Easter2009: Maple Lodge

Easter 2009 – from Friday 10 to Monday 13 - was going to be different from the start! Not only was it time to say farewell to Uts, Gary, Luke, Lauren and Max and wish them all the best for their adventures in Europe but it was also an opportunity to greet Mat and Larissa’s new arrival Gabriel as well as congratulate Nola and Bryan on their pregnancy after Nola had been miraculously rejuvenated to the 25 year age bracket after her first test result. It was going to be a busy weekend, where closures seamlessly merge into new beginnings without much pause for us to ponder the marvel of endless renewal. Incidentally, Marvell said it best when he ‘marveled’ that “at my back I always hear – time’s winged chariot hurrying near!”
This year Will was flat out with family affairs so we needed to find a replacement for Carolyn’s hideout. Luckily Mat came to the rescue with picturesque Maple Lodge situated near the Golf Course on Valley View Round no.5 in Blackheath. The main participants this year were the Crockers, Fumeauxs and Rosenbaums with several guest appearances from Will, Marta and Liam; Nola and Bryan; Natasha, Rhaul and Tuna (Larissa’s sister from England and her son and mum) and friends of the Fumeauxs, Soula and George Lerantges and their sons: Peter, Stephen and Matthew.

 It was shaping up to be a mammoth weekend on Friday when traffic was starting to build from very early on in the morning. As usual the Rosenbaums left at the break of dawn and completely avoided most of the traffic choosing instead to spend their time in Wentworth Fall’s delectable German Conditorei Patisserie Schwarz. A couple of strudels and coffee’s later we arrived safely at the majestic setting of Maple Lodge just before the center of Blackheath. The place was stunning indeed, with four bedrooms with leafy outlooks in the main residence. One downstairs and three upstairs. Also available is a studio at the rear suitable for a small family. The kitchen was a tad small but we were compensated with a nice balcony overshadowed by giant fir tress full of yellow crested cockatoos. Shortly before Friday lunch it was almost time to pick up Mat, who came via train with Rafaela. By that time traffic was bumper to bumper and we were glad when the Fumeauxs arrived safely after negotiating torturous congestion on the Great Western Highway. Friday after noon was spent in leisure with Mat and Roman taking the kids to the nearby public school park for a quick workout. With ‘only’ three families the place was more than adequate and Friday vanished all too quickly with Louise’s roast dinner and a few bottles of red wine.

Saturday morning it was time for business and Will arrived early with Marta and Liam. In fact early enough to take the kids for another quick workout session to the local park and wait for the arrival of Uts and Gary’s friends. Once everyone arrived after a leisurely breakfast lasting till about lunch time we piled five families into four cars and headed to the dam cliffs, where climbing was the order of the day. Located on the Bells Line toward Lithgow this crag is very kids friendly and sports some easy grades for top-roping and swimming in the nearby dam. With three ropes and lots of keen climbers including eleven children the prize for the youngest climber went to: Marta (one) for youngest unrobed climber and Rafaela (three) youngest roped climber. Lucky that Gabriel (6 months) had not turned up yet, because it would have been a tempting record to break. After all the adults strutted their stuff on the rock and the drizzle set in it was time to test the rope swing at the dam nearby. Gary – the largest kid - went first and nearly head-budded the tree so we changed the angle and started tossing kids into mid-air. Many swings later it was time to farewell Will, Marta and Liam because their leave pass had expired. The rest of us headed back to the homestead for afternoon tea. After a few more cups from the Fumeaux’s coffee machine the Lerantges were leaving and we were back to the original three families. That’s when Bryan and Nola turned up making us complete for Saturday. It was Uts and Gary’s turn to feed the starving hordes with oodles of delicious Tacos. After the kids movie it was time to finish the day with a nice De Baudelaire ‘borrowed’ from the cellar of Bryan’s mum.

 Sunday morning dawned early with the kids beating the morning sun to a six AM start, but it was nothing our coffee machine couldn’t take care off and before long we were all quivering with delight. The Easter bunny had done its duty and the front yard was covered with sweet delights, which were discovered over and over again in the course of the morning. A few tears and lots of sugar later, for the first time this Easter, the cloud cover disappeared and the sun teased us out of another three hour breakfast with Bruce turning up to say hello. So we decided it was time for a bushwalk with the kids. The nearby Evans Lookout with its magnificent Grand Canyon and views of Mount Hay provided a great starting point for a 3.5 km walk to the adjacent Govetts Leap. After a super quick tire change on Nola’s car we set off downhill via Govett’s Leap Brook which drops 180m into the valley at Bridal Veil Falls. Followed by a 750 meter uphill battle for the final section to Govett’s Leap we could clearly make out the pinnacle of Lockley Pylon and the Blue Gum forest far below. To our surprise the kids did not complain and shot ahead of us to finish the course in record time. Then Gary, Bryan and Roman saved the day by running back along the track to retrieve the cars. Gary led at a brisk pace and Bryan valiantly brought up the rear, twenty minutes later and a liberal dosage of sticky magnesium oil rubbed on various body parts we headed back to retrieve our relaxed families. Meanwhile Larissa and family had arrived and highjacked Mat back to the house. After a few bouldering sessions on the Govett’s Leap toilet block we all headed back to our base camp via the newly discovered secret bakery at the back of Blackheath, where coffee and cake woke up tired limbs. Now Mat and Roman were ready for action and decided to make hay while the sun still shines. A quick dash into the Megalong valley for a cardio fix and to exorcise chocolate egg overdose was the perfect remedy. Could we make it back in time for Mat to fulfill his cooking duties – not a chance – so Uts and Louise stepped into the breach and fixed up the kids with snags instead. However Mat redeemed himself with the best lamp cutlets since the first sheep arrived on the Australian shore and it was only topped by the gluten-free pumpkin cake for desert. Another day ended in near perfection and before we realized it the Easter Weekend had ended.

Monday morning began with an ominous cloud cover which could not stop Louise and Gary from heading down into the Megalong Valley for an early morning bike ride. Unfortunately they discovered the secret pocket-money in the bike-pouch as they happened to pass by the bakery. Once they returned it was Uts’ turn for a quick sprint down to Evan’s lookout and the light sprinkle did not stop Gary and Mat to take the kids for yet another workout session to the local playground. The amount of pull-ups done over the weekend is going to stay in the record books for quite some time and we would surely be back to improve it next time.

Roman 14 April 2009

Lock-Off strenth training

Sausage Mayhem