Riverbend Cottage on the beautiful Clyde

For sale: waterfront property "Riverbend" near Batemans Bay

2012-02-03T20:38:00.000+11:00

You have to live somewhere - it may as well be Paradise!

Here's a bit of an advertisement on my own behalf: the sale of our 7-acre-plus property "Riverbend" with almost 400 metres of absolute waterfront near Batemans Bay on the South Coast of New South Wales. For more information go to www.nelligennet.com.

It's the sort of property that is usually passed down the family as there are only a few like it on the Clyde River. I have been here for 18 years and for me it's time to move on - regrettably! - as we plan to live for part of the year in Kalimantan (Borneo) in Indonesia which makes it near-impossible to also maintain such a large property this far south.

The price - for those who can afford it - is very realistic as nearby unimproved waterfront blocks just 1500 square metres in size and with as little as 19 metres of waterfront have recently sold for $750,000. By contrast, "Riverbend" consists of eight titles, comprising approx. 29,200 square metres (see map), is on sale for $2 million, lock, stock and barrel. For those who feel a little financially challenged, I can offer very substantial vendor's finance on below-bank finance terms.

If you're interested, contact me by email to

riverbend[AT]batemansbay.com

To all you wine lovers!

2012-01-13T18:52:00.004+11:00

Riverbend Cottage now gives you a complimentary bottle of wine on arrival! In keeping with most of our guests' age and taste, it's a delightful Pino More which improves with age: the older you are, the better you like it. ☺

Last of the summer-guests

2012-01-08T07:21:00.001+11:00

Our repeat-guests of many years past have returned to Sydney and our short 'tourist season' is over for another year. Thank you for being our guests again, Kath and Phil, and we look forward to seeing you again at the end of this year.

Perhaps you will be luckier with your fishing next time, Kath! We didn't have the heart to tell you that the last sizeable fish that came out of the Clyde River was so lonely, he gave himself up ☺

First visitors for the season

2011-12-21T15:31:00.008+11:00

The sign is up to welcome our first visitors for the season to Riverbend Cottage!

The cottage looks spic and span with the fridge full of goodies and plenty of DVDs and books to keep them entertained ...

... and the bed is ready to watch those starry nights on the river from (to challenge the myth that it is incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition; it's the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put.)

Sail ho!

2011-11-14T13:41:00.001+11:00

Brian Darcey, an old PNG-friend, has just emailed to say that he'll set sail from Cairns on the 15th of November and should be anchored off "Riverbend" sometime in late December.

Fair winds, Brian, and see you soon! (And here are your sailing instructions up the Clyde River - in German, of course!)

Nelligen gets seal of approval

2011-09-16T12:38:00.000+10:00

Nelligen has a new, high profile resident - complete with flippers, fur and fangs.

An Australian fur seal bull took up residence at the Thule Road boat ramp in Nelligen about three weeks ago, and has made himself at home ever since.

Nelligen residents say the seal spends plenty of time in the water, but the boat ramp is his favourite patch of land.

“I don’t know how he got here, he must be lost,” a nearby resident said.

“He must be getting a feed in the river.”

The resident said that boat owners had tried to retrieve their vessel via the ramp recently but had been unable to do so because the seal didn’t feel like moving.

“He just comes out of the water, has a scratch and a yawn, lies there and goes to sleep,” he said.

“When people get near him, he just opens one eye, then closes it.”

The resident said that someone had tried to feed the seal sardines on Monday.

“It was no good; he didn’t take it,” he said.

Nelligen Café proprietor Rick Patman said it was thought the seal followed the cruise boat Merinda up from Batemans Bay.

“My daughter has named him Luka,” he said. “He’s a very good fisherman - he’s cleaned out our fish stocks.”

Nelligen oyster farmer Rick Christensen has reported seeing a smaller seal near the oyster leases near Nelligen.

National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger Libby Shields said that the two seals were unlikely to be related in any way.

“They are fairly solitary animals,” she said.

Ms Shields said that seal numbers were on the increase and this would explain the bull’s appearance.

“They are popping up all over the place,” she said.

By law, people are required to stay at least 40 metres from a seal.

“We realise this is difficult in such a place but they can get aggressive, so we would advise people for their own safety not to get close to him, try to feed him or let their dogs get close to him,” she said.

She said that the NPWS would not relocate the seal or take any other measures.

“He looks fine so we won’t intervene.”

The Cottage has gone digital!

2011-09-15T18:43:00.004+10:00

The holiday season hasn't started yet but we've got started already by installing a brandnew SANYO high definition digital TV/DVD Combo in the Cottage!

