further into the bush

Now this really is rural, still within the lush coastal swathe of countryside and not what the Australians call the outback.

My hosts Carl and Rachel live in a great house on the very outskirts of a small village right in the bush. There were signs along the road warning of kangaroo, koala and emu. Two of which i saw, the roos plentiful in the shade of giant eucalypts in the afternoon sun, a couple of emu and the koala being somewhat elusive or just too well camoflaged, asleep in their trees.

I strimmed and weeded and installed irrigation for the new veggie gardens, mended the chook fence and washed the pig, cleaned out gutters and fed the worms in the worm farm and the chooks and the rabbit.

In the afternoons we visited a couple of local towns on the coast, shopping and to go to the beach or i took the car and went exploring or to the beach for a swim, shame i didn't have my board, as the waves were better than ever and the beach almost deserted. Cooked some great dinners, chilled with home brew or homemade ginger beers out under the shade of the eucalyptus till dusk when we hid inside behind the protective mesh door and window covers that kept out the clouds of mosquitoes that came in search of blood each evening.

They warned me about snakes, which freaked me out a bit, i was cautious about the tall grass and about lifting bits of wood and moving things that were lying out in the sun and checking in my bed each night and am slightly dissapointed to have come away without not even the sighting of a tail fleeing into the undergrowth.

I am fleeing too now, back towards Sydney where the big metal bird awaits to take me back to England at the end of the week and i still have plenty to do....