Suburban Boy goes bush

Heidi, my partner, had lived in Morangup for more than 15 years.

Her first home was 13 acres (5ha) in Grandis Road and she purchased our current property in Morangup Road in 2012.

We first lived in an apartment in South Perth, but Heidi really wanted to get back to the farm.

She was well aware that I had lived in the ‘burbs’ all of my life and was not going to force the issue. She wanted me to come to my own conclusion.

The first visit to the farm and I was hooked – and fell in love at first sight.

It’s 38 acres (15ha), no sheep station of course, with beautiful views, a comfortable house in need of a facelift, a couple of paddocks and lots of untouched bush.

We moved in February 2016 and then the massive job of making the land productive again began – and has not stopped.

For a number of years I had been fascinated with permaculture and the clever techniques employed to work with nature to produce your own food and live a more sustainable life.

In 2018 I completed a Permaculture Design Certificate course and I have been able to put what I have learnt to good use.

We have had successes and failures along our journey, and I hope to share some of these with you soon.

The Shire of Toodyay is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the post-Covid-19 world.
Spending so much time at home during the pandemic has made people look towards a simpler life.

The uptake in growing your own food and gardening in general has been huge.
I had never, until recently, been to nurseries where all the veggie seeds and seedlings were completely sold out.

There are a large range of lifestyle properties in Toodyay which is not that far from the city.

We all know ‘flatlanders’ living in the city and suburbs, so why not invite them to take a trip out to Toodyay.

Who knows, they just might find their piece of the good life.