Of course, it'll come with scores of DVDs of some of the latest - and also some of the most classic - movies for our guests' enjoyment. Cinema Paradiso indeed!

All pumped up!

2011-01-22T08:37:00.004+11:00

Click goes the pump, click, click, click ... no, no more it does!

We seek them here, we seek them there, and we finally found the water leaks that caused the pump to keep pumping away: yes, the taps needed new washers but the pressure reservoir above the pump had also sprung a leak.

$115 and a new pressure reservoir later and the pump runs quietly, and only when needed, and delivers a wonderfully even flow in the shower.

We're all pumped up to provide you with a beautiful shower next time you visit!

River Road

2010-12-25T16:43:00.011+11:00

In Stuart Magee's delightful book of local history, The Rivers and the Sea, he suggests "You should drive the River Road some day. You might get the odd superficial scratch on your duco. It's probably a bit better suited to 4-wheel drive,though plenty of two-wheelers use it. Keep away if it's wet, mind the cowboys with big bull-bars, but otherwise it is a most interesting drive. You are following a track that has barely changed in 100 years. Give yourself plenty of time and stop to make a cup of tea while you contemplate the broad, gleaming river with the spotted gums and burrawangs reflecting from its banks. It's over 50 feet deep in parts along there.

In the 20 kilometres going up from Nelligen to Drurys Creek we saw not one person and no more than 10 houses. There are, however, a few dirt ramps and log jetties where timber was loaded in days gone by.

Coming back down the river we noted Cockwhy Creek flowing in on the east bank. There is a house at the junction. Some kilometres up the creek the NSW Topographic Map shows a couple of sheds and a pigsty at the end of Joes Nose Road. Who was Joe? What was it with his hooter? Believe me, I'd tell you if I knew.

The 1901 Census of NSW shows that Cockwhy Creek at the time had five households and seventeen inhabitants. Civilization at Cockwhy Creek has waxed and waned.

A bit further down, still 10 kilometres shy of Nelligen, Currowan Creek comes in from the west. They say the water in the creek, which flows dwon from the Clyde Mountain range, is wonderfully good. If you were set on making great whiskey, they say at Nelligen, Currowan Creek would be your spot. Damn! There, I've opened my mouth again. Next thing you know we'll have Johnny Walker trampin' about the place in his big black boots.

From the river today you will see no sign of human interference at Currowan, though Robin Shaw says I should have caught a glimpse of her roof if I had looked hard enough. Similarly, if you drive the river road you will find nothing but native bush at Currowan Creek.

Bailleries NSW Gazetteer of 1866 records that 'Currowan is a township reserve on the Clyde River, about 6 miles north of Nelligen, and is inhabited by a few settlers who cultivate the rich scrub lands of the neighbourhood.' In its entry under "Nelligen" Bailleries records that 'up the Clyde River, 6 miles distant, is a steam saw mill (Soulby's), a screw bark pressing machine (Street's) and a coach manfactury (Guy's). There is a steamer twice a week to Sydney and a two-horse coach twice a week to Braidwood.' It seems, though one can't be sure, that all of this was taking place at Currowan.

The 1901 Census lists 8 abodes and 65 souls at Currowan. What happened to all this enterprise and where did all the people go? I don't know but, more to the point, I don't know what happened to the very grand plans and hopes that were held for the Town of Currowan when its sub-division was approved and i was proclaimed a town on 20 March 1855. The plan of the townshows 14 named streets and close to 140 blocks of land ranging in size from 1 rood to 38 acres. A rood, or a quarter of an acre, is the conventional size for a suburban building block.

Lot 1 of Section 14, a holding of 3 acres (a touch over a hectare) is shown on the 1967 map as belonging to George Shaw. George was one of eleven children sired by Neil Shaw. George, in turn, had four, one of whom he called Bobbi but christened Robin. She lives on that block today in what was the manager's residence for the Austral Starch Factory.

Nobody knows, well I don't, nor does Robin Shaw or anyone else I've spoken to or read, who it was that envisaged it would be a successful commercial venture to produce starch from the burrawang nut and to do it at this particular spot. Looking at the isolation today, it would seem to have required lateral thinking bordering on dementia.

Nevermind. The notion took root and in 1920 Neil Shaw, who lived on the banks of the Clyde River in Scotland, was recruited by the Austral company and dispatched to establish and manage the factory on the banks of Clyde River, NSW. It was set up on lot 1, section 14.

Historians differ on how long the venture persisted. Gibbney believes it was not beyond 1922: Reynolds suggests it held up until some time in the 1930s. Similarly, there is a range of views on the reasons for its demise. Some of the tales are dark and pick up factors such as mismanagement, drunkenness and sabotage. Robin Shaw's theory is simple. She points out that the regeneration of the burrawang is a chancy and slow process, and suggests they merely ran out of an adequate supply.

