It's always a pleasure to go to Leura in the Blue Mountains (in the mountains west of Sydney) and we spent four nights over Xmas in an Airbnb. The day after Xmas was cold, dank and miserable but the following day was gorgeous so we visited a special art deco house built in the 30's along with its gardens.
It's the Everglades House and is positioned at the edge of a steep cliff overlooking a deep valley. This image from Google Earth will give you an idea of its location.
We paid our entrance fee and were warned about a red belly black snake which was lurking in one part of the gardens. They then told us that closing time was 4 pm and I remarked that they should inform visitors that they would unleash the snake at that time. If you check out the link, you will see that it is not a particularly venomous snake by Aussie standards, but it does sound dangerous.
The house and garden belonged to Henri Van de Velde, who owned a carpet underlay business. The gardens were designed by Paul Sorenson who also designed several other gardens in the Leura area. It's worth taking the time to check out both links about these men.
Yes, the tall tree is a sequoia. It's the only one on the property.
The garden features numerous terraces.
The fences are all dry-stone laid.
We descended the steps that lead from one terrace to the next.
A studio.
The owners used this area to stage plays.
The valleys of the Blue Mountains.
The patterns are repeated in other areas of the house and grounds.
Inside the house.
I hadn't seen one of these in a while.
I think this would have been a bit of a shock to the eyes each time you had a shower.
The view is magnificent, but these mountains are very prone to bush fires. Any fire in the valley would quickly race up the mountainside.
You could swim in that tub.
The prosaic side of the theatre.
It was a lovely afternoon, but my legs were complaining so it was a pleasure to sit in a chair in the shade and relax.
Hydrangeas thrive in this area.
Because Marianne and I were tired, Robin continued down the mountain and took these photos.
No snake was encountered.
