Our stay at The Block, or as it is now called, Piccabeen Camp
Kay and
I purchased a 64 hectare (153 acre) piece of Australia last year with
the intention of sharing our time between travelling and residing at
the block, six months travel, six months in Australia, at the block and
with our family nearby. Previously the property had run cattle and been
logged for timber but
we just wanted a chunk of land to let nature return, Australian nature,
flora and fauna. No permanent structures have ever been built on the
block. It is a steep piece of land, a valley, timbered, running from
rainforest along the creeks and gullies up to more open wooded
hillsides. The rainforest areas have some buttress rooted trees, figs,
piccabeen palms and attract a wide variety of bird life. Wallabies,
echidna and bandicoot are the main mammals along with a plethora of
native rats. Lizards and snakes are often seen and native frogs hop
through our camp.
The heavy rainfall of this summer encouraged the breeding of many
insects, some attractive, like the butterflies, some noisy, the
cicadas, and some biting and particularly annoying, march flies,
midgies and mosquitoes. The heavy rainfall to us was also a mixed
blessing, washing away our access road, the local bridge and having us
isolated for 10 days, but it also cleaned up the creek washing away 10
years of drought debris. We constructed a 3 gazebo open living
structure with a tarpaulin roof enclosing a bed, lounge and kitchen.
Power came from 4 solar panels and batteries, shower water from the
creek, drinking water is collected and sewage disposed of when we visit
our nearest town, 14 km's away. Two 3x3 metre garden sheds provided
rain protection to our belongings.
When we arrived back in Australia after the last trip we had nothing
but our motorcycle luggage, everything, including a motor vehicle, a
van, had to be purchased on arrival. The full setting up from cutlery
and crockery to a bed and somewhere to live needed to be sought. At
this stage we are still maintaining a minimalist lifestyle although our
possessions have grown substantially. Most of our time on the block was
spent leveling a spot for the gazebo's and sheds, clearing and
repairing the road with a spade and wheelbarrow. The property has a
light infestation of a woody weed called lantana and that has occupied
a couple of hours each day and whilst we will probably never get rid of
all the regrowing seedlings the larger plants are now at least 75%
dead. This infestation has encouraged us to clamber over the entire
property, quite a feat in some places due to the steepness of many of
its side gullies and ridges.
Please enjoy the photos. Captions can be read by hovering the cursor
over the photo.
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