Quite part from the fate of the starch factory one wonders why the Town itself never came to be. Most likely it failed because Nelligen succeeded in meeting the commercial communication needs of the day, and there was call for just one such maritime link between Sydney Cove and the southern tablelands of the State."

Passing the thyme in the garden

2010-12-13T09:52:00.003+11:00

The flowering tomato plants are still waiting for the little bees to visit them. Should I pollinate them by hand or should I let them bee?

Here's an offer no ex-Banker could leave a loan!

2010-12-11T19:57:00.039+11:00

The ANZ Banking Group Retired Officers' Club's monthly Newsletter publishes regular Travel Tips. Here are two more:

Our own little hide-away, "Riverbend Cottage", on the banks of the mighty Clyde River just 8 km upriver from Batemans Bay, is a well-kept secret - and we like to keep it that way!

Guests from the city always enthuse about the air here. It's fresh and composed mainly of oxygen and nitrogen, unlike what they are used to. They fall asleep almost immediately, their bodies exhausted from the lack of carbon monoxide and lead they have come to depend on.

It is very quiet here and very peaceful and you're the only guest. Instead of having to listen to somebody else's snoring or be "entertained" by some ablution noise in the room next door, you may hear the occasional possum wander over your roof at night or be surprised by a little green frog looking at you from under the bathroom door.

All this sensory deprivation may come as a shock to you which is why we suggest in our tongue-in-cheek "Health Warning" that if your chronological (or mental) age is less than 40, you will probably lack the appreciation of being miles away from McDonald's and the sounds of an in(f)ternal combustion engine.

To all others and to those who want to recover their energy and rediscover themselves, please come and stay and stay long, sit quietly, breathe deeply, and listen to the river, to the birds, to YOURSELF!

If you are a member of ANZROC, I offer you a hefty 30% off the weekly rate of $790 - sorry, we only accept week-long bookings - as my personal "thank you" to an ex-employee of a great institution that gave me my start in Australia!

However, please note that we don't take personal cheques and may seek a Bank Opinion before accepting your booking! ☺ ☺

ANZROC members who worked with me at the Alinga Street branch in Canberra City will be accommodated FREE OF CHARGE but, please, form an orderly queue!

Banjar Hills Retreat, Bali
My wife Padma is Indonesian and we regularly visit Indonesia and Bali. We avoid Kuta and we never stay in a 'touristy' hotel. Over the years we have discovered a number of exquisite little places which offer so much more at a fraction of the cost of the usual tourist-places.

The Banjar Hills Retreat is one such place. It is very private with just four bungalows high up in the cool hills overlooking the north coast of Bali and the Java Sea. The price? An unbelievably cheap Rp.250,000, or less than $30 per bungalow (NOT per person!) And if you tell Ibu (Mrs.) Made that Pak Peter and Ibu Padma sent you, or that you stay more than just a few days, she'll give you a discount even off that low price!

If you need more information or advice on how to get to Banjar Hills, please email me.

“The world is a book
and those who do not travel
read only one page.”
St. Augustine

On the Net without a wire

2010-11-27T19:21:00.005+11:00

Wireless internet reception was at first a bit dicky in the Cottage. We've since upgraded to a better BELKIN modem and you now can surf on our Internet as well as off our many beaches!

Pondering

2010-11-20T15:08:00.017+11:00

It's summertime and I'm sitting by "Riverbend" 's own 'Walden Pond' which is teeming with aquatic life!

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion." (Henry David Thoreau)

Of course, Thoreu's 'Walden' is the work of an utter hypocrite, a man who rhapsodizes about his life of simplicity, a man who convicts his readers for joining the rat race, for owning more than they need, and so forth. And yet Thoreau seems blissfully unaware that his own lifestyle is made possible by that rat race; he’d have nowhere to live if Emerson didn’t let him squat on the land he bought with all that filthy, corrupting money. (Thoreau also had his laundry sent to his mother and ate a chicken dinner with Emerson each week, although these ugly facts are at least not evident in the text.) Complete text of 'Walden'

P.S. To make my pond-sitting even more entertaining, I've just bought myself an early Christmas present. Boys will be boys!

Wishing you an x-tra quiet Christmas!

2010-11-14T11:58:00.006+11:00

An x-tra quiet and peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year from all of us at "Riverbend Cottage"!

Peter and Padma and Malty and Rover

Sitting by the river without a wire

2010-11-13T08:03:00.010+11:00

Riverbend is now a hotspot! We've installed a wireless modem to enable you to email all those "friends" whom you have never meet - and probably wouldn't want to!

