Long Reach on the Kingston Peninsula

Long Reach on the Kingston Peninsula

In the aftermath of the storm the drive from Bathurst was really windy.  When going south on the straight a ways I could take my foot off the gas and keep going at the same speed for kms.  Unfortunately when the road turned so did the wind It was slow and nerve wracking managing the gusts close to shore.  We stopped at the Irving Eco Centre.  A beautiful stretch of protected sand dunes, that in good weather have marsh full of birds. Today we had the whole place to ourselves except for a couple of other hardy bird watchers from Australia.  It was so windy on the boardwalk we could barely keep our footing, very exciting. I love my new coat, perfect for that weather. I imagine my photos will be blurry if I try to blow them up. 

From there we started on the roads less travelled. The upside being we had great photo ops of the flooding, the downside, is the roads are also less maintained and lots of rubble on the road from people’s driveways.  It was cold and windy but I kept having to stop to get pictures. When I finally asked Hope how much further to her house she said ‘well that depends on how many photo stops you want to make’.  The flooding got worse and worse the closer to her house. The main route was washed out; the local market said there were troubles all over.   We tried another route but the covered bridge was too low for me to get under.  We had to drive down and take the ferry, as did everyone else so the wait was awhile.

The road less travelled took us through some of the most beautiful countryside.  As we drove further south the flooding became more and more obvious. 

When we finally got her house there was about 2 inches of water in the exposed part of her new basement.   Bailing was a slow process so we drove a short way to the summerhouse to get the wet/dry vac. The road down to it was washed out and trees were blown across it.  We left the car and walked, luckily the house was dry and not damaged.  With the shop vac it didn’t take too long to vacuum up the water but the seepage from under the rest of the floor is a problem yet to be fixed.  

   

Both her homes are just lovely. She has put so much thought into the design. The light, the use of space and the furnishings are perfect, comfortable, simple and elegant with lots of personal history and natural objects. 

Long Reach Day 2

There are really good helpers here when things need to be fixed.  In spite of all the flood damage in the region the guy was here this morning to fix Hope’s road to the summer house and advise on the water problem in the basement and there are others to help too.  She took me on a walking tour of the neighbourhood, we went to the local store and got mail.  It really is a community, as she says “people know what’s happening to you before you do”.  It was cold and windy today. My cold is back and I’m glad to have time in front of the fire to recuperate.

Long Reach Day 3

This morning we went to a great community market in Kingston. It was really cold and windy but there were lots of indoor and outdoor stalls with crafts, preserves, baking,and produce as well as people selling corn and apples off the back of their trucks. Everyone seemed to know each other and in spite of the weather have a good time.  We then went into Rothsey to shop, say hi to Hope's mom, and have lunch at a creperie. I faded on the way home and spent the afternoon resting, reading and drinking a hot lemon, ginger and honey mix from the market. The clouds are moving on and late afternoon light is pouring through the windows. The road to the summer house is repaired and the basement is drying out. All good omens for my continued journey tomorrow.