Just had a right laugh on a weekend away in the Megalong Valley (yes, that really is it's name and it is mega long) in the Blue Mountains.I always laugh that this region west of Sydney is described as mountains when it is in fact a long range of canyons that you look down on. I just don't get the Blue Mountains at all. Ok, they are quite a bit higher than sea level than the rest of the state but mountains is really pushing it. Let's just say as you drive along the flat road that runs along the top of the range, you are hardly transported to the cuckoo clocks and leiderhosen of Switzerland. The biggest town, Katoomba, is quite a tip, full of crummy 'antique' shops and fudgeries and apart from a view hotels with nice views down the valleys, being the home town of 'yulefest - the annual Christmas in July festival' doesn't impress me one bit. Give me the alps any day. That said we headed off on Friday evening to meet up with neighbours Rob and Freya and friends Deb and Ewan and their son Joshua at a house Rob built for Ewan's uncle (pix to come). It is in the middle of nowhere deep in the Megalong Valley and is accessed by dirt track and after passing through 3 separate farm gates. Kangaroos, hop, cows moo, horses neigh and really loud sqawky birds wake you at 5am. That's if you have been kept awake all night by possums on the tin roof and a bird that makes a sound likes it's opening an closing an umbrella. The house is a huge wood and glass structure with a main house and two guest cabins connected by a wooden walkway. The loo is one of those composting ones you don't want to inspect too closely with a torch but which is entirely odour free and fantastic for the environment - the human 'compost' going on to be reused in the garden. Thought Scarlett would freak out when she saw the big dark hole but she couldn't care less. The house sits at the bottom of a huge sandstone escarpment that looks amazing as the sun hits it throughout the day. It was 35 degrees on Saturday so we entertained the kids with a container of water and a sandpit. After a big lunchtime sleep we all piled into the back of the flatbed farm truck and bounced off across the fields to see horses and cows. The kids LOVED the truck, no seatbelts, in fact no seats, just lots of bouncing about. Later we fed the horses carrots which sent Scarlett into hysterics of laughter as their big teeth and lips snaffled the food from her little hand. Salivatastic. We were shattered when we got back home last night and were all in bed by 8.30pm fast asleep. Today we're off to the north shore for 3 weeks to house sit for Zoe and paul. They have a house you could fit ours in at least twice, it has a pool, a big garden and best of all is 5 minutes from two fantastic surf beaches and I get to commute to work by ferry which I'm looking forward to. I'm sure Zoe and Paul think we are quite odd wanting to move into their house, but for us it's like a holiday. Then there's only 3 weeks after we come back home that we head to Blightey. Yahoo!
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