My earliest recollection of Kangaroo Valley was in the late 1960s when as a family we would drive to the valley on our way home. The old British Green Plymouth made the journey many times, and I have vivid memories of us stopping at the Barrengarry Store and my father getting out of the car with the familiar cry “It always rains here”.
In the mid to late 1990s Paul and I drive tirelessly within two hours of Sydney in all directions, looking for that magic place to call home. At a festival, as a laugh, we went to a fortune teller who told me that I would move in the new millennium, and it would have a stone bridge of some significance and it had a strong association to my childhood. Of course, I assumed that it was Cammeray where I went to primary school which overlooks the only other bridge like Hampden Bridge.
After much searching, we found ourselves drawn to Kangaroo Valley, and in 2000 made it our home. The community as we know is special, and what isn’t there to like about the landscape. We both had demanding roles, and as we drove through Fitzroy Falls an aura of joy would come over us. It was back to the basics and good country living, and what was happening in corporate boardrooms seemed insignificant.
Our first home was a rented one in Jenanter Drive, and we used that as our base to search and eventually secure an overgrown, neglected block in Old Bendeela Road. We cleared all the block and invested much time and lobe into building a home and establishing ‘Bendeela Hill’. This was very hard work and the reward for us was in achieving something.
In about 2018 arriving at Fitzroy Falls no longer held the same power as it once did. One of the treasures of Kangaroo Valley is the community and rural lifestyle. I guess that I am a country boy at heart. In 2019 we both made the decision to retire and felt we could reinvigorate what we once felt about the valley. The plan was for us to buy something else smaller. However, time was not on our side as when the farm sold in late 2019 we had a very short settlement. We decided that it was a sign that it was time to leave; we could no longer chase cows and sheep around paddocks. Lucky for us that one of our investment properties was to be vacated and we thought that it may give us a new adventure.
This house was in Tasmania, just south of Launceston, and it was only three acres as opposed to the 103 acres at Bendeela Hill. There were significant renovations required to house the dogs but not insurmountable. We organised ourselves frantically and hit the deadline – just – and started our journey south to become residents of Tasmania. We were not sure but thought that it was worth giving it a shot.
What we found was a small community somewhat like Kangaroo Valley of 20 years ago. It is not a decision that we regret ,and as proud new Tasmanians we are enjoying the amazing weather; despite the occasional frosty mornings the top temperature has been 34º, humidity free. A pleasant change.
We made many life-long friends in Kangaroo Valley, with whom we are still in contact. Some have also left the valley whilst others have remained, but their friendships and the valley are special to us. The valley that we left was not the valley that we came to. It has changed a lot and honestly, if I reflect, I probably didn’t change fast enough to keep up.
Jason Horton
