After 3 weeks of living out of suitcases we were excited and
a little anxious to get settled somewhere. Although Eric is working with
Charles Sturt University in Albury, his friend and sponsoring faculty there, Al
Curtis, suggested that we find a home in Myrtleford, about 1 hour south of Albury. Al
and his wife Marg live close to Myrtleford and he usually works from home. Eric
expects to do the same, likely traveling into Albury once a week or fortnight. We
have been in Myrtleford for a week now and feel right at home. Myrtleford is a
small town (population 3,100) in the Australia alps. We live in a valley
surrounded by industrial forest land and rolling green mountains. The movie "Man from Snowy River" was filmed here.
This area used to be the center of tobacco agriculture but
in 2006 – really not that long ago – the Australian government shut the entire
industry down amid widespread corruption. There are remnant tobacco kilns on
almost every field but now those fields support vineyards and cattle.
Asher in front of a log tobacco kiln:
The main
economic driver for the area is tourism. Al calls Bright, the next town over, a
suburb of Melbourne and tells us that on weekends the little town swells with
Melbournians coming for the cooler temperatures and recreational opportunities.
Our new home is the last house on the street across from a
golf course. The morning after we arrived we met our neighbors to the North: a
mob of red kangaroos, cattle, kookaburra, and flocks of galah and cockatoo. We
peek over the fence every morning in wonder of what we will find. (As long as
it is not snakes.)
Our home (with kids taking my picture).
No houses to the left of our house, just forest and fields and animals. Cattle (and a sneak peak at our "flash" new set of wheels):
But more often than cows we have roos in the field!
Al and Marg have been so generous and done much to help us
settle in. We had breakfast at their farm one morning and Al drove the older kids
around in a gator to move his cattle. Marg had a goody bag and flowers waiting
for us when we arrived and dropped by one day with a large empty appliance box
for the kids to play with.
Kids and Al with the gator:
We have been busy with the details of a new move: meeting
with the principal, finding a doctor (getting immunizations!), visiting
the library, shopping for school uniforms, etc. but we have also managed to do
a bit of exploring. We went hiking at Mount Buffalo National Park, played at a
splash park in Bright, picked berries in Stanley, swam at the local pool, and tried
out the local parks. Maren starts daycare next Monday (Jan 23) and so we have
one more weekend to enjoy before getting into a regular work/school schedule.
Pictures:
It rains (or should I say monsoons) here! Notice the golf ball on the roof of the club house across the street?
Cady and the big dump bucket at the Bright splash park:
Tomans on top of Mount Buffalo:
"Mom, can I please put my swim suit on?" Cady just before completely dunking herself in the cold mountain lake in Mount Buffalo National Park.
Blueberries!
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