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1/5: The very first break through

2/5: Plaster sheets and noggins are already gone, the studs to the future opening are still standing.

3/5: New opening in the foreground whilst Peter closes off the former doorway in the background.

4/5: Same viewing angle as above: The wardrobe is in.

5/5: View from the bed onto the finished work with lights and ottoman.

Walk-in Wardrobe. The story of revamping our bedroom and walk-in wardrobe has already been published in the monthly report July. Here, we just want to add a couple of photos to prove that we really did all the works ourselves ;-) In contrast to our renovations in the living room (see December 2005, February 2006, and April 2006) during which Kevin has helped us considerably, we did the walk-in wardrobe all by ourselves. Thus, the two office workers Claudia and Peter have transformed over time onto real Aussie handymen.

The adjacent photo series documents the transformation from the very first tentative break through between the bedroom and its adjacent room. One starts such renovations with hearty hits of the hammer against the wall in order to break the sheets of plaster. This is followed by the little saw blade and then the large saw to cut the plaster sheets cleanly along the weight-bearing studs. Photo 2/5 shows the first break through at a moment when the studs were still standing.

With the new opening the old door is not needed any more and can be closed off. Photo 3/5 shows Peter at the very moment when he is sealing in a sheet of plaster from the inside of the room. Take a good look at the light switch above Peter's head, a relic from times when the old door was still the point of access to the room. This light switch needs to get moved as well. The photos also provides a hint of the dust that is involved in these works and that sticks permanently to the carpet. Plaster putty gets spread over the metal rims of the new opening and let to dry out thoroughly. Sanding back. New layer of plaster putty. Sanding back. Last layer of plaster putty. Sanding back. The same for either side of the old, now closed door. The plastic sheet between bed and construction site (photo 1/5) keeps the dust out only rudimentarily, the whole house smells plaster dust.

When the room itself is finally finished and the new carpet is laid, the rest is a piece of cake. We learn that a wardrobe-to-measure is not expensive at all. It is priced according to the number of drawers and boards, and a wardrobe doesn't have many of these. Wardrobes are getting expensive by the number and size of doors, but we don't need any of these ;-)

Claudia at the viewing platform.

Waratah, the emblem of New South Wales.

Nature pure or cobble stones?

Muogamarra Nature Reserve. Just as Sydney has got new names for new suburbs at just about every street intersection — this city has a total of 720 suburbs so that almost no-one can claim to actually live in Sydney — also the national parks around Sydney are renamed at just about every creek. The Muogamarra Nature Reserve is subject to even stronger protection than a national park. Situated west of Cowan, and hence a mere 18 km from our home, Muogamarra is open at only 6 week-ends each year. On an August Sunday we meet up with a total of 5 groups (Claudia and Peter, Kevin and Sue, Christina and Samuel, Sally, Silvia and Benjamin) and pay our $5 entry fee to get into this otherwise closed-off park. The area is loaded with cultural and nature heritage. These rock formations north of Sydney, meeting the Hawkesbury River, are full of Aboriginal rock engravings. As early as 1836, first settlers built a road along these cliffs to foster trade between Sydney and the Hawkesbury. You have to imagine Sydney at this time, in 1836. That was in the middle of nowhere at all!

At the beginning of spring, the beautiful wildflowers ask for attention. Waratahs, the emblem of New South Wales, flower next to tracks, and our walk takes us through an "orchid creek" and along strange rock formations. Our track edges along a rim that exposes views into a valley which is strangely round and flat. This valley, "Peats Crater", was formed by a meteorit. In former times the crater was used for cattle since its walls are so steep that the cattle couldn't escape. Today, only few patches of lawn from this time are remaining, nature has reclaimed the rest. On the lawns, however, as easily spotted from above with binoculars, Eastern Grey Kangaroos have made a home, the largest of the kangaroos living on the East Coast.