Wallerawang: Population 2 060. Nicknamed Wang for short. It’s a small little unheard of town, unless of course you are from there or surrounding towns of Lithgow or Portland. It has a butcher, hairdresser, power station and a lovely lake called Wallace. Each house seems to own at least 2 dogs that have a good strong yap, and mobile reception is slightly tenuous. Wang also happens to be the place I reside at currently.
Go ahead, laugh. A Sydney Eastern suburbs girls transposed to this small rustic town. How funny!! Well actually……it’s great.
I am house sitting for a nurse at Lithgow Hospital who is cycling from Sydney to Brisbane. For fun. And whilst I don’t meant to put down my cosy little abode in the Blue Mountains, this house is great. Let’s see, there’s central heating for starters. It may seem like something to sneeze about in Sydney, but boy o boy is it a necessity down here. I can now sleep in an extra 10 minutes in the morning as I don’t have to thaw off in front of my old pathetic fan heater. There’s a tuned piano, wireless internet, spa bath, plasma screen TV, good music and did I already mention the central heating??
Like every other residence here, this house has 2 dogs. Sidney has a bark worse than his bite, and Rufus has one hell of a jump. Taking them for a walk is a bit of an adventure as every dog decides to wait at their back fence to greet them with some varying dog sounds. There’s the low pitch growl, the yap of the small dog who thinks he is bigger than he really is, or the ‘hey, pay attention to me bark!’ Ignoring the dog symphony, the scenery is beautiful with hills rolling into one another, and the sky changing to a rosy pink colour at sunset (when it’s not grey.)
It is a bit of a lifestyle change for me, but it feels good for the soul. There are no dance lessons, German classes or chess clubs. But there is certainly time to read my book, knit, ruminate, Facebook, watch TV, listen to good music, cook home made bread and just generally spend time with myself. Good times.
Moral of the story is go find somewhere to housesit!!
Comments
Hi Keren,
I moved to 'Wang from Penshurst (near Hurstville) 7 years ago, as my partner has health issues & living here is much cheaper. Plus we have family in the area.
The local school is great, the lifestyle here very relaxed, very different from my pre-mum days working in the city night & day.
Occasionally the urge to go out dancing hits me, but I get past it. The beauty of the area surrounds me & I forget wanting to spend my time in smokey dark noisy clubs...
Plus I have discovered gardening... and like you I have much more time for my books.
Posted by: Belinda Tracey | August 29, 2007 07:34 PM
Hi Keren,
I guess your time as a home sitter is over, but if you ever do visit us again, there is plenty to do here - even dance lessons! The locals at Wang are into every kind of sport imaginable, we have great sports facilities at the school, and the lake/dam across the road as well as the well worn oval. We also have a few shops that are worth a look. Glad you enjoyed your stay while you were here, hope you come back for another visit sometime!
Posted by: Bev Trist | December 9, 2007 05:23 PM