A Cairns Escape

Ahhhh.... what a beautiful six days we just had at Treetops Lodge in Cairns!  We thoroughly enjoyed our little holiday and were able to fully relax...!

 Nahlia enjoying teasing the goldfish in the pond.

 Eating in the tree-tops literally!

An Ulf creation:  Pineapple Kombucha Smoothie... delicious!

 Palm Cove Beach

 Having a go on her bike at the beach.

 Nahlia swimming by herself, with only the aid of a pool noodle!  She learnt this skill in less than 6 days - amazing!  

 A Kombucha Bar at Rusty's Markets.... yummy and great for us!

 Rusty's Markets

 Enjoying the swing... she asks us to sing the theme song to the Heidi cartoon everytime she's on it!

 Dragonfruit - the fruit of a cactus.

 Stony Creek...

 ... a pristine freshwater creek in the middle of the rainforest...

... which we enjoyed in the rain...

 

 ... after some bush-bashing to get there... :)

Dadda and Nahlia share some mango... awwww....!

It was lovely to forget about everything and just be together.

... and a little trip to Mourilyan

 Nahlia in my mother's garden, showing me the bees on the cinnamon basil bush.

 Swimming at Davies Creek... SO beautiful!  We had a lovely time there, with Daniel and Silke Roth.

 A Kombucha experiment:  a used vanilla bean pod in the brew.... and the result - something delicious that reminds me of creaming soda!  Yum!

On the 17th we headed down to Mourilyan, a coastal town, to visit some interesting people for the day.  We had read David's article in a local magazine and were interested to meet him.  For the last six years, he and his wife Jocelyn and two children lived in a shed while they gradually built their home on 18 acres.  Their lifestyle and daily rhythm was a beautiful thing to see and hear about first hand.  They have been living off their land as much as possible, with little income and even less expenses.  They are 'off the grid' in the most important of ways - their life values and principles - but they are connected to mains power and water.  They have grown and slaughtered pigs for meat, have many beehives and much honey in the storehouse, grow their own veggies and preserve whatever excess arises, have a food forest and an orchard, as well as their much-loved chickens, the odd duck and a friendly goose.  They only travel to town once a fortnight to buy groceries (and only because they have to), and make no other car travel.  They work about 6 hours a day, give or take, to care for their food-producing plants and animals, they homeschool their children, have a siesta after lunch, and have no debt!

 Their lovely Spanish-Mission style home is a U-shape with a central courtyard.

What I liked the most about David and Jocelyn's home and lifestyle, was that they were enjoying life!  They were not stressed by financial pressures, were not running this way or that trying to meet deadlines or societal expectations.  They described themselves as modern-day peasants.... and it was obvious that they were happy and free.  ...  truly inspiring!

'Passing the time'

 Nahlia modelling her new skirt... made out of my grandmother's hand-embroidered tablecloth.

 Mum took me to see the Phantom of the Opera... what a nice treat!  It's always fun to dress up occasionally...

 My first attempt at pumpkin sourdough bread.... not bad, but it rose even less than my normal sourdough does.

 Enjoying some Kombucha on a couch covered with fake grass... at a funky cafe in Yungaburra.... 'That Retro Cafe'.

 Nahlia first trike... the beginning of learning her bicycle skills.

 A picnic rug / play rug...

 Another birthday...

 ... which we celebrated at 'Koala Gardens' in Kuranda.

This was amazing to see, but as we lived among wild kangaroos in Melbourne, we realised quickly that these were not real kangaroos...  :(

 Having a splash in a wading pool, Kuranda.

 It started with a new phone cover, then the creative splash went onto a new purse, which I really needed, and finished with a tissue holder..... which gave me a three piece matching set in my handbag!  Totally unplanned, I just followed where the creativity led me!  So fun!

 'Maya Chocolate Pie'... my raw birthday cake..... *drool*!

Reading about peaceful parenting... with Nahlia! Ha!

Loving the water yet again.... enjoying Lake Tinaroo.

Having fun and making friends at Playgroup!

A beautiful sunset at my Mum's place.

... So this is how we've been spending our last few months in Australia!

And now, with four weeks to go until we fly out of Australia, we're slowly getting excited!  There's many little things to do before then, 'tying up loose ends', finishing a few last sewing projects, visiting friends in the area, and plenty of sorting and chucking, and then there's the packing, packing, packing!