Burnima Homestead

During the school hols we were invited by our friends Claire & Paul to do a tour of Burnima Homestead and spend the weekend at their beach house in Eden. It was a definite yes from us...historic houses, country towns, feasts with friends and a weekend by the sea...what's not to like? We set off down the Monaro Highway early on the Saturday morning for the two hour drive south to the small township of Bombala, tucked in between the Snowy Mountains and the Sapphire Coast.

The traffic was chaos I tell you...

 Arriving a smidge late for the 10am tour (thanks to a pit stop in Cooma to grab Jack's ventolin at the chemist, don't you hate it when you realise you forgot to pack one of the essentials), we tagged on to the end of the tour group just as they were entering the mansion.

Burnima Homestead was built in 1896 for grazier Henry Edwards. The two storey, 32 room mansion is an impressive example of Victorian Gothic architecture. Owner and tour guide, Steve Rickett resides on the top floor of the house and he's slowly renovating the property back to its former glory. A mammoth task for one person...although there are a few purported ghosts who might lend a hand should it take their fancy. Steve has a passion for all things Victorian and holds an incredible wealth of knowledge about the history of the house and the people who worked and resided there. It was absolutely fascinating listening to the stories as we went from room to room and it didn't take much to imagine what the homestead would have been like at the height of its glory.

After the tour we had a good look through the house and took a wander about the expansive grounds before heading down the road to Bombala for a pub lunch. It's a long road ahead with the full restoration of Burnima and I wish Steve the very best. He certainly has the passion and determination to carry it out. The property is definitely worth a day trip from Canberra and I'm so glad that Claire invited us to join them on the tour. 

Burnima is open to visitors from 10am til 3pm on the first Saturday of the month and you can contact Steve via email contact@burnima.com.au or phone (02) 6458 3042 to book a tour. Old houses are fascinating places to explore.

xx Em.

Winter Long Weekend - Iandra Castle and the Rustic Maze.

Day two of our trip began with this sweet view of our two lovebugs.

 

Young turned out to be very family friendly place to visit. We stayed in a beautifully renovated family suite at the Town House Motor Inn. It was immaculately clean, the beds were super comfy and we all had a great night's sleep.

Dinner Saturday night was at Urban Retreat, a very relaxed pub/bistro with great meals and a kids play area only one block from our motel. Sunday morning we filled our bellies with an amazing breakfast at S&AJ Cafe, (smashed avo on sourdough for the win!). I've loved their images on instagram and it was great to try them out. The staff were so lovely, the food AH-MAZING and the homewares store at the back was filled with a whole lot of pretty!

Sunday was the perfect kind of day for driving down country lanes and exploring historical houses and gardens. First on the list...Iandra Castle at Greenethorpe.

(Aerial photo from Iandra's website.)

 

What a grand and intriguing home, set on a rise overlooking a spectacular rural landscape. The original single level homestead was built in 1880. In 1908 construction commenced to convert it into a 57 room mansion, including stables and a managers residence. The vast 33,000 acre estate became one of the largest and most progressive wheat farming properties in Australia, with its own village that supported as many as 60 sharefarmers who worked the land. Such a fascinating history!

We spent hours exploring the house and grounds, enjoyed coffee from the Art of Espresso and some divine Green Grove Organics chocolate from the Junee Liquorice & Chocolate Factory. By lunch time the crowd was so huge that we decided to head down the road to another historic property, Lower Coologong. It was originally settled in the 1850s, run by generations of the same family. These days the working cropping farm is also home to The Rustic Maze with a cafe, a beautiful garden and a totally gorgeous flock of dorper sheep. 

The maze, with its tricky riddles and historic artifacts, was great family fun. The view was amazing, the garden so peaceful and the boys loved the giant outdoor chess set and trampoline. My favourite moment of the afternoon was when I sat quietly by myself on a garden seat in the winter sunshine, watching tiny fairy wrens flitting about the lawn and breathing in the heady scent of old tea roses.

 

The journey home was countryside all a-glow in the setting sun.

I'm so glad we got out and explored the Hilltops Region this weekend, it was everything it promised it would be and more. 

Til the next adventure!

xx Em