A paradise called Home

Like the rest of the world, we have been dealing with the global pandemic for most of this year. Because of this, it became exceedingly obvious that international travel - and even national and local travel - was going to be off limits for a while. We also happened to be fast approaching the time that our lease in Brisbane city was going to be up. Prior to the pandemic, we knew that we wanted to move. And when the pandemic exploded around the globe, we knew that we would be at Home a lot more than we have become used to in the last few years. So, we wanted to really make sure that we found a place to call home that we really loved and that we would be really excited to spend most of our time in. We tentatively began to look at properties for rent, a few months out of having to vacate (we had given our notice at this point). We honestly did not expect to find much and we were pretty much just looking to get an idea of our options ahead of having to move into a new place.

We had also begun loosely discussing the idea of living away from the city. I had always wanted to do this eventually and Josh was excited to get out of the bustling city too (besides, who wants to be stuck in a major city during a pandemic? Certainly not either of us). So, after many conversations, we eventually decided to look for properties in the mountains and towards the coast. It would mean moving around an hour away from the city but we both thought we could do it (this is probably helped a lot by the fact that we were wanting to know if we would like to live in the mountains full time just yet and if it was a location we would eventually like to buy land in). After seeing a dream property online (don't they always look like dream properties in the photos?), for a few reasons that catapulted off one another, it did not work out.

We were a little discouraged because it seemed so perfect. There were not that many properties in this area. And then, a few days after, we saw another property listed. One thing led to another and after we saw it at the inspection we fell in love and sent our application before we even left the street to head home. We were approved! We even paid double rent for a few weeks so we could say that we could move in immediately. It paid off. This was a property that online, looked great but the house perhaps not as perfect as the first property we applied for. However, when we walked down the driveway to inspect it, we both fell in love with the view before we even stepped foot into the actual house. It is the first place that we have lived in together that felt like Home before we even moved our belongings in. That was in June. Moving into a mountain paradise still feels like a dream, months later. I had spent a lot of my childhood driving up this very mountain on weekends to go on hikes with my family and our friends and I always wanted to live up here one day.

This place has so many special memories for me and my family and to be here, calling it home at this time in my life, with my best friend, is still so surreal to me. From the moment we got the keys, and then again when we were finishing unpacking (and every moment since, if I am being honest), this has truly felt like Home. From the top of our driveway, we can see a beautiful view of the ocean with a meadow and two resident horses framing it on our street. And from our house, deck, and backyard, we can see a perfect, all-to-ourselves view of the scenic rim. Often if we are up early enough, there are clouds that pan out below us over the valley. Every day, we get the most unreal sunsets. 

This place has also been incredible for mental health. It is easy to be content and inspired and just all around more committed to Happiness and health when you love the place you call Home (don't get me wrong, we still have our moments but this is a much healthier environment all around). It is wonderful to live in a house that is filled with natural light, that is surrounded by trees and wildlife. We have resident goannas, snakes, rabbits, wallabies and roos (hopefully also koalas, however we have yet to see any), rosellas, and countless other species of birds. Right this second, I am sitting in my office looking out at a perfect view of the sunlight filtering down through the green leaves of the trees, a perfect blue sky, and fluffy white clouds. And to top it all off, the butterfly migration is in full swing. There are butterflies gracefully arcing through the wind every which way. A view of the ocean to the front and a view of the mountains to the back...this is paradise, surely?

'Give yourself permission to dream.'

Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

There are not many places in the world that you can even be at the ocean and then in the lush mountains in the same week, let alone the same day. Australia is magic. And this is like living in a wonderland. This is the perfect place to have our home base, especially now when we are at home so much during the current global travel restrictions. We live so close to the hiking trails I used to frequent as a kid. It is so exciting to know that we can go on a great hike in the morning and spent more time soaking it all in because we do not have to make a huge drive there and back. Our families all love it here. I have this vivid memory of my parents and Josh's mum and her partner helping us move and unpack and seeing my dad just standing on the back deck with a smile on his face, taking in the view. I remember looking at my mum and smiling. We both knew what he was appreciating and thinking. I will always remember that. We love having a place we want to host people and where our families and friends have somewhere wonderful to come as well.

