Closeburn - 3 Ernest Krause Drive

We purchased this block of land because it had huge established trees on it. The previous house had been demolished and we were able to build our home on the spot in the middle of the trees which framed the house in greenery. There was a fantastic poinciana tree with orange and red orchid like flowers and three mango trees which were said to be over 80 years old each.

We had views to Mt Lawson and placed the pool at the front of the house were you could take in the beautiful scenery.

This end of the pool had an artificial cave with a spa seat inside. Little bats would go into the cave at night and roost.

Our Hilltop Home - 472 Cedar Creek Road via Samford

This was our family home at Cedar Creek. It was situated at the end of a steep and winding driveway of 700m and had 40 acres of land. On a clear day you could see down through the valley towards the ocean with glimpses of the sandhills of Moreton Island in the Bay. We were very lucky and privileged to live in such a beautiful home in these gorgeous surroundings.

Sunken living room and formal dining room. The open fireplace was beautiful in the middle of winter. Even though it was Queensland, being up on top of a hill we would get very cold westerly winds.

The kitchen and meals area.

Our home theatre got a lot of use. We would watch movies and when a big sports' game was on, would have friends over for a big night.

The main bedroom

and the ensuite.

The guest bedrooms

Our son's room

The swimming pool and spa (with a view out over the valley).

A wooden bridge in my tropical rainforest garden.

The jasper tennis court and gazebo.

A tree python making his way up the trees near the tennis court fence.

The big green tree frogs always came out after the rain. After the rains when the grass was really long we would be visited by the rock wallabies. They would come in family groups and sometimes they had joeys.

There were three dams on this property, two on the western side and one on the north. The largest dam at the front of the property was massive (almost an acre in size) and about 8m deep. The water for all of the gardens was pumped from this dam and there were also fire fighting pumps and hoses around the property in case of a bushfire.

The smalller dam on the western side of the property.

This was the large dam at its lowest level during a severe drought.

Then the rains would come and the water would run down the hill and refill the dam until it overflowed. Queensland is very well known for its huge storms and abundant rain during the wet season.

Waterfalls on the edge of our driveway after heavy rains.

Our Hobby Farm - 623 Cedar Creek Road (Cedar Creek, via Samford)

This beautiful property had an orchard and Cedar Creek ran along the back boundary of the property. The grass was so lush and we had 10 head of cattle there at one stage.

There was a huge stand of bananas, amongst which grew cherry tomatoes, passionfruit and chokos and the chook pen was behind that. Near that was a huge tamarillo tree with beautiful fruits.

Happy hens

Our belted galloway cattle resting in the shade.

It was a veritable botanical garden, with many different varieties of trees and plants. Some of the fruit trees were lychee, mango, jackfruit, limes, lemons, grapefruit, oranges plus custard apples, tropical apples, jaboticaba and some stonefruit.

A massive brushbox tree, prized for its beautiful timber. This tree had been hit by lightening many years ago and still survives strong and tall today.

The dam had turtles and fish and was a haven for ducks and water birds. The water lillies were beautiful when they were in full flower. Purples and golds amongst all the green.

The creek was a beautiful spot, with tumbled stones and cool water which was very good in Queensland's hot weather. There was around 200m of creek on the back boundary of the farm. After the rains, the creek would 'cleanse' itself with the water flowing very fast from the mountains down towards the sea and you could hear it rushing away.

Flooding February 2008 - Cedar Creek via Samford 4520 Queensland

Curtis Road, Cedar Creek

Cedar Creek along Cedar Creek Road

Cedar Creek - sunrises, sunsets and foggy mornings

These photos were taken by me from the back garden at our home on Cedar Creek Road.