a different journey

Well no overseas birthday AGAIN this year!!

But at least I did celebrate in a special way. No travelling in the conventional sense - but I am on a current journey lasting several years and that is building my own house.

I bought 25 acres ex farmland south west of Sydney (2 hrs drive) a few years ago. I then set about designing a house using recycled shipping containers. I have to add in 2010 when I began the planning I had never heard of such a thing. Now container houses are all over the internet.

Talk about tapping the zeitgest.

Apart from the design I also drew all of the architectural plans and submitted all of the Council building requirements. As well as the building plans there were many other plans and documents needed to obtain my building permission. I was able to do all of these except for the engineering plans myself.

I also intend to do all of the actual building myself where permitted (which is just about everything except plumbing and electrical which legally requires certified trades.)

The design:

 The container layout within the design:

House plan:

It is a simple design, 2 bedrooms and no en suite (gasp!!!!)

Open plan with major insulation on the outside of the containers so as not to reduce interior space. The only single width container rooms are the guest bedroom (wide enough for a double bed and 2 side tables) and the 2 way bathroom which will be 2.5 times the size of my current 2 bed rental!

The land:

This is a view to the north.

It is by far the nicest aspect - and fortunately the direction my large 2.1sq.m windows along the front of the house face. They will capture the low winter sun and let the heat into the house for passive solar heating. In summer, the sun is high enough so that the awning stops the sun entering the house.

The veggie garden:

My friend Jana watering the garden during last summer.

I established a fenced 60sq.m plot by Spring last year with a 1000L raised water tank at one end. (This I fill from my dam and then gravity feed the water to the veggies.)

I grew rhubarb, butternut pumpkins, capsicums, rocket, basil, garlic, chives, mint, strawberries, radishes, beetroots, and spinach. As I am not living on site I had to have veggies hardy enough to last up to 5 or 6 days without watering.

Luckily I had no losses throughout one of the driest summers in years.

We have just finished planting out the next Spring veggies: all the above veggies again plus chilies, squash, red onions, eggplant and shallots.

Current stage of house:

Back deck started with roof joists and temp supports visible.

View through 'kitchen window' into lounge/dining.

 

Ceiling joists all finished and about to start internal framing. Windows and doors all ready idly waiting for this framing before they can be put in.

My roof trusses have arrived and I just have to learn how to erect a roof before I start putting them up!

That is the story of this build - every step along the way needs to be researched before I begin.

It is such a massive challenge that if I try and encompass it all in my head at once my brain will explode! In many ways this adventure is very much like doing the PhD. Having done that 10 years ago has been a great help in the planning and execution of this build. The steps I have been going through have been almost the same.

Finishing date? When I move in!! 

And so - my birthday yesterday was spent on my land in the shell of my partially built house and was as every bit as special as having the celebration on top of Kilimanjaro, on the Inca trail at Macchu Picchu, sitting on the Great Pyramid in Cairo or Scuba diving in Fiji!

The Musical Birthday Candle Ritual (yet again):

                                        

Cutting the birthday cake:

If interested in my build you can follow my building blog HERE

coastal getaway

As an endless summer rolls along Paul and I decided to head to the coast to catch some cooling sea breezes.

Paul had never been to the the Shoalhaven part of the NSW coast so we set off early Saturday morning from Goulburn and drove to the coast via Fitzroy Falls which is a little South East of Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands.

Fitzroy Falls (low on water after a dry summer):

 

Lyrebird:

Heading through Kangaroo Valley and across Hampden Bridge:

We stopped at the town of Berry which is about 6kms from the coast, Saturday mid morning and it was exactly like Paddington on a Saturday. Lots of smart deli's, upmarket cafes and twee trinket stores. And VERY busy.

A brisk walk of the main street and we left Berry to check in at our hotel 20 minutes away to the South West.

This whole region is very expensive and accomodation is a little ridiculous in my opinion. Most of the small towns in the region require you to book at least two nights if staying  over the weekend.

Some of the B&B's charge upwards of $400 for a night. We settled for a hotel in Nowra which was just about the cheapest room we could find at $110 for the Saturday night.

A bleak mid sized city (pop. just over 35,000) with little in terms of attractions (wait for the flood of incensed Nowrarites...) - we asked a local merchant what were the top three things to see in Nowra and she said: "Kangaroo Valley, Berry and Harris Scarfe (the store she worked in).

The hotel was basic (what I'm used to) and at least it had a pool.

After checking in we drove to the coast to a little fishing hamlet called Greenwell Point where we were entertained by the pelicans and corellas.

Back to the hotel by 6ish and then we headed off to Nowra for dinner. And of all places we ended up at the Nowra Bowlo. (Bowling Club). A first for me!! Disappointment was high on the menu and it lived up to all expectations.

Early the next morning we set off for Jervis Bay and particularly Hyams Beach.

I'd been to Hyams Beach several times before. The last time was with three other mates on our motorbikes down from Sydney for a days ride. When we arrived at Hyams Beach (midweek) it was deserted and as we walked along the water's edge on the pristine white sands we were rewarded with a pod of dolphins swimming alongside of us less than two metres from shore.

This visit on a hot Sunday promised to be a flotilla of bare bodies crammed side by side filling the sands from water to woods.

But I was very pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was.

Hyams Beach:

When we'd had our fill of sun,sea and surf we set off for Canberra via some back country roads through thick native forests and past tiny country villages with names such as Sassafras, Nerriga, Wog Wog and Tomboye.

We stopped for lunch at Bungendore where we once again visited the Woodworks Gallery (a must see if going there) and then popped into the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery of Australia in Canberra for some kultur before heading home.

Outside the NGA:

Back in Goulburn and the heat continues.