An Afternoon at Holcombe Hill

For the past 12 weeks, I have been dancing and fundraising for The Ballarat Foundation. Their incredible local work disrupts cycles of disadvantage in my hometown. It’s an incredible cause that’s very close to my heart. Last weekend I did a little project with Holcombe Hill Farm and Koonara Wines in exchange for some big donations to my fundraiser.

Cherie and I drove out to Holcombe Hill farm through Daylesford. The winter weather has made all the ponds full, reflecting silver skies and the grass was green and thick. Porcupine Rd to the farm had kangaroos chewing on the grass beside the bitumen, cows and sheep in the paddocks and no cars. By the time we arrived at the farm itself, you couldn’t hear traffic at all. It was that kind of patient quiet you only get in the country, decorated with the distant sounds of farm animals and wild birds. The house is elegant and chic between the green grass and the blue sky. We explore.

There are two front sitting rooms with comfortable décor and entertainment that takes time like puzzles and books. I’m quite taken with the lamps. I’m sure Cherie got sick of me commenting on every lamp in the house. Some of them I commented on more than thrice. The rooms are peaceful. I’d love to wake up in one in summer, the window open so you could hear the birds waking with the sun while the air is fresh.

The back garden is whimsical and sweet with a sizeable fire pit and a fountain. If we’d been there at night I would have got the marshmallows from my van and my guitar and rugged up around the fire. We decided to take a photo in the yard, which was ridiculous because I only had a two-second timer on my camera which was NOT long enough to get from behind the camera to the seat. It took MANY attempts but eventually, I sat down in time.

Just inside from the back yard is a sunroom, dressed in African style like the country of the owner’s childhood. This was my favourite room. The afternoon light filled it with the sort of warmth you wanted to doze in and the colours and patterns made it the perfect comfy room to sit in and drink the bubbles from Koonara. I watched and studied and played with the rainbows that the light made as it hit my glass. This room was next to the kitchen with a stunning oven which immediately made us want to make cups of tea. Or anything. I wanted to make a roast in that kitchen.

Then we took the bottle of Koonara and glasses and went out to the front to watch the winter sunset. The turned a brighter golden the lower it got in the sky. The clouds still hovering in the bright blue turned shades of pink, yellow, orange and purple. The moon rose over the house, bright, full and slightly pink. We sipped and stared at the horizon where new clouds were forming like pale blue fairy floss. The mountains all stood up in various levels of haze. The view from any side of the house was gorgeous. We had promised we would be done in a few hours but as the sun dipped lower neither of us wanted to leave. We didn’t get into the car until it was too dark see the black lace of the bare trees against the sky.

Location: Holcombe Hill Farm

Wine: Koonara

Photo assistant: Cherie

Donate to our fundraiser here.