new south wales – Wattle and Ash

Everyday life, Food, Local sights, Thoughts

Strawberry fields forever

November 2, 2020November 1, 2020by wattleandash3 Comments

A couple of years ago a hydroponic strawberry farm popped up, right in the middle of Wagga Wagga. For one reason or another I never managed to make it onto the farm during the growing season, so when I saw an advertisement announcing the opening of the farm for the year, I made a note in my diary to schedule a visit.

Strawberries rank fairly high on my favourite fruit list, so the thought of being able to access locally grown, in-season berries was pretty sweet. And this weekend past Paul and I stopped by for a spot of strawberry picking…

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Everyday life, home, Local sights, Motherhood, Thoughts

The week that was

June 1, 2020May 31, 2020by wattleandash4 Comments

Life has felt pretty ‘normal’ this last week. More people are out and about, children are back at school, shops are re-opening and whilst precautions still remain in place, everything just feels a little happier.

This is how my last seven days have looked…

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Everyday life, Food, home, Thoughts

A night out, in

April 27, 2020April 27, 2020by wattleandashLeave a Comment

Last Christmas Adam and I were given a gift certificate for one of our favourite local restaurants, The Roundabout. We never found the opportunity to treat ourselves to an evening out before the COVID-19 lockdown rules came into play and we both agreed it’d be a nice little treat once the current restrictions were lifted. A few weeks ago though, the restaurant announced it was going to provide a takeaway service so one night last week Adam and I decided we’d have a ‘night out’, in the comfort of our own home…

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Everyday life, Travel

Fitzroy Falls

August 29, 2019August 27, 2019by wattleandash5 Comments

At the start of last month, Adam and I snuck off for a week long holiday in Kangaroo Valley in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales. We were completely blown away with the area’s natural beauty and instead of hibernating away like we planned, ended up using our afternoons for slow-paced outings.

One of those adventures took us to Fitzroy Falls, nestled into the edge of a massive escarpment, within the stunning Morton National Park …

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Food, Travel

A cottage in the valley

July 22, 2019July 21, 2019by wattleandash5 Comments

Lazy mornings, afternoon adventures and early nights – that’s been my last week and it’s been absolutely blissful. While Adam and I have managed a fit little trips away this year, neither of us have had more than a week off since we got married last year. We were both in desperate need of some downtime and also wanted to make the most of just ‘us’ before baby arrives, so last week we took a little trip to Kangaroo Valley…

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Everyday life, Local sights, Travel

The Nimmie-Caira

November 5, 2018November 4, 2018by wattleandash2 Comments

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel to an 86,000 hectare wetland in western New South Wales, on assignment with a colleague at work. The Nimmie-Caira is a vast area of floodplain that was formerly farmed, at the very end of the Murrumbidgee River system. Its restoration back to a natural wetland is a divisive project under Australia’s controversial Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Personal politics aside (there are both supporters and detractors of the project), it was was an amazing day I wanted to share with you a little part of the country that often gets forgotten… Continue reading “The Nimmie-Caira” →

Everyday life, Local sights, Travel

Local life: Morgan’s lookout

October 11, 2018October 10, 2018by wattleandashLeave a Comment

Last weekend, while on the road with work, I found myself driving past a local lookout I’d never visited before. I had plenty of time to get back to the office, so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and go and check it out…

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Everyday life, Food, Local sights, Travel

Local life: A weekend in Wagga

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018by wattleandash2 Comments

For the second time in as many weeks, Adam and I have had house guests. This time it was Adam’s second cousin Joe, who’s recently relocated to Australia. Joe’s had one brief visit to Wagga Wagga before, but Adam and I were keen to show him what life was like here for a pair of young professionals.

So over the course of two days, we handpicked some of our favourite places and showed Joe what a typical weekend in Wagga might involve…

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Everyday life, Local sights, Thoughts

The return of golden hour

September 24, 2018September 23, 2018by wattleandash4 Comments

One of the lovely things about Australia is the abundance of light. The sun shines long and hard here. While its rays are often overwhelming in the dead of summer and feeble in the heart of winter, during spring and autumn at certain times of the day. they cast the most wonderful warm glow over the countryside.

Instead of a rapid descent from light to dark at the end of the day, that wonderful ‘golden hour’ has started to arrive…

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Food, Local sights

Local life: Rabbit Books

August 27, 2018August 26, 2018by wattleandash6 Comments

Wagga Wagga is home to a plethora of little, independent businesses which is one of the things I really love about the city.

A new bookshop/art studio/coffee shop/cocktail bar opened up in the CBD a few months back and although I’d stuck my head in for a quick peek, I’d never taken the time to have a proper visit. So over the weekend, Adam and I headed to Rabbit Books for a coffee date…

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Tag: new south wales