Man, this made me nostalgia. Back home, we used to have a butterfly garden near our house. I'd go there all the time, and butterflies would sit on you if you were still enough.
Why u no tell me this? *sad*
But in all seriousness that is beautiful. My old home was truly amazing. It was close to the city, but not too close. It borders a natural park and there are only 2 ways to get there: Boat, or climbing/walking down the escarpment. Our house is next to an old bridge that stretches over the lake, while the many trees that surround that house drape over it.(and our house too. You'd expect it to be damp and dark because of all the trees, but in truth it's extremely light and airy upstairs, even if the house is old and crazy in it's design. No 2 walls were the same length, you see. It was built a long time ago by a man that was related to the mafia, so it's said. The downstairs was originally a place where he kept stolen cars, apparently, before he tiled it and adapted it to a downstairs and lived in it. Nowadays the house is called the ghost house, mainly because of all the ghost stories associated with it, and indeed, i used to see some strange stuff. Everyone in my family has a ghost story to tell from that amazing home.)
The creek itself i'll get to in a moment, but it ran down to the 'north end', where the beach curves inward to the valley and back a bit. As you walk around the bend, there's a spot where the sand runs off through the undergrowth. If you follow it, you come to part of the forest, the sand carpeted by red and brown leaves. Here you can climb up the frail-looking, but strong trees and vines, and there's an old tree who's roots grow around the giant rock it is situated on and in to the soil beneath. Here the birds chirp occassionally, and it is a sleeping place for tawny frogmouths at the crux of the lazy summer afternoon, where it is so self contained, even with the carvings on more than a few rocks and trees that some have made during the annual new year's talent quest. It is so calm, so tranquil, and one of the highlights of my childhood.
And then there's the creek. Near the beach, it gets contaminated with sewerage, but further up, past the rocks, it gets much cleaner. You see, once you get past the gateway,- that is, the two cabbage trees who's leafy carriage blocks it from sight - you'll find the fire trail. This path extends before you in to the wild forest beyond, and is virtually unknown to outsiders, and even many residents (so of the 200 or so people that live there, only a fraction properly remember this place, and indeed, even I only found it by pure accident when I said (ironically, for I was young and had an eye for adventure) "I bet there's a secret path past these trees!" I looked, and indeed I did find the adventure I was looking for.
First this path takes you through knee high ferns that brush alongside you as you walk past and jump over the decaying log. Then you meet back up with the river, as the trees stretch up high, oh so high, and over you. You then see the smooth rocks, that are covered in moss, that rise gently out of the running, clean, pure water that washes around you and down to the deep blue (which is even better when it has just rains and there is no sewerage in the water). You walk further up, to the four mini beaches. Although getting to the 4th is an achievement, I consider the first the most beautiful and breathtaking. After going around rocks either on or to the side of the river, and climbing up and up, sand lies before you, perhaps the size of a small playground. The rocks protrude from this sand mostly to the side, where you can perch on them and eat lunch, and some from the middle or in various places around this little spectacular spot. A single, thick vine hangs down from the trees above, and can be sat on or swung on. Then you continue on, through various challenges and passing several caves, as you go up and up, past the beaches and on to the hillside, where the final spring rests. I cannot remember if the last place I had gotten up to before the hillside was it, or whether it was further, but this tranquil pool lies above the rest, where the water is sourced from deep, in an underwater spring. Then you realise the sun will be setting soon, and so head back the way you came in an effort to get back before dark.
So breathtaking, so amazing, one of the best experiences of my life, one I will never forget. Going there really is an adventure, exploring a new world, where, like this garden you speak of, the creatures will come to you, wild as they are, be it butterflies or wallabies. The flora grows free and untouched, and the water is cleaner, fresher and tastier than any i've drunk in a bottle.
In that place, I've left things, i've dreamed things, it's been wonsderful. That place, I will dearly miss, but never forget, and will always keep close to my heart (not least because I left a box there for a dragon once, and when I came back to it the gifts inside the box were taken, and the box itself scorched, I still believe in dragons to this day), and hope to visit whenever I can.
Haha, i'm rambling. Sorry for that, guys, just had to share that.