One of my favourite things about living here is going for walks and seeing the chickens and ponies of our neighbours just walking around free, safe in the knowledge that cars seldom come down this street and, if they do, nine times of out ten they are the vehicles of those of us who live here (or our loved ones). I do not do it as much as I should, however lately I have been trying to be more conscious of doing so. And one of the other highlights of living here is watching storms roll in over the valley from our deck. Because we are so high up here, when the storm reaches us we are more often than not literally surrounded by the storm clouds as they barrel rain down around us. Storm season is not even supposed to be here yet and we have already seen some wild storms come through (a recent one saw not only insane winds but some large trees fall). 

The hikes here are fantastic. We take a backpack and head down to enjoy stunning waterfalls and beautiful little creeks filled with cold, fresh water. On a clear day, you can catch glimpses of the ocean or the valley along the trails, depending where on the mountain you are hiking that day. One of the best sights in the world is seeing sunlight drift down, catching on leaves and trees and highlighting them in vibrantly bright shades of green and sometimes a few glimpses of yellow and orange. Song birds, bush turkeys, and other animals frequently come to greet you as you walk through the rainforest. You always know when you are nearing a waterfall because you can hear the cascading rushes of the water begin to reach you as birds call in the trees around you. If you go off the trails a little way, you can often find a little quiet place where you can be on your own, even on busy days with tourists and day trippers crowding the car parks.

And when we pull into our driveway, our wonderful neighbours happily say hello and we sometimes have a little conversation to catch up. This is exactly the kind of place that we both love. And it is wonderful to know that we are locals. I write all of this because this is a place that I never want to forget. There has been a whole lot of chaos around the world this year. And while in history books all of that will be documented rigorously, I will remember this year for other things (though of course the chaos of this year is unforgettable). We have been so fortunate. Our families and friends are Happy and Healthy. We live in paradise (and we both think we very well might buy here one day...maybe even this house if the owners ever want to sell it!). We had to postpone some travel plans (thankful we managed to get to Canada before temporary global lockdown, and excited to reschedule NZ and travel again in general when it is safe), but we got to slow down and find a place to call home that we truly appreciate and cherish.

I am still not used to the fact that the place that I have been to so many times for hikes, winery days, epic sunsets, and even my dad and brother's downhill races, is now my home. On one of our first hikes after we moved here, we went on a hike that we had not done together before (fun fact: we used to go on a hike literally every weekend together years ago, so we were excited to be able to do so without the massive drives to get there and back!). I knew that I had hiked it with my family when I was a kit but I could not remember it. This is the craziest story. We got to the bottom, nearing a seasonal lagoon, when we turned around a twist in the pathway and saw a tree in front of us. I still do not know how I instantly knew, but I knew that I had been there with my family when I was a kid. I even thought that I had taken a photo there before. I said this to Josh, kind of in awe. It had been years since I had been there. I never had with Josh. I just kind of knew it. So, I took a quick snap of the photo and we continued on our way, with me saying that I had to remember to look for the photo I knew there was of my brother and I there. Lo and behold, after we got home from a great hike, I was digging through my photos and there it was. Even crazier? I had taken the photo that day from exactly the same angle. Somehow, well over ten years later, I found that same tree. It was pretty wild and a special reminder that life has a funny way of taking you back to the places you call Home when you need them most.

I will remember this as the year that we explored our home state more (more on that in my earlier posts on our outback road trip). As the year that we moved to the fresh and peaceful oasis of the mountains. I choose to remember this as the year that we bought our new car and set off to adventure the country we call Home more (something we both wanted to do too for a while). As the year that we spent more quality time with our families (and our friends) when it was safe to do so, and as the year that we have built amazing memories with them here at Home, at their homes, at wineries on the mountains, and on hikes or beach days. I will remember this year as the year that we were forced to slow down and as the year where we finally took more time to find balance in our work lives and focus more on ourselves and each other. 2020 has been a chaotic year, it is true. However, it is also one of my favourite years to date for other, personal reasons (which I do realise is a very lucky thing to be able to say). 

I am sitting here with my green tea in my office, watching the sunlight filter down on the greens of the trees and listening to the sound of bird song. We did not know what this year would hold for us. Sitting here, I can say with absolute certainty that we and our loved ones are so fortunate to have made it through this year unscathed and safe (which is truly a gift, considering how rough - to say the least - this year has been, and continues to be, for some individuals around the globe). 2020 started a fresh decade with a chaotic bang. And I have never been so thankful to have a peaceful little oasis to feel well and safe in. We both came to this mountain with our families as kids (though me more often) and now we are here again. This is Home. Perhaps we will be fortunate enough to have this as our home base for years to come, the place that we come Home to after travel trips (fingers crossed that happens soon!). This view never gets old. And it is even better with Josh in it.