Bringing up webpages is still a bit slow and sometimes impossible. The IT department of "Riverbend Cottage" is still tweaking the system so perhaps one day it'll be the full bottle!

Early-morning magic at "Riverbend"

2010-07-04T13:13:00.004+10:00

All is quiet as I walk in the early-morning sun, cup of tea in hand, across "Riverbend". Even my friend "Skippy" enjoys this special moment.

Ageing - how true!

2010-06-08T11:14:00.001+10:00

Do you realise that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about ageing that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ..... . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud.. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

We have new neighbours!

2010-06-06T12:37:00.004+10:00

Richard and Wendy aboard the Seven Seas 37 ketch "Charon" anchored off "Riverbend" yesterday. They are from Hobart and will sail for tropical Queensland in a day or two. The best neighbours to have!

[Click here] to read Richard and Wendy's sailing blog.

Winter? What winter?

2010-05-29T17:59:00.003+10:00

The South Coast of New South Wales is beautiful at any time of the year. Come and see for yourself!

Foster & Allen

2010-05-28T11:54:00.010+10:00

They are coming to the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club on the 2nd of June and we, being Foster & Allen fans from way back, will be there!

Mick Foster and Tony Allen have been performing together for almost 30 years. They first toured Australia in 1983 and this will be their 16th trip down under. These charismatic singers have been performing their unique blend of easy listening and folk music and their popularity is proven with their record sale. Between them they have sold 18 million records, making them one of Ireland's biggest entertainment exports.

They are giving concerts EVERY night during their one-month tour of Australia, going from Ipswich, Nambour, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Toowoomba in Queensland, to Ballina, Grafton, Taree, Newcastle, Rooty Hill, Revesby, Wollongong, and Batemans Bay in New South Wales, and Canberra, Wodonga, Bendigo, Shepparton, Ballarat, Horsham, Warrnambool, Geelong, Frankston, Morwell, Melbourne, and Castlemaine in Victoria, before hopping across Bass Strait to Launceston, Burnie, and Hobart, and then on to Adelaide, and Mandurah and Perth in Western Australia. My guess is they'll be sounding pretty croaky by the time they get to Perth!

Your religion is not important

2010-05-16T14:38:00.002+10:00

Round the bend at Riverbend

2010-05-11T11:31:00.006+10:00

We are on septic tanks here and our cottage guests' toilet has a sign on the wall which reads:

PLEASE DO NOT
PUT ANYTHING INTO
THE LOO UNLESS YOU
HAVE EATEN IT FIRST

Well, somebody mustn't have masticated well enough because things were less than 'flush' and I had to do some digging.

The digging is done and the flushing has flushed and all's well that ends up in the septic tank.

Life doesn't get much better than this!

2010-05-08T18:03:00.002+10:00

Sitting on my boat lying at anchor in a peaceful cove, with a glass of Jacob's Creek Merlot in my hand and the radio tuned to FM Classical Music - life doesn't get much better than this!

David on Restoration Island, Horst on Uiha Island, Ron Brandt on Packe Island, "German Harry" on Deliverance Island, Tom Neale on Suwarrov: they all had their reasons to shun civilisation but I can enjoy their lifestyle and yet rejoin the "real world" anytime I want by simply driving down the 8 km to the Bay.

I may even sleep aboard "Lady Anne" tonight. With the companionway left half-open, I can watch the stars as the waves gently rock me to sleep. I have all the victuals in the galley: tinned baked beans, tinned braised steak, tinned rice cream pudding, bread, tea, coffee, sugar, and another two bottles of Jacob's Creek!

I drink to that!

Life is a genuinely artificial beach

2010-05-01T08:46:00.009+10:00

One more reason to visit Riverbend Cottage: a genuinely artificial beach! Does life get any better than this?

Riverbend Cottage offers all the creature comforts

2010-04-29T07:29:00.000+10:00

The "Scruffie" Taxman

2010-04-26T11:51:00.015+10:00

Simon, the taxman from Canberra, was back on the river in his beautiful lugsail yawl Stornaway which he built himself from a kit available from Scruffie Marine.

He spent five days on the river, overnighting at anchor off Little Island just downriver from "Riverbend".

Simon, would you like to join the Nelligen Yacht Club? Our membership already includes a Kraut and a Greek, so a taxman would hardly be noticed.

We also talked about The Riddle of the Sands, Simon. Here is the German movie which features a far more traditional boat than the English version.

Our two Finnish guests have finished their stay!

2010-04-23T16:23:00.002+10:00

from left to right: Hanna, Rikka and Padma

Good-bye, Hanna and Rikka! We wish you a safe trip home and perhaps we will see you again one day!

