara, Queen of the Mountains, had twin daughters the silver streams, Princesses Tooloona and Caningera (Canungra).

They planned to flow to the ocean northwards by young Jamborin (Tamborine) then eastwards overtaking the waters of the Koomooroo (Coomera) Princesses, daughters of Illinbah and Hobwee, who were betrothed to Jamborin, but Queen Wanungara was sad as her daughters had defied her wishes. For centuries, she had watched across a great valley to lonely, isolated, Nimbin and wished her daughters would go that way to the ocean.

In her wrath and despair she sent rain, wind and flood.

The frightened Princesses ran wildly trying vainly to cross the hills where the Koomooroo Princesses were flooding the foothills of Jamborin. Drenched by the fury of Wanungara's wrath, Jamborin sent his flood waters down to the loyal Koomooroo Princesses, down past Illinbah and Hobwee, eastward to the ocean.

The mountains, rivers and valleys have grown very old. You may stand on old Jamborin's southern shoulder and see the valleys of the Koomooroo and Caningera carved so deep that there can be no turning back or joining together.

* This story was translated by Arthur Groom in the late 1930s