Return to Pappinbarra

As Nic and I headed north on the six-hour Countrylink train journey to Wauchope (pronounced Waahope, not Wa-chopy as Nic learned from a local!) it felt a bit like I was going home, especially as George met us at the train station as a surprise. It was lovely to wake up in a familiar bed with familiar sights and sounds. George and Jean hosted Nic and I for 4 days, along with some other wonderful friends of theirs. George was starring in 'Dimboola', an iconic Australian play performed by the local am-dram group over three nights. First staged in the 70's, this play was ahead of it's time as it involved a bit of audience participation (hence the embarrassed photo) and we were fed a three-course meal. All of this was delivered in the tiny community hall! Both the performance and production were testament to the incredible community spirit that exists there.

While George stole the show on stage, Jean hosted a wonderful weekend in Pappinbarra epitomised by a lovely afternoon in the garden drinking good wine (provided by Silva) and extremely tasty food (prepared by Jean, Doug and Ian). Doug and Ian are not only brilliant cooks they are also superb company and Doug even put up with me interrogating him for hours about his various careers. Note: idea of conceptual artist is on hold while I consider becoming an event co-ordinator.

It was lovely to introduce Nicola to the group of Wauchope people I now consider my friends – another gift that George and Jean bestowed upon me. It was also lovely to introduce her to the way of life I had been leading for so long, a life in rhythm with nature; feeding the chooks and the sheep and lambs (which she loved and even held!), the big fig tree, the monkey chorus of the kookaburras in the morning, the harvest of pumpkins and citrus fruit (so wonderfully alien to us both to be able to wander into the garden for lemons and oranges), walking Paddy and Ella. The weather was beautiful and it was like savouring a little slice of heaven for a few days. George even gave us a tutorial on the didgeridoo.

All too soon it was time to hit the road again and George and Jean waved us off as we drove a packed Betsy down the drive for our road trip 'up north'.

Unfortunately, the one thing we neglected to bring with us was the sunshine. For the next three days it rained almost constantly while we were in Coffs Harbour being hosted by Jason and his lovely boys, who on our first night secretly put hot water bottles in our beds! Top kids. Despite the rain we did manage to visit Muttonbird island and watch in wonder as a Shearwater bird hovered perfectly still, oblivious to the gale blowing around it. Jason responded to our unwelcome gift of rain with the best of hospitality and was even brave enough to invite back again on our return journey. Another excellent Aussie host and another genuine Australian experience.