It might seem ever so slightly improbable, but as we pulled into the driveway of our farmstay near Coffs Harbour two weeks ago, a double rainbow appeared from the clouds and seemed to end right on Rick and Annie's property. (I am not making this up!). It was to signal the beginning, in Ben's words, of the "best two weeks EVER".
The first word that came to mind, as we settled into our surroundings, was diversity. The huge number of birds was immediately apparent (Rick says more than 250 species frequent their property each year), as was the plant life, weather (everything from sun to frost) and people. In addition to Rick, Annie and their extended families, we met two amazing young women from Germany who were also staying on the property and thoroughly enjoyed the exchange of culture, language and philosophies that their presence made possible.
It was invigorating to work physically in such beautiful surroundings, with such inspiring people and we were convinced that we felt much better on a mostly vegetarian diet. Ben really enjoyed working with Rick and Richard (the carpenter) on such a unique home, with its enormous 500 year old turpentine trunk as the centrepiece of the frame, the curved ceiling and medieval doors. He also got pretty excited about using a broad knife and Rick's collection of musical instruments (including an Appalachian dulcimer).
I had a great time working in the garden and around the house and the girls had an absolute ball. In the first few days, Elouise kept saying "I've been here before, Mum. I really have. I remember everything". A sign she felt right at home. Matilda loved feeding the chooks through the wire, while chatting and singing to them, and Eli was always up early to help milk 'Surprise' the cow, with her new companion 'Eli' (coincidence) the dog right by her side. They learnt about bananas, paw paws and caring for horses, cows and poultry. Unfortunately, they also learnt about death as we buried a much-loved rooster one morning, following a probable visit from a quoll.
We learnt lots from Annie's 11 year old son, Brennan, about the local (and not so local) flora and fauna and I was particularly embarrassed when I asked, while sipping my coffee one morning, what the red berries were that he was picking. "Coffee beans" he said, perplexed.
We encountered an antechinus, satisfied a leech and supported the life cycle of a couple of ticks, marvelled at a pair of Jabiru storks and even convinced ourselves of the existence of the 'Glenreagh Gimp' (a two-footed, child-sized, hairy, half-man, half-possum that danced on the roof of the caravan each night).
The highlight of our stay though, was a 50 minute walk through largely untouched bush to get to a beautiful waterfall and rock pool near Glenreagh. Metaphors were in abundance as Elouise refused guidance and was determined to choose her own path through the rugged terrain, often proving she had more sense than me and only occasionally requiring assistance to negotiate a particularly difficult obstacle.
We really did not want our stay to end, as all good things must. All in all this two weeks was everything we had imagined it might have been. It fulfilled all our hopes of revitalizing, refuelling, reconnecting, remembering, exchanging, creating, learning and living. Rick, Annie, Briony, Brennan, Frauke and Lena, we cannot thank you enough.
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