Shades of New Guinea

2010-04-14T18:14:00.003+10:00

A quiet evening at "Riverbend". The television is off and I pretend I am back in the wilds of New Guinea with just a kerosene lamp and a good book.

What happened?

2010-02-23T16:01:00.002+11:00

Can you remember when you were a kid and you'd lie in the grass on your back and watch the clouds scud above you and you'd dream of what you were going to be when you grew up?

Well, what happened?

They're a weird mob

2010-02-22T15:06:00.017+11:00

Ihave just bought an extra copy of the movie "They're a Weird Mob" for the Cottage to be watched by our occasional guest from overseas.

The story is based on the bestseller by John O'Grady writing as 'Nino Culotta' and is a social commentary on Australian society in the 1960s — specifically male, working-class society. And it's a commentary on Australian immigration which was then at its peak.

The final message is that immigrants - "New Australians" - should count themselves fortunate and make efforts to assimilate into Australian society, including learning to speak Australian English.

I was one of those "New Australians" who arrived at that time and fell in love with Australia. Yes, I do consider myself fortunate and I did learn to speak Australian English.

And I know you would want to watch another episode in this delightful movie:

What tolerance looks like

2010-02-16T09:25:00.001+11:00

Do not disturb!

2010-02-03T12:56:00.002+11:00

Nelligen is one of those places that almost wishes not to be noticed. It invites passersby to take a Sunday afternoon nap with it.

It has a community hall that keeps one eye open just long enough to give tourists a chance to buy a few trinkets.

Trinkets such as a mug from the Sydney 2000 Olympics for just 10 cents. Selling something for 10 cents these days is like saying, "We want you to have this as a gift from us but we don't want you to feel bad about it, so give us a coin you forgot you had."

Nelligen feels like rest. Real rest!

Walk, don't run, Runnyford Road!

2010-01-31T13:31:00.036+11:00

For those who want to walk the Runnyford Road through the Mogo State Forest, here are some details:

Start from Nelligen Cemetery at the back of the village. If you think walking 21 km could kill you, this is a good time to choose a suitable plot!

From here it is about 1.7 km to the turn-off on the left side of the road where I usually join Runnyford Road, having crossed from "Riverbend" and climbed uphill a good kilometre-and-a-bit.

Another 2.3 km brings you to a fork in the road. Don't turn right onto Bolaro Mountain Road but follow Runnyford Road downhill.

It's another 4.5 km to the Runnymede property - see picture above. I don't know how long it took you to get here but you are too late anyway - almost 800 years too late! - to meet King John as he signs the Magna Carta (you're on the wrong island anyway).

Walk a further 2.7 km and you come to Runnyford Bridge.

You've done a good 11 km, so stop for a while and take a rest. There's the Buckenbowra River to take a dip in; or say 'hello' to the horses in the paddocks. The beautiful property by the bridge has been restored to its former glory and is inhabitated again.

Once you cross the bridge, you're back on gravel and the following 7.5 km to Waterfall Creek, which is next to another large property, are not all that scenic anymore.

From Waterfall Creek it's another 2.3 km to the Princess Highway which you join about 5 km south of Batemans Bay.

Happy walking!

Broken doors, broken windows ... broken dreams ?

2010-01-28T15:38:00.013+11:00

Looking across the Clyde to "Riverbend"

Across the river from "Riverbend", high up amongst the gumtrees, is an old cottage. It used to be lived in many years ago but nobody lives there now and it is slowly falling to pieces. And yet at one time it must have been the fulfillment of somebody's dreams as evidenced by old flowerbeds and a rusty kiddy's swing outside and a cosy fireplace and bookshelves inside.

I reflect on this impermanence and apparent pointlessness of all human endeavour every time I row across the river and climb up the steep track past the old cottage to walk the Runnyford Road.

Happy Astraya Day!

2010-01-26T19:41:00.003+11:00

A day for reflecting on my good fortunes. And to thank God for letting me be here. To thank Him for letting me be an Australian. Sometimes I think that if I am ever fortunate enough to reach Heaven, I will know I am there when I hear Him say, "Howyergoin'mate orright?"

Hanna's Walk

2010-01-25T10:41:00.015+11:00

We've had two visiting academics from the Australian National University in Canberra stay with us for a week. They were two charming young ladies, Hanna Kokko from Finland and Hope Klug from the USA - both professors no less! - who arrived on MURRAYS bus and really explored and enjoyed everything Nelligen and the Clyde River had to offer.

