Making up for lost time

It was simply wonderful being with our son Ben and his wife Sarah after being separated for two and a half years due to Covid travel restrictions and then being delayed four days longer due to the extreme flooding event along the east coast of Australia.

Once we had settled in it was as if we had never been away and we set about making up for lost time.

We had drinks in the bar they had built themselves with some of Ben and Sarah’s best friends; had an online cocktail making (and drinking) session with our daughter Hannah in the Netherlands; met our newest great nephew for the first time and went for some great walks with the granddoggies.

One week after our arrival in Brisbane we drove fifteen minutes from Ben and Sarah’s house to the glorious property that they were in the process of purchasing. Unfortunately the flood waters were still over the road leading to the new place and we had to contain our impatience for another couple of days.

While we waited to see their new home, we organised a one-night trip to Sydney to catch up with dear friends, went to a timber yard to find a good piece of wood for their new mailbox and just enjoyed hanging out with Ben and Sarah who had taken a week off work to spend time with us.

Finally, nine days after our arrival in Australia, the flooded creeks were passable and we were able to see Ben and Sarah’s new home.

We were blown away with the beautiful location, the wonderful views, the bubbling creeks (small rivers), the two big dams (man made lakes), the paddocks and the fabulous, spacious house with a spectacular outlook.

Jonathan had great fun driving the big yellow tractor and we all loved meeting the large green frog community living around the exterior of the house.

Now that the contract on the property had been completed Ben and Sarah lost no time getting on with jobs and soon hopped on their ride-on mower to start tidying up the immediate surrounds of the house. They also pulled up some fences around the house so they could increase the space to make a large run for the ducks and to improve the view from the deck.

Meanwhile the timber for the mailbox was cut to size and stained and was soon sitting proudly in the shared laneway leading to the property. A beautiful front gate was commissioned and delivered.

Ben and Sarah also organised a guy to come in and slash as much of the property as possible over three days. The contractor worked from dawn until 8pm each evening and managed to tame huge tracts of land. He did such an amazing job.

Over the next few days we explored the hundred acres in the 4-WD and marvelled at all the special spots we discovered. What a great time to have arrived in Australia – just as the contract on the new house had completed!