We have had a treat, and it’s going to be a treat for Banksia Cottage guests as well. A guest, a decorator by profession, traded a couple of extra nights for paint. It seemed like a good deal to us – but only after the work was finished did we discover just how good!

I’ll need to do the photography properly, rather than just using my camera-phone, but here are a couple of teasers to give you the idea. First, Banksia’s master bedroom.

What follows was once a fairly nondescript wall in the hall.

The loft now has a lovely unity with the colours of the mud bricks.

I wish I were a photographer! – Our wonderful guest also re-imagined the idea of a bird feeder. And yes, the birds like this a lot more than a plate on a stick!

We had one last surprise: a little rock carving that apparently occupied the evenings!

If anybody in Melbourne needs a thoughtful and creative decorator, ask us and we’ll put you in touch with him!

As 2012 draws to a close, Trudi and Richard would love to wish all our guests a Merry Christmas, and our best wishes for 2013.

It’s a privilege being able to host people at Bunjaree, and it’s wonderful having guests tell us how much they love the environmental values we’re trying to bring to our four wonderful cottages. There are few things as precious to us as listening to the various species of frog in the “dam”, or watch the small birds flitting through the bush.

Love and blessings and good health to all, and don’t be a stranger in 2013!

We’ve taken the liberty of posting a page of Visitors’ book comments – all from 2012, none older than September.

We have taken this liberty after being dive-bombed on TripAdvisor – where we don’t get a chance to respond in any detail (we tried, but could only get posted with a generic “sorry” message). So I can’t tell TripAdvisor what we would say to guests: if something is not right, tell us. We will always do our best to help!

Bunjaree Cottages is our labour of love, and a site like TripAdvisor can be devastating to a business operated by a husband-and-wife team. We hope, however, that our guests who have bothered to take up a pen and write are worth listening to!

The Christmas season is almost here, and we’re fielding many, many inquiries. Except in the worst heatwave, the Blue Mountains is a great place to be in December, with most nights below 16 degrees.

We’re seeing a profusion of wildflowers at the moment, and it’s a great time to get out and about in the longer evenings. Get in touch with us to ask about availability and feel free to ask us about bushwalks and activities in the Blue Mountains!

Male Eastern Spinebill. Photo by Stilgherrian, Creative Commons license.

I have, in other posts, complained that the small birds around Bunjaree Cottages are difficult to photograph because they move very quickly and don’t sit still. This week, our friend Stilgherrian has managed a rare treat, getting pics of both male and female Eastern Spinebills.

The Eastern Spinebill can be seen all the way from Cooktown in Queensland all the way around to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia – but they’re less common around urban areas, because they like heaths, forests and woodlands.

Female Eastern Spinebill. Photo by Stilgherrian, Creative Commons license.

Their down-curved bill is designed for nectar-eating – in these photos, they’re feeding on the flower of the iconic Mountain Devil shrub that grows throughout Bunjaree Cottages. Their distinctive call is a high pitched, short, repetitive piping whistle.

While a kid of honeyeater – and they have a hummingbird-like hover while feeding – Eastern Spinebills also occasionally add small insects to their diet.

The Zig Zag Railway has its “Thomas the Tank Engine” days on April 13, 14 and 15. It’s a fabulous day for families with younger children – as well as the Thomas the Tank Engine ride, there are amusements displays and much more. More information here.