Hanna walked the entire length of Runnyford Road which runs from the back of Nelligen to just south of Batemans Bay (see green route on map) by first rowing across the Clyde in front of "Riverbend Cottage" and then climbing to the ridge where it joins up with Runnyford Road (soon to be renamed Hanna's Walk).

Both visited the Moruya Markets with Padma, canoed on the river, and attended Sunday's Country & Western Music performances in the village hall.

We encouraged them to get a taste of Australia by watching Australian movies which they did with Shiralee, Travelling North, and Storm Boy.

Hanna and Hope, you are our favourite guests and we hope you took away some happy memories!

P.S. We have just received this email from Hanna:

Hi Peter and Padma,

We're now back safely in Canberra and have been enthusing to everyone about our stay! It is a nice feeling indeed when opening the door of one's office and it feels like it's been ages since one last did it. Time becomes a very odd concept there, in the best possible way - it flies and at the same time it feels, well, timeless!

I'm pretty sure we'll meet again...

all the best and thanks again for all this

Hanna

Something to ponder in the new year!

2010-01-02T08:47:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T18:02:00.002+11:00

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And surely you will have your pint!

And surely I'll have mine!

And we'll take a cup of kindess yet,

For auld lang syne!

We two have run about the hills

And pulled the daisies fine,

But we've wandered many a weary foot

Since auld lang syne.

We two have waded in the stream

From morning sun till dine,

But seas between us broad have roared

Since auld lang syne.

And there's a hand, my trusty friend!

And give a hand of thine!

And we'll take a right large goodwill draught,

For auld lang syne.

Happy New Year

Did the light in the fridge turn off after the door was closed?

2009-12-30T10:20:00.013+11:00

Yes! And not only did the light turn off, but the ketchup was dancing with the cheese. The fridge in our guest cottage went one better: it turned off completely! No light, no ice, no cold! And our guests had just arrived with bags full of groceries and bottles of beer and wine and other goodies!

What to do? A call-out by a tradesman on a Public Holiday would probably cost more than a new fridge. So we drove down to the Bay and visited K-Mart where we found a nice little 112-litre bar-fridge which at a height of 850mm would fit nicely alongside the cottage's kitchen counter. Another swipe of the old credit card and $189 later we bundled the new fridge on top of the roof-rack for a slow and agonising 8-km trip back up to Nelligen.

We drove at walking pace with me doing a Mr Bean and holding on to the strap that tied the fridge to the roof-rack. Of course, we incurred the ire of every wannabe Grand Prix driver behind us! Judging by the tooting of horns and digital gestures, Christmas and the spirit of Christmas is well and truly behind us! Get ready for another year of dog-eat-dog!

We wish you all a safe and happy Christmas!

2009-12-14T19:04:00.003+11:00

There is so much more to Christmas than presents to each other, cooking large and heavy meals, opening bottles of good wine and enjoying festivities. It is a great deal more! I know that Charles Dickens is regarded as a sentimentalist. Well, we can do with a little sentiment in these days when men's minds are turning perpetually towards destroying everything and if possible everybody! There is one book written by Charles Dickens which I read every year: The Christmas Carol.

Listen to the unrefined, unenlightened Scrooge talking. He is speaking to his nephew, a pleasant cheerful fellow, possessing a warm heart, and loving life. He came to wish his uncle a "Merry Christmas".

Scrooge mounts his hobby-horse and says: "What's Christmas time to you, but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!"

That is Ebenezer Scrooge, and that is how a good many people talk these days, though they may use different words.

"Christmas! Sentimental twaddle! Wasting money on silly cards smothered in robins and holly. It's so childish! Spending money which you cannot afford on trifles. A merry Christmas, why not a Merry Monday or a Merry Bank Holiday! Pah!"

Here is the answer which his nephew gave Scrooge:

"There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say, Christmas among the rest. But I am sure that I have always thought of Christmas time when it has come round ... as a good time - a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers ... and not another race of creatures. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket I believe that it HAS done me good, and WILL do me good, and I say, God bless it."

That young man was right, he was right in 1852, and he is right today. There is just - something - about Christmas. The Church has other great festivals, and each one brings its own particular message, Christmas holds the beginning of the very foundations of the Christian religion, no matter which sect you may belong to and whose teachings and forms you may follow.

They're all "simple" teachings: to be kind, forgiving, charitable, and pleasant. To set aside Christmas as a time for friendliness and brotherhood. We may not observe all those things for very long, we may forget them on the morning of Boxing Day, but if we have felt them for one day in the year - well, that is something.

So on Christmas Day when you hear that grandest and most triumphant of all hymns, no matter whether you hear it rolling out of a great organ in some vast cathedral, played on a wheezy instrument in some small village church, or even on the radio or on a record, let the full magnificence of the Adeste Fidelis be an actual demand! "Come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!" and be joyful, and open your hearts and - enjoy yourself, and have a Merry Christmas.

