We arrived at the farm at around 2.30pm and were lucky to arrive during a break in the rain. We set up the tent with haste and rigged up a temporary shelter with a tarp. Hands on hips - Katherine is NOT happy!
The rain started about 10 minutes after we set up. Talk about cutting it close! Little did we know that we would spend the next 2 days living under that tarp! Notice the bucket under the tarp. We ended up with more water than we could use. Russell Coyte would be proud!
This photo was taken from inside the car as the heavens opened up. Maybe we should have brought a boat!?!
We got another break in the rain which allowed us to start a fire to keep warm. Once the fire started up, the rain couldn't put it out!
After helping set up, Fonzi the wonder dog was exhausted. Note the bespoke jacket - very chique. After a long trip and a good feed, it was off to (early) bed for the tired travellers.
We woke the next day to a pleasant morning. We took a short walk to find some suitable sites to build our cabin. We wanted somewhere easy to get to, relatively level, close to the front boundary and overlooking the big dam. This is the spot we chose (although there was some heated debate over an alternative spot). You can see the tent and car in the distance.
Although, it didn't take long for the weather to turn nasty again. To get away from the bad weather, we planned a trip to Yass to pick up some supplies for the cabin. It was an interesting drive out of the property with the need to drive through a few ravines in the pouring rain to get to the main road.
The weather in Yass was great and a complete change from the farm. I spent my life savings at Mitre 10 on timber and supplies and we headed back to the farm. Here's a great store we found in Yass. I wonder if they have any franchise opportunities?
Driving back into the property, we saw a mob of 9 pigs, with a black and white spotted pig the star sprinter out of the pack. He went from dead last to the front of the pack, leaving his mates behind! They were too quick for a photo (or our camera was too slow to start).With all the rain, we had a welcome visitor to the camp site. We put him back in the dam before Fonzi found him.
After a freezing cold night in the tent, we awoke to a clear day and cabin building was on the agenda. You can't tell from the photos but the wind was blasting away by 10.30am and knocking everything off the table and the chairs over. Despite the wind, the building started. This is the site for the cabin facing away from the dam (uphill).
Here's the breaking of the ground. For some reason the NSW Premier or Kevin Rudd couldn't make it for the ground-breaking ceremony - not sure why. Katherine is off in the distance collecting rocks (long story!).
Here's the mobile work bench. The Rodeo did a great job, but the hard work has only just begun.
One pole in and now it's time to set the second pole. The wind on the hill was unrelenting and was so strong that it would flex the poles which were already set in concrete and pull the stakes out of the ground. It made leveling the poles an interesting task. Yes, the poles are straight - the ground's not level! Not to be mistaken for "Blue Poles" in Canberra.
Pouring the concrete for the second post. Fonzi (the site manager) is thinking that we have lost our marbles building a cabin here.
With both posts in and the concrete poured, all we had to do was hope that the wind didn't blow them over before the concrete set. This is looking down to the big dam (car and tent in the background).
While I'd hoped to set up 4 posts, the wind was so strong that I decided to call it a day. No use setting up 4 posts if they were all going to be blown over!
Later in the evening a dust storm came over the property - obviously helped by the wind. You couldn't even see the end of the property! We had to move the car next to the tent to make sure it didn't get blown over. We were starting to wonder why we hadn't packed up and gone back to Sydney. However, it would soon be dark and we were there for the night.
Miraculously the wind died down at about 7:30 pm and we were able to light a fire to keep warm. After a busy (and windy) day, we were both tired and got an early night. It was a freezing cold night and we both were cold.Up at 6:30am the next morning (Thursday, and our last day) and we were greeted by a great day. The sun was shining and no hint of wind. This is the weather we had hoped for. My posts were still standing so it was all good news. It was still really cold and the car showed the evidence. That's thick ice on the windscreen!
We started a nice fire to keep warm. Lucky the wood had dried just enough after all that rain. Fonzi was wondering when we would turn on the airconditioning.
Fonzi and Katherine in front of the fire. It wouldn't take long for the sun to make it shorts and T-shirt weather.
With a long trip ahead of us, we started to pack up. The rain helped with the dam levels. Here's a photo of the big dam. The level has increased a fair bit since our last visit. There has to be some benefit to all that rain!
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