A time for..............Catching up.

One of the reasons we chose to leave our overseas posting to come home to Australia earlier this year was the desire to catch up with everything that needed doing 'at home'.  Even though we tried to keep up with things whilst home on holidays, inevitably many things were left un-done.  I feel really fortunate to have the time this year, not 'only' to pursue my dream of building a Toy Train Museum, but to catch up with many other things which I had long wanted to do.


I've been slowly catching up with all the mowing and tidying up that needs doing around our property "Whistlestop".  Of course, this is something I absolutely love to do, and I get a real kick from looking at an area that is 'finished', compared to what it looked like before I started. But there's another aspect to all this mowing and clearing, and that is the responsibility to minimise the bushfire risk on our property.  Whilst there is always more I can do in this regard, keeping the grassy areas properly mown is a very good start.  


While there are still quite a few things to catch up with, in the last few days we've largely sorted out two things which had become really run down in the last few years.  We're having some family stay with us at Whistlestop next week and this has been the catalyst.  We used our  fold-out campervan extensively when our kids were growing up, mainly going for holidays to the beach, but in recent years it's just been sitting idle.  It's quite old- perhaps a 'Classic'- and really needs re-juvenation.  This week I attended to some of the things that needed doing, and already it looks and works a lot better!  There's certainly more to do, but it's a great feeling to be able to 'tick' some things of the 'to-do' list!    I'm really looking forward to hitting the road with the campervan again, perhaps visiting some of the many beaut Old Machinery rallies around the country.

The other thing that needed some serious attention was the 'cubby' house that I built for our girls many years ago.  Again, it's had lots of enjoyable use, but in the last few years it's become more of a storage shed.  Dare I say it was full of junk?  With kids coming next week it was high on the list to refresh the cubby!  And that's what was achieved today.  What a dreadful job it was, but it's now as good as ever.

While these might seem like small, even insignificant, achievements, it is a really satisfying feeling to do things, finish things, which I've wanted to do for years.  To have the time to spend on doing stuff, and spending time with friends and family, is very, very special.

It never rains but it pours. Well, it can now!!

Beautiful weather here at the moment- frosty mornings, but beautiful sunny days- make it an absolute joy working outside at Whistlestop.  I'm really happy with what I'm getting done- mostly catching up with mowing etc. - and at least in part the place is looking better than ever.


Just as exciting, if not more so, is the progress on our cottage.  I'd have to say that progress so far has been agonisingly slow, and perhaps will continue to be, however today saw the roof effectively completed.  As well as making it waterproof, we can now get a really good idea of the space we have available.  The walls are reasonably high, but more importantly the roof is a fairly steep pitch and so gives a great feel of spaciousness.  The roof rafters are lovely solid timber, although eventually they will be painted.

Remember I said 'effectively' complete?  The builders were one sheet of iron short, which is pretty annoying.  So until this arrives and is fitted we also can't fit the ridge cap.  In any case, I was really pleased and excited to see the progress and very happy with how it all looks.  


I can't wait!!

Rickshaw

Here are a couple of pictures of the infamous Bangladeshi Rickshaw, now safely home at Whistlestop.  This is definitely not the normal sort of thing that I collect, however unusual modes of transport do interest me, and I have a Chinese bicycle also.  A Bangkok Tuk Tuk, and a filipino Jeepney would go well in this collection, too!!

Some "Bollywood" detail on the seat!

A Fantastic Time in Outback Oz

We're back home again after our trip south.  Our primary aim, of course, was simply to collect the Rickshaw and bring it home safely, which we achieved.  More than that, though, I really wanted to re-connect with country Australia, having lived away for so many years, and I definitely feel that I've very much achieved that goal too!  Putting it simply, we had an absolutely fantastic time everywhere we went!!


We caught up with friends and family, and I very much enjoyed playing Thomas the Tank with a super young bloke called Josh, and Lego with his beaut sister Nathalie.  

The timing of the trip enabled us to visit the Echuca Steamfest, which was also very good, complete with superb weather.  The highlight for me here- though not steam- was the gathering of Fergies, from the Harry Ferguson Club.  Back in the 50's Ferguson supported farmers in the field with travelling technicians who got around in a fleet of Standard Vanguards.  The Tractors use the same engines as the Vanguards.  Anyway, there was a re-created Ferguson Vanguard here, which I really liked.