Peter & Padma & Malty & Rover
and the Possum in his Possum Penthouse, the resident kangaroo, the almost-tame kookaburra, and all other creatures great and small.

Long may she rain!

2009-12-09T07:07:00.014+11:00

My scientifically calibrated rain gauge tells me there has been a lot of rain during the night! At least the width of four strips of planking! No wonder all the watertanks are full to overflowing. How do you figure out how much rain it takes to fill a 22,500-litre tank? Easy! Go to your nearest hardware store, buy yourself a long ladder, lean it against your house, climb onto the roof and measure its * area. Then apply the following formula: 1 mm of rain collected over an area of 1 m² gives you 1 litre of water! If you have a very tiny house with just 1 m² of roof area, you'd be hoping for 22,500 mm of rain. Conversely, if you live in a huge house with a 22,500 m² roof, just 1 mm of rain will do the same. As will do any number of permutations between the two. With all those figures spinning in your head, just make sure you don't fall off the ladder as you make your way back down again.

* some of you may want to measure it's area but I won't be drawn on this; after all, it's Christmas time, the time of grammatical peace and goodwill.

Coming home

2009-12-04T07:39:00.002+11:00

There's no place like home especially when home is "Riverbend" on the beautiful Clyde River.

„Willst du immer weiter schweifen? Sieh, das Gute liegt so nah. Lerne nur das Glück ergreifen: Denn das Glück ist immer da.“

DESIDERATA

2009-09-10T18:39:00.001+10:00

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. ~ * ~ As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. ~ * ~ Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. ~ * ~ Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. ~ * ~ If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. ~ * ~ Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. ~ * ~ Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. ~ * ~ Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. ~ * ~ Be not blind to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. ~ * ~ Be yourself. ~ * ~ Especially, do not feign affection, neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, love is perennial as the grass. ~ * ~ Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. ~ * ~ Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. ~ * ~ Do not distress yourself with dark imaginings, as many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. ~ * ~ Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. ~ * ~ You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars; you have a right to be here. ~ * ~ And whether or not it is clear to you, the universe is unfolding, as it should. ~ * ~ Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. ~ * ~ And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul. ~ * ~ With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is a beautiful world. ~ * ~ Be cheerful. ~ * ~ Strive to be happy.

~ Max Ehrmann, 1927

Life at "Riverbend"

2009-07-15T09:34:00.001+10:00

Wenn erst der Abend kommt

2009-07-13T11:01:00.000+10:00

I talk to the trees ...

2009-07-03T15:30:00.002+10:00

I am lying under a tree enjoying the late-afternoon sun of a warmish winter's day. I like trees. They seem more resigned to the way they have to live than I am. Perhaps I ought to talk to them more often.

There's nothing like a piece of hot damper on a cold night

2009-06-18T17:58:00.014+10:00

This is a traditional Australian bread baked in the coals of an open fire or in a Dutch Oven (huge lidded cast iron pot) but nowadays we bake it in a normal oven. Of course there are as many variations as there are days in the year but the basic recipe is as follow:

Ingredients

4 cups self-raising flour
3/4 - 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and mix in the sugar.

2. Rub in the butter with your (clean) hands until a fine breadcrumb texture is achieved.

3. Form a well in the top of the flour, pour in the milk and water, and mix well with a knife until the dough comes clean from the sides of the bowl.

4. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and silky, like a baby's bottom.

5. Shape into a mounded loaf, (some people cut a deep cross in the top) and bake in a preheated oven, 200 c / 400 F, for 25 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 180 c / 375 f and cook a further 10 - 15 minutes until done. The loaf should be a light golden brown colour and sound hollow when tapped.

6. If you are "game", try cooking it on a camp fire; nothing beats that extra smoky flavour, especially using Australian Eucalyptus wood to give it that special something. If you are cooking in an oven at home, try putting a few gum leaves in the oven to smoke as you are cooking the bread.

Damper is very similar to Irish Soda Bread, and probably developed from recipes brought over by Irish immigrants/convicts.

Variations of the basic recipe are seemingly endless, but you could try substituting other liquids, such as beer for a darker colour/flavour, or varying the ratio of milk to water, and so on. Try adding more sugar and butter and some dried fruits for a dessert damper. Basically, use your imagination.

If you are cooking on an open fire, you could try wrapping the dough in aluminium foil before you place it in the coals, or even try wrapping the dough around a stick and cooking suspended over the flames.

Damper is traditionally accompanied by good ol' Billy tea but why not try a heart-warming "Glühwein"?

