I’m planning to vist my origins in Laos in January. It seems to be a long way off but that has not stopped me from reading up as much as I can about Laos. The following images I have found via flickr so that I can wet my excitement until I actually DO visit this amazing country.

I’ve spent my Christmas break up in Gloucester this year with Evan and his family. Gloucester is approximately 5 hours from Sydney and is a little but thriving country town with over 4000 in population (the sign on the road said 2,500 but is old by now). Ev’s dad has built a small shack up on his farm which spans over 60 hectares. It is a comfortable shack offering the necessary amenites like kitchen, shower and a outdoor toilet that does not flush! Also powering the shack is a running generator and a water tank that collects fresh rainwater to be used in the kitchen and shower. Built by hand by a pilot by trade, it was an impressive shack – probably a bit better than what most people live off.

The shack is situated deep inside the property and a car made for tough terrain is highly recommended. Driving over 2 running rivers and a small cliffside is an exciting but scary adventure. A sigh of relief is felt everytime I pass the entry to the shack!

I am definitely not a country girl so it took me a couple of days to get adjusted to the shack. Insects especially spiders are my worst enemy and if one ever comes within a metre of me, I certainly don’t hesitate to get the Mortein spray out. Life at Gloucester is definitely wild but beautiful with animals like platypus, parrots, possums, red belly snake, leeches and country rats all roaming free and undisturbed. Luckily I didn’t get to see that much wild animals except for little joeys and blood sucking anorexic little leeches. But from that experience I’ve learned to have a little tolerance of insects!

Going out without television, laptop, internet and a mobile reception is tough. But there is something in the fresh country air that makes you want to sleep for long hours, have regular siestas and be lazy and slow. I’ve stocked up on a generous pile of reading material – Frankie, IDN, Rush and BRW – while there and bitten into the Hunter S Thompson biography. Day adventures included going to the Lookout which is reaching a very high mountain and the rainforest where Evan got attacked by leeches. Eeek.

Gloucester’s thriving CBD is charming and has all the shops you could think of fitted into one main road. And within the span of that main road is 2 pubs! For more information please visit the Gloucester website. From what I’ve seen its a great place to get away from the bustling, polluted city. Unfortunately, I came back feeling sick with the flu!

Casey’s dog Lewis who is smart and very cheeky!

The farm was overgrown with weed and not a tamed farm. If you look closely, a spider has made its web on the weed.

Spotted a ladybug on its climb

Wild but beautiful

This is one of the views from the Look Out. We had to walk down a bit of a slippery slope but once there the view is absolutely amazing. Breathtaking!

Overturned a stone and found white sugar ants

This is the river which runs beside the shack. After hesitating to swim in the river, the hot weather got the better of me and I had a swim. It is deceptively deep. One of the most refreshing swims I’ve had in a long time.

This is the river path that we have to cross to get to the shack

I shot this while we were waiting to see the playtpus come out. They never did and the spiders were in full force so I didn’t stay too long.

A tree from the rainforest

The rainforest has a life of its own. It was overgrown and walking anywhere increased your chances of getting a leech sucking on you for dear life!

Lewis loved the fact that he had all this land to explore!

The clothes line amongst the stunning backdrop. Reading from the verandah with this view in site was a site to gasp at

We had evening campfires as its got quite cold during the night and hot during the day. The stars were plenty and massive!