An English Garden in The Australian Bush

Located in the Blue Mountains 80 kms. west of Sydney is one of the most beautiful private gardens in Australia. The garden is being created by two very dedicated gardeners over a period of 29 years, it is a work in progress. The property covers 4 hectares.

When work started on the garden it was a wasteland, covered by blackberry, bracken and thornbush. This area was heavily logged over a hundred years ago, to create this garden the current owners ensured no native trees were destroyed. Many of the original Eucalypts that were left by the timber companies are still standing and create a contrast with the introduced plantings of cherry, magnolias, dogwood, maples and pines.

It is a very special place and we were fortunate to spend a few hours there recently with the owners.

Motherhood by Tom Coley

Hawkesbury River - Sydney

Like many people who have decided to buy a boat we often find that ours sits there for a year before we organise ourselves to go out in it. It's a pity, Sydney has an amazing collection of bays, beaches, rivers and of course one of the best harbours in the world.

Friday March 4th. was one of the days when we finally got it into the water. Just a few hours but enough time to travel 20kms. downriver to one of our favourite places. It's a small sandy beach which is part of the national park. Unfortunately swimming is out, too many sharks in this part of the river but it's a great place for lunch with a cold glass of white wine or a beer.

We are never short of company at this place, Goannas have realised that humans often bring food, it's a constant battle to keep watch so they dont steal our lunch. Today there were four Goannas, working as a team. One would act as a decoy while the others approached from the opposite direction. One very large one at about 1.6 metres. The one in the following photo was around 1.3 metres. These ones are not afraid of humans, they will retreat if you approach but are soon back on the prowl when you turn your back.

The river is home to the Jelly Blubber, it got this name because people could not remember the official name. Some can grow up to 35cm. diameter.

Species:

mosaicus

Genus:

Catostylus

Family:

Catostylidae

Order:

Rhizostomeae

Class:

Scyphozoa

Phylum:

Cnidaria

 

If sharing your lunch with Goannas after wading through swarms of Jelly Blubbers is not for you it's possible to charter a plane and dine at The Berowra Waters Inn.