Not far from where I live is the Khancoban Dam which is part of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric scheme and it is a very popular boating, fishing, swimming and of course skiing spot in our long hot summers.
When my sister comes home for any length of time they camp on her husband's Uncles property right on the edge of the Dam. There are two ways to get to Uncle Doug's, a dirt track through the bush or by boat from the boat ramp on the other side of the dam. We opted for the evening boat ride when we headed up there for dinner.
It was a beautiful evening and there was lots of catching up and checking out Uncle Doug's massive vegie garden and orchard. What you see above is just a tiny part of the vegie garden and he has a huge orchard with many varieties of fruit in it. He is very generous with the crops from his garden and it is nothing unusual to see the back of his Toyota loaded with boxes of fruit and vegies when he comes in on a Saturday morning to do his shopping. Some of his family came and helped him put up new fences recently as a herd of deer has been coming in and destroying everything he plants.
Uncle Doug's house has a beautiful view of the Lake and the mountains in the distance. It is a simple home but suits him beautifully.
Uncle Doug is in his 80's and lives in this remote little spot alone. He is a stockman and bushman and is renowned all over Australia and overseas for the whips he makes by hand. Until recently he rode a horse all the time but he has promised that he will only ride when there are people around now. Nothing makes him happier than to have some of his nieces or nephews and their families come to visit for a while.
My sister's dog, Buzz loves camping and last night the campfire was the perfect place to nap., especially since he fell off the side of the boat when we got to Doug's place. He was not a happy Buzz at all!
It was such a beautiful night and the water was so still. It was a very pleasant boat ride across the lake when we reluctantly decided to go home.
2 comments:
Thankyou for sharing Uncle Doug with us Jackie - living here in the burbs surrounded by packaged processed produce and people it's a lovely reminder that there are still genuine no-nonsense characters out there....you just go to know where to look or be related to one
and while on the subject of characters is Buzz a Westie?
looks wonderful Jackie...
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