Bonjour Tristesse

2009-06-07T12:54:00.001+10:00

There is something both sad and reassuring about autumn: sadness that another summer has passed and reassurance that this is all part of the predictable cycle of nature and that summer will return.

Autumn invites us to reflect on life and reminds us that time is not standing still. It's a muffled cry of 'CARPE DIEM'

Counting our blessings!

2009-06-04T08:04:00.004+10:00

We've just returned from an overnight trip to Canberra and are back at "Riverbend" and counting our blessings to live in this beautiful and peaceful place.

Hot cup of tea and a cool morning

2009-05-20T07:51:00.005+10:00

Early-morning magic at "Riverbend". There is no better time in the day than early morning to fully experience the peacefulness of this very special place. Life is stripped back to its basics: simply being and breathing!

Batemans Bay Bowling Club luncheon

2009-05-19T15:45:00.008+10:00

If it's Tuesday, it must be lunch at the Bay Bowlo! We always combine my Tuesday morning's volunteer work at the Coastal Patrol with lunch at the bowling club. Good value at $6.50 with a choice of at least eight different dishes: lamb's fry with mashed potato (my favourite!), fish 'n' chips, bangers and mash, some casserole, shepherd's pie, quiche, the ocassional mixed grill, and others. Washed down with a glass of riesling and the world begins to look a whole lot better!

Another Sunday too far away

2009-05-17T16:59:00.005+10:00

Sunday almost gone and another Sunday too far away! It was a perfect autumn day: full of sunshine and deep blue skies.

Autumn has come to "Riverbend"

2009-05-14T14:38:00.005+10:00

Cool nights but during the day deep-blue skies and a mild, warming sun. Many regard this as the best time of year.

Lunchtime "Invasion"

2009-03-03T00:31:00.000+11:00

The MERINDA has just arrived in Nelligen and disgorged its tourists for their 1/2-hour stopover after which the village will return to its somnambulic state. The cruise, which leaves Batemans Bay at 11 am, takes three hours to Nelligen and back to Batemans Bay, and costs $27 for adults and $14 for children.

The many moods of the river

2009-02-24T20:13:00.015+11:00

Quiet Sunday morning

2009-02-22T13:50:00.011+11:00

Padma was preparing breakfast and I was sitting here in quiet reverie when there was a sudden knock at the door. "Anybody home?" Visitors at "Riverbend"? Whatever happened to our cunningly arranged defences against the outside world such as creaky gates and puddles and fallen branches on the road? One always thinks of Jehovah's Witnesses at such moments but looking through the screendoor were two smiling faces. No witnesses to Jehovah, these two. They were Diane and Jack from Nowra, inquiring about accommodation at "Riverbend Cottage". They had just spent the night at a B & B in the village and wanted something a lot quieter for their next visit to the Clyde. Welcome to "Riverbend" where there's so much peace you can carry it in a bucket!

Oyster Farmer

2009-02-22T08:55:00.005+11:00

We live on the Clyde River which is famous for its fantastic oysters. More fantastic even than the oysters on the Hawkesbury River. They haven't made a film about it yet but they made one about the life of the oyster farmers on the Hawkesbury. I've just watched it and it's a great Australian romantic comedy - with typical Australian black humour - about love and life on the Hawkesbury River. The little river communities, the oyster farmers with their long-held traditions, and the Vietnam vets who have formed a kind of isolated commune are beautifully evoked in an affectionate examination of unusual lifestyles.

The movie is wonderfully relaxing and visually appealing, even with the shots of the very sub-standard accommodation that many of the oyster farmers endure. Some of the images are just so peaceful and moving that it's a shame some of them have to end to make way for the next scene - early morning on the river is a classic example of this.

"Oyster Farmer" is a revelation. It is warm, humourous, engaging and most of all, totally believable and very rewarding. Bring on the oysters!

Is it that time of year again?

2009-02-20T08:31:00.001+11:00

Well, we've just had our first inquiry for Christmas! Is it getting that close to it already? We haven't even had our winter yet which here on the river is one of the most beautiful seasons. Deliciously cool nights, rolling mists on the river in the morning, and warm days with big blue skies. And above it all the silence of the river ...

Another peaceful morning ...

2009-02-17T10:29:00.001+11:00

... at Riverbend Cottage. It's been a quiet start to the new year which is just the way we like it! The occasional visitor brightens up our day and the daily tourist-boat on its way up to the landing at Nelligen reminds us that there is still another world out there. If you're thinking of a holiday at the coast, this may well be the best time as it's no longer too hot and yet still warm enough to enjoy the water.

We wish you well in the new year and perhaps we'll see you soon?
Peter & Padma and the two K9s
Come and visit our website!