Cataract Gorge Residency: Days 15 – 18

Mon Dec 14, 2009

11:10 – KBC Balcony The greatest disappointment of this trip has been the fence around First Basin swimming pool, only erected 2 months ago; a sign of the creeping loss of common sense and personal responsibility, replaced instead by the "I’ll sue you" mentality. Tasmania seems to have been relatively immune to this mentality but it is unfortunately spilling over from the mainland.

Wed Dec 16, 2009

00:45 – Highest Lookout on Gorge Path

Sitting atop the lookout on a big dark mass of dolerite outside the barrier fence. It’s very dark here in the gorge. All the path lights have been turned off but my eyes have attuned and I can make out very vague features. The clouds have cleared again to reveal a starry sky. I saw a shooting star before the clouds glided over.

The rapids below hiss and froth and are my most obvious companion here. Others are the silhouettes (moulded hills, scraggly gums, symmetrical pines); the coolness of the stone beneath my legs, the harshness of its edge biting into my back; the background static of the second set of rapids further upstream; the coolness, almost softness of the air on my neck and its weight on my head; light clouds drifting overhead and the stars beyond, static yet floating, sparkling. Perhaps I can sense the most subtle of breezes but I am not sure.

A brief burst of scattered light just swept across the gorge, north to south – most likely car headlights passing through the foliage from the carpark upstream above the gorge restaurant. I am relaxed and content, pleased to be out here where nature reigns. It is a very mild night – no jumper required (and no ‘bouncer’ assessing my attire before allowing me entry).

Thurs Dec 17, 2009

08:59 – On Balcony

A storm is building. Weighty clouds glide south-east, their bases a velvety grey-blue, their colour and tone lightening gradually to a silvery white at the top.

   

Mt Barrow to the east is silhouetted against distant silver-white heavens, every detail of the mountaintop ridgeline magnificently delineated. One can even make out individual trees from this distance.

09:48

I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such relaxed days. Even the domestic duties are enjoyable. It is so simple to exist here. And when I step out the door, a turn to the left and I’m in town, a turn to the right and I’m in relative wilderness. A perfect balance.

Above – The Dividing Line

Things I like about Lonny:

– chicks driving utes
– The Gorge and First Basin
– the architecture
– the simplicity, the lifestyle, the lack of faux sophistication
– the proximity to nature and the lack of concrete
– the lack of traffic
– kids jumping from King’s Bridge and living like kids used to live, wildly, openly, expressively
– trading hours (when five thirty ticks around, the doors close and the shutters come down)

12:32 – Stillwater Cafe

Enigma Hair Design hairdressing salon makes me laugh and think that you’ll never know what you’ll come out of the salon looking like.