Week 2 of the Aussie Adventure

(13^th to 21^st Nov)

This last week has been super enjoyable… Sunday afternoon (13^th Nov) was spent with Adam and his parents, we went over to Jack Duggan’s Irish Pub in Bathurst for a very entertaining evening packed full of music and some very yummy food. My mom had pre-warned me about the ‘banjo playing yokels’ before I came out to Aus and here they were in full force… we had the banjo… the rocking chair… even the veranda… but sadly not the theme tune from deliverance hehehe! It was like a jamming session I’d expect to find in someone’s garage but instead it was smack bang in the middle of the pub. There were, I guess, about 8 to 10 people sat round a table in the centre of the pub, jamming away… it was mega, if a little bemusing, they played some classic Irish tunes and everyone enjoyed a sing along.

The week following was pretty casual with lots of time spent catching up with family and friends. Shearing had been going well but there was a bit of a setback due to the rain. This means that they will now have to shear for a day or two early next week to get finished.  The farm is looking lush and green from all the rain though. In my now second week in Aus, I am soooo pleased to say I have only had one run in with a dangerous spider ‘the white-tailed spider’ this horrid little critter had made its way into the kitchen and I almost stood on it whilst trying to set the table for dinner, lucky for me Adam’s mom was at hand armed with some spider-killing-spray to detonated him. It was a good job I didn't stand on him as I hear they give you some pretty long lasting ulcers caused by the venom when they bite. These spiders look like massive giant ants with a white tip to their abdomens *shudders*. One bit of wildlife I am fascinated by is the kookaburra you see pairs of them high up in the trees in the garden and their call sounds like laughing, when a few pairs are going at once sounds like a comedy club lol.

Saturday (19^th) day time Adam and I spent playing round the farm on his motorbikes. I rode his miniature Honda motorbike however, I’m not sure it was the best idea as small as it maybe, it's a twitchy little beast and it tried to throw me off every time I hit a rock or rut as we were riding across the fields, despite that though it was the most liberating fun I’ve had in ages.

Saturday night we went over to Newbridge to spend the evening with some biker friends of Adam’s mom and dad’s. They are a charming group of individuals whose motto is ‘growing old disgracefully’ which, I’ve got to say, I love!! They are all part of Ulysses Motorcycle Club and they go off on motorcycle rides across Australia’s glorious landscapes whenever the time permits. This, I feel is my retirement destiny, I too would like to ‘grow old disgracefully’ hehehe. The evening was spent sat out in the back yard of one of the couples, on the veranda, taking in the beautiful views across Newbridge, eating homemade pizza’s, made ourselves and baked in the outdoor stone pizza oven whilst sipping on some sumptuous local plonk… Bliss! The next door neighbour of the couple is a lady, who has dedicated her life to rescuing injured animals, in most cases she nurses the animals back to full health then releases them back into the wild. There are a few cases though that will never make it back into the wild and will remain in her care for life; this is the case for a stunning little Nankeen Kestrel. The kestrel was rescued and has lived there from almost the day it hatched, it is so tame that it would never survive out in the wild as the other birds would kill it for its unusual behaviour, when the lady enters the kestrels enclosure the little kestrel jumps all over her head and shoulders wanting to play. The lady was kind enough to show Adam and I around and to introduce us to all the rescue-ees. I got up close and personal with some amazing animals that I don’t think I would ever have been lucky enough to see out in the wild and if I did they would probably be a blip on the horizon. There was a real menagerie of animals to view… goats, pigs, birds, dogs, snakes, bearded dragons to mention but a few but my favourites would have to be the little kestrel, 2 baby eastern grey kangaroos, 2 baby red wallaby’s and the little baby wombat… awwww!!

Sunday 20^th Nov Adam and I took a trip out to Kanangra Boyd National Park. The park is truly unspoilt and a far cry from the touristy nature of Katoomba and the three sisters. We walked for easily an hour, across the gently undulating Boyd Plateau viewing the marvel that is Kanangra Walls and the labyrinth of deep gorges and jagged ravines into which the plateau falls away, before coming across 2 other hikers. The views from the top of the plateau are spectacular the landscape is so raw, rugged and untouched. There are small tracks that have been worn in by years of explorers but even so you are partly walking through brush and trees the whole way as there is nothing about this mountain top that has been commercially adapted. After we had walked the plateau we headed down the mountain into a deep gully to the Kalang Falls, where Adam was brave enough to take a dip in the stunning pool that had collected at the bottom of the falls. He’s a braver man than me though as the water was freezing! There is far more to the falls than the eye can see and they flow layer by layer right down to the bottom of the mountains, we climbed a little way down, off the beaten track but to go any further you would need some serious climbing/abseiling gear.

All in all this really has been a week to remember and one I’ll be marking down in my history; I’ve been made to feel so welcome by Adam’s family and friends and I honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world and cannot believe I have seen all that I have so far on this trip, it’s truly mind-blowing. The biggest thanks go to Adam, my gorgeous boyfriend who is taking the time to show me where he’s from and all this beautiful country. Thank you Adam… all my love, K xxx