We also loved the town of Echuca- Australia's main river port- with many active paddle steamers still based there on the Murray River.

Jenni even found a friendly cat, which welcomed her to the wharf area!!

I found some restored Victorian Railways carriages on the wharf, which I remember so fondly from childhood.

For many years I have wanted to re-visit the Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement which had such an impact on me as a young bloke.  So it was absolutely fantastic to finally be able to do this, and again the weather was superb.  I was a bit tentative- a little worried that the museum wouldn't live up to my expectations, but I'm happy to report that this was not true!  It was fantastic!!  Yes, there were some things which could have been better, but overall it is a really wonderful Pioneer Settlement.  My comment to my wife just before we left on the second day of our visit was that "I want to live here"!!  For me, it truly captures the best of those early days, which of course is it's aim.

We really enjoyed the driving too.  We tried to stick to smaller roads as much as possible, preferring to stay off the highways.  Between Rankins Springs and Lake Cargelligo, which was a very good road, we literally saw no other traffic in about 2 hours of driving!!  The countryside looks fantastic, and the towns we visited were mostly very attractive and friendly.  It was such a pleasure cruising along through the countryside.


I feel more excited than ever to get stuck back into my own project- Whistlestop- which I hope will capture something of Australia's character.  Many thanks to everyone who made this trip for us so special.

Where Rails Once Ran

While on our trip south, one of the things I wanted to do was to seek out abandoned railway lines, either completely abandoned, or re-opened as Railtrails.  There is usually a real sense of history or heritage about these lines which is often absent in lines which have survived and been modernised.  One of the most spectacular lines that I've ever seen is the NSWGR line which ran from Narranderra south to the Victorian/NSW border at Tocumwal.  


This line leaves Narranderra via a series of superb timber bridges over the Murrumbidgee River.  The first, and biggest, of these has been disected to facilitate road traffic below one of it's spans.

Just up the embankment to the south of this bridge I took a photo along the abandoned tracks.

I didn't have time to walk along this line, however for the first 20 k's or so out of Narranderra it ran through some quite nice Aussie bush, and would make a really nice walk. One day.....................

Head South for the Winter

We've just been on a short trip down south to pick up something that I bought some time ago, but haven't been able to collect, until now.  It's a Bangladeshi Rickshaw, brought back by my brother-in-law who lived in Dhaka for a while.  I really don't know what I'll use it for, but I'm sure I'll never get another opportunity to buy one, so jumped at the chance.  Here's a picture of it in our trailer, with the elaborate hood tied down behind the seat for safety during it's much-higher-than-normal-speed travel.

My daughter Jo wants to ride in it, while I pedal, during our Apple and Grape Festival held every second year in Stanthorpe.  Fortunately the route of the parade is downhill, as this thing is seriously heavy!!  My heart goes out to the Bangla Rickshaw wallahs who have to make a living pedalling these things over very indifferent roads, every day.

A 'Serious' start

Back at home again, a 'serious' start has been made on clearing the site for the Trainbarn.  We've had some good rain again recently so the soil is really moist, which makes it a lot easier to dig out the scrub, complete with roots, so that it won't grow up again.  If I can keep going at this rate I'll have it cleared in about a month, which is sooner than expected.

A lot of what I'm digging out is scrubby Tea Tree, of the variety Leptospermum.  We have recently become aware that this is fantastic for bees to make honey from, and is similar to, but reportedly better than, the New Zealand Manuka honey, which is becoming quite well known.  We do intend to keep bees here on Whistlestop, and to sell our Jellybush Honey, so now I'm feeling slightly guilty each time I dig out a tea-tree!!  Ok, there are about 100 more acres of tea-trees for the bees to do their best with..................

I use Fergie to pull out the bigger tea-trees and stumps.  Simply chain said tree to the drawbar, select 'up' with the three point linkage control, and voila, out comes the tea tree!  It's that simple!  Would be quicker and easier with one person on Fergie and one person on the 'chain-gang', but it's a very effective way of getting them out cleanly.

It's now warm enough to venture outside after a very heavy frost last night, so, back to it!!  Lovely clear blue-sky days at the moment.