I'm in the middle of a week off work (well earned, in my humble opinion!), and one of the things we wanted to do was have a couple of days break from Sydney.
A big of searching landed us with
Robertson, a small town half-way between Bowral and the coast. We'd stopped there on a steam train ride and despite the horrendous rain that day (Robertson has a huge annual rainfall) we had fond memories of it.
After discounting most of the accommodation (why are Aussie B&Bs so expensive??), we landed on the huge old manor of the town,
Fountaindale. This is known to most people we've mentioned the trip to as Ranleigh House, which it was called for most of its life. I sold it to Liz as coming across a bit like
Fawlty Towers, and once we arrived, we found I was more correct that we had hoped I would be!
It wasn't bad, but for the prices they charge (lucky we were getting a hefty discount) you'd expect heating in the rooms. Especially when you arrive with a six month old and my wife who would probably have preferred to be on the coast somewhere very very warm :)
The charm of the place would have been great in its day, but it needs some serious work to compete - we won't be returning unles they do some major work.
Anyway, the town was nice enough - one pub, a few cafés, galleries, etc. Disturbingly many places recently closed for business though, which is never good to see in a small town.
I'd taken the bike and set off one afternoon when the weather permitted for a
ride up the little-used railway line. Fountaindale actually had it's
own station, which would have been a grand way to arrive back in 1924 when it was first built.
On the way back home yesterday we stopped at the newly-opened
Illawarra Fly treetop-walk. This was quite a bit of fun, although not one for the vertigo-afflicted!
All three of us had a great time walking around, even when it was
rather high up! They'd done a reasonable job of making it fit in with the surroundings, and it's all sustainably done with water tanks, no flashy signs, etc. Worth a visit if you're in the area, for the great views across to the coast, and the chance to bounce the cantilever sections to annoy those not big fans of heights in your group :)
Phoebe slept mostly in her porta-cot, and some times with us in the King-sized bed, which was a pleasant bonding experience for us.