The small town vibe

Upon arrival to our gusty little town of Gerringong, our breath was taken away by the stark beauty of the land around these traps. In the past week we have explored from the bustling city of Wollongong to the time warped small towns of the Kangaroo Valley and it is the scenery that we are most taken by. The intensity of colour and the contrasting green of the valley hills to the vast blue skies has been well... breathtaking. It is hard to look around these parts and not see the handiwork of a good God behind it all.

 

Our days have been busy and jam packed this last week. We arrived on Wednesday to a warm welcome from our dear friends, lunch with Dan and Ren and dinner with Ames and Grant. It felt good and we were settled instantly. Inda however has been having a hard time adjusting to the holiday. Her days are spent processing, reflected in the seemingly random questions of, 'when are we going to our real home?' There have been tears but she has also had a ball, spending her days exploring the beaches and pastry treats of the local towns.

Unkie Bec, Sherman and cousin Atticus came to stay for the weekend, which the girls were thrilled by. I was able to have three days of surfing along Werri Beach with Unkie Bec and Sherm. The highlight was sitting in the insanely blue water looking back at the green rolling hills and sheer cliff faces with cows scattered throughout and enjoying the playful antics of a pod of dolphins less than an arms reach away. As they rode the wave in, I paddled straight for them, expecting a collision, forgetting how agile these magnificent creatures were. They avoided me and my clunky board and continued surfing the wave without a hitch, taking a celebratory leap out of the water at the end of the ride.

I have said three times thus far, "can we move here?" I am sure the tally will rise as we continue our travels. The houses are just gorgeous and I love the vibe of the small towns. Everybody knows each other and the community spirit is admired. I even took home the Kangaroo Valley real estate brochure to show just how serious I was. Chris just laughed. Good man keeps me practical.

The Berry markets were a highlight this week, namely the petting farm they had. Noa and Atticus were keen to enter the arena but Indie was a little worried so she stayed on the outskirts with her dad and then slowly meandered in once she saw that we were not all eaten alive. Smart girl. Noa was particularly taken with a soft lop eared rabbit whom she refused to give up without a fight. Needless to say, we left the farm with one very sad little girl and no extra rabbit family member. We purchased some local honey and cheese and made our way home.

Last night we were excited to link up with the guys from Salt Church for our first service. We were encouraged to see a church of 65 gathered together around Jesus. It was an encouraging time and well needed. The girls settled in the kids program so Chris and I were both able to sit through the service. We met lots of new faces and were excited to see what God is doing through Salt Church. Afterwards, we grabbed some dinner with our friends in Wollongong and set off home with two exhausted little girls in the backseat.

Today, there was zero surf and so we set off to the Pioneering Museum in Kangaroo Valley. We were the only ones there and so the lady was particularly interested in Inda and Noa, giving them some special souvenirs to remember their trip. We visited an old bush school and Chris was humoured by the rules for teachers pinned to the wall. Number Four may have been the highlight, "Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they attend church regularly." There was a large suspension bridge over which Chris thought it would be fun to jump up and down on. The strained tension in the voices of Inda and myself may have been the reason for the cessation of jumping? Lunch was eaten and it was time to go. We passed over the historic New Hampden Bridge that looks like a castle on each side with a very narrow bridge across and made our way to Cambewarra Lookout before heading home. Both girls crashed in the car within minutes. The beauty of action packed days.