Some areas along the drive south to Shoalhaven are so beautiful that I often think we do not do them justice when we try to write about them in blogs. One such area is Foxground. Foxground lies to the west of Rose Valley and is not far from Kiama and Gerrongong; one passes through Rose Valley on the Pacific Highway after you drive south down through the Kiama Bends. The road heads south into a valley with a very picturesque Jamberoo mountain range in the background. Foxground is always green and the valley floor is home to dairy farms and market gardens. I spent the day driving around the area and loved taking photos of so many natural areas of beauty; babbling brooks, logs covered in butterflies, mossy creek beds, glorious birdlife and much more. Even the scent of the area is fresh and clean.

When I drove around past some of the dairy farms I was surprised at just how green they were as well; the cows being fat and plentiful as a result. One of the locals that I stopped to talk to told me that the farms not only supplied milk but butter as well. Apparently in the early days back in the early to mid 1800s the butter was packed into wooden cases and loaded onto horse drawn carts to be taken to Kiama Harbour and sold. The milk depot used now days was built in 1917 and produce transported to Kiama by train.

I was fascinated by the name Foxground and asked about that as well. I imagined foxes roaming the area searching for food however; I was told that the area was initially a rainforest which was inhabited by flying foxes. It was a scenic valley filled with cedar trees and heavy vegetation until the locals decided to encourage the thousands of flying foxes to migrate elsewhere by dynamiting various spots. I cannot imagine what that would have done to the peaceful char acterof this quiet and secluded valley. In any case it must have been successful as soon after land grants were issued to farmers.

Now days the land is all cleared of its dense rainforest history. Some of the farms have extensive fruit orchards and vegetable gardens whilst the farmers are farming cattle for meat and dairy. I guess you could say that they are truly self-sufficient.

Additionally, it is such a beautiful area and so close to the beaches that I imagine they have an ideal life style. While J and I sat beside Broughton Creek having some lunch we watched a family of echidnas crossing a dirt trail. They must have an acute sense of hearing because the minute I attempted to pick up my camera the larger one curled into a ball, with its stout and legs tucked up under itself and its spines sticking out. It had wedged itself beneath a rock and then likewise the smaller echidnas did exactly the same. I was not game to move again in case I scared them off completely however we did not see them again. It was so peaceful that we could take in not just the sounds of the brook running gently, but also the conversing birds and frogs and the smells of warm eucalyptus, fresh air and earth. We shared a bottle of wine from nearby Silos Estate and had a lovely afternoon. Foxground is truly a lovely and restful spot to relax in; there should be more places like this.