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.

Autumn in Adaminaby

We're home from a beautiful long weekend in the Snowy Mountains.

Autumn in Adaminaby is so gorgeous and we loved exploring our friends' farm which is tucked in a valley with the Murrumbidgee river running through its centre.

The Jackman and Brock spent most of the weekend side by side, bounding about the place like the goofy puppies they are.

Claire and Paul are like family to us and it was so lovely hanging out together. It was our first time at the farm. It was always on our to do list to visit but life's distractions seemed to get in the way. Not anymore. We're chomping at the bit to return already and we'll make time for it.


The boys got stuck into some jobs with Claire and Paul...

... while I wandered about capturing all the colour and texture of Autumn.

Paul took us for a drive across the property up to the hangar where he keeps his plane. The boys were a bit chuffed to sit in the cockpit and check out the controls and I was a bit chuffed to see a mob of wild brumbies along the ridge and pretty faced wallabies everywhere.

In the late afternoon we wandered down the hill from the house to the riverbank to spot platypus. The boys managed to see a big fat wombat out the front of his burrow on the opposite bank. I wish I'd had a better zoom lense with me because he was well camouflaged against the dirt of the burrow. See if you can spot him in the pictures below. A couple of water rats were also paddling about getting their supper which made me immediately think of Wind in the Willows.
It was glorious to sit and enjoy such a scene together.

The adults sipped prosecco as the sun went down and then, when the chill set in, we all headed inside for a fabulous roast dinner. You know your kids have had a fulfilling day when you find them in an armchair next to the fire, asking if they can go to bed early, because they're so warm and sleepy.

We ate a hearty breakfast the next morning, watching the heavy fog slowly lift from the valley through the large kitchen window.

I popped out to capture images of the dewy spider webs in the trees along the river before the sun dried out the diamond like beads of moisture.

The weather was perfect for a paddle upstream. The sun was warm, the water calm and clear and the valley still. The only sounds we heard were the plink plonk of the paddle through the water, the occasional mooing from curious cows in the neighbor's paddock and birdsong along the bank.

The boys did a spot of trout fishing after lunch.
Those wily trout eluded their lines but they had fun trying.

We almost ended up staying another night, (you wouldn't have had any protest from me but Hubby had to work the next day), when we couldn't find our car keys as it was time to head off. After searching though all our bags and bedding several times over they were finally discovered, (boo hiss), and we bade our farewells to our beloved friends.

The drive home was both beautiful, (Bolaro Station, gorgeous), and heart stopping, (hello kangaroos in the middle of the road at night, bloody hell that was close!).

I adore the Snowy Mountains with its wild, untamed wilderness and pockets of autumn beauty.

Thanks Claire and Paul. We can't wait to return!

xx Em.