The Southern Highlands (Highlights)

When I was first told I would be travelling to the Southern Highlands, I was expecting to come across scenery similar to where I live already. You know the sort of place, high hilly surfaces, cold hostile weather, deeply forested woodlands and dark overcast and overshadowed skies. But none of this was true.

Yes we had gone further into the Great Dividing Range than ever before and yes height was a factor, but that was where all the similarities ended. What we had actually landed ourselves in was some of the most gloriously photogenic scenery I had ever come across. There was blue skies all around, wide open spaces, old country courtyards, churchyards and a wide array of charming buildings.

Click here to view more from the scenic album

Even along the country lanes we came across stone carvings in the middle of what seemed nowhere. It was as if they had been placed there especially for us. They looked both pristine in their appearance and splendid in their isolation.

This Wombat is well bad. Badder than Billy Bob even
Click here to see more from the Statues album

And out of the major conurbations, there weren't the usual arrays of tasteless monolithic housing to be found. Instead, where money did exist, it was pushed in your face in a less crass and far more subtle way...

Check out the ironwork in this album

It was a beautiful day for us with plenty to see and do. Even when we were flagging and ready for a refuelling with copious amounts of coffee and even more cakes we stumbled into a pleasantly quaint little villagey thing around what was the Berrima branch of the Australian Alpaca Centre.

So who's the prat mirrored in the window?
Take the weight off your feet and check out the Alpaca Centre photos here

And finally there was Berrima itself. Population not very many but a place beautifully kept. A church, a river, a bridge and every bit of it so very very photogenic.

Click here for the full Berrima album

And while we have a church in our midst, let us now join in prayer. A prayer to bless the little putt-putt mobile we are using for the whole of these ten weeks in Oz....

God bless the putt-putt mobile