Welcome to Fun Creek.

To get to our house from town you have to drive up a long, winding country road. First you drive along the valley floor between lush green hills.

And you must cross 2 bridges and 19 causeways before you reach the steep bit of road that takes you up out of the valley to where this house sits at the top, looking all the way down to the Sea.

Having so many creek crossings is the reason that after a bit of rain we get cut off from town. The creeks rise quickly but they also fall quickly...unless there are weeks and weeks of rain like recently.

We were flooded in here for 21 days during January and February!

At the last of these creek crossing, before we get home is spot you can pull over and walk down to the waters edge.

This is the place the Kids have named Fun Creek.
Why? Because it is fun!!!

And it is a most beautiful spot. A place to go and ground in Nature, a place to go listen to the forest, forget about the rest of the world and to soak in the cool waters during  the scorching days of Summer.

A place for the children to be the free sprites they naturally are.

Still here

I am still here! But I haven't been on the internet much lately. Sometimes because my internet reception isn't working but mostly through choice.
I'm trying to balance my life and I'm finding I'm enjoying real life a bit more lately.

The weather this Summer has been wierd.
We've had so many cold, windy, rainy days. There has really only been a handful of hot Summer days.
So when they do happen we are making the most of them and heading to the beach, the pool or this lovely local waterhole we found recently.

But like my little Buddah here, mostly we are just being...

Gardeners Falls

We drove up to Maleny today to pick Zan up from his Dad's house and on the way home stopped at Gardeners Falls.

I haven't been there for years but it's one of my favourite waterholes on the coast.

Zan Rain and I took turns leaping off the 4m high waterfall, into the deep pool below.

It was so hot today and the water was so refreshing.

Tui and Mr T played in the shallows further up stream.

Mr T was most impressed when I showed him how to disappear under this small waterfall into the little cave behind it where you can sit and watch the water rushing down in front of you.

We had to do it so many times.

There was alot of  damage surrounding the creek from the recent floods but it is still a beautiful place. I love the feeling I get in the rainforest and swimming in fresh clear clean water.

Spring and Rainbows

With the warmer weather we've already been spending more time near and in the water.

The local swimming pool...

Rain at the beach...

Tui and Daddy at the beach...

Crocheting while watching the kids splash in the Mary River...

and now we are busy getting ready to go to the Ausralian National Rainbow Gathering. We'll probably be away for a couple of weeks. See you all when we get back:)

ahhh the beauty of nature

Spent a lovely morning at Boolumba Creek today. I've been feeling a bit sick today but it always makes me feel better spending time out in the forest.

P and the kids skimmed rocks across the water.

Explored the rock pools...

While I lay in the Sun and relaxed:)

But now I'm going to have a lemon and honey drink and drag mysel off to bed.

Water testing

Once a month P and I do water testing on a couple of local creeks for the Mary River Catchment Co-ordination Commity.

It's a great excuse to go and hang out in these gorgeous places for a couple of hours.

And a great lesson for the kids about the science behind the water testing instruments and about reasons why we need to test the water. To keep it clean, to make sure no chemicals are entering the water way, to make sure the fish can survive.

Even though the water was too cold for me to swim, it's never too cold for the fearless Mr T!

I love this place. This is our closest swimming hole and it's great during Summer as the water is shaded and nice and cool.

The branches of these teatrees amaze me how they grow out over the water on such an angle.

The family chilling on our favourite sitting rock in the middle of the creek.

One of my favourite rainforest trees. Weeping Lilly pilly.

One of the lovely cascades.

Tui the rain forest fairy.

Hot Hot Hot!

It has been sooooo hot all week. Most days around 36 degrees C (or 96 F). So this morning we headed straight for a swim. We've never been to this creek before. It's just up the road ten minutes and the water was so clear and cool.

When I got home I sat and finished some crochet. It was just too hot to do much else. I finished a new skirt for Tui. And started some water bottle carriers.

BigCity Life

Wow! Our weekend in the city was so busy and soooo much fun.

We started off on Friday at White water world on the Gold Coast...

It's just so big and bright...

Zan got wet...

...in fact we all got wet!

Mr T was very excited to see Sponge Bob...

I got scared on this water-slide. It felt like I was being flushed down a giant toilet!!!

There were water slides everywhere.

Then off to my brother's place to bond with the family.

Sweet cousins...

Saturday we took my nephew rock climbing at the Kangaroo Point cliffs.

They are right in the center of the city but you wouldn't know from this photo

First the kids all climbed the art work...I guess it was a warm up for the cliff.

My beautiful girls

Happy 13Th Birthday number 1 nephew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zan relaxing under a tree

And Sunday we caught a train into the Valley (Rain and Mr T have never been on a train before so were impressed) We went to the markets and to China town where I finally found a place that sells Po Sum On...an awesome chinese herbal tincture that you can use for just about anything.
Then all tired and worn out we headed for home...
ahhh...it's quiet here.