Saturday, October 24, 2015

'Life is Precious' - Vegetarian Lifestyle

On September 1, Maggie decided she would follow a vegetarian lifestyle.  She often get asked why and the short answer is that after being blessed with Sammie Jo and having the privilege of raising her she felt a deep sense of how very precious each and every life is.  
During this time she was following the story of 'Miracle' a calf that was rescued by Free Hearts Animal Sanctuary,  Miracle was born prematurely and the farmer was going to let her die as he did not want to be responsible for the cost of her care.  The tears, heartbreak and joy of her carers again brought an awareness to me how precious life is.
For many years she would only eat 'Happy Meat' from organic farmers who treated their animals with respect and from farms who were RSPCA approved..  But even these animals are transported to abattoirs and have a couple of very stressful last days. The reasoning  'it's just one bad day in the animals life'  doesn't sit well with her any more. 
She has been having fun experimenting with vegetarian dishes, enjoying the amazing fresh produce of the Great Southern and feeling so much better knowing that she is not responsible for the death of an animal.

Being a vegetarian is not for everyone and as hostess at HideAway Haven, she will still cook bacon and sausages for our guests and non vegetarian dishes for the family.  Happy to report though that her vegetarian dishes are so good everyone wants to eat them.

#Life is Precious

Monday, October 19, 2015

A Misty Morning for a Hike

We got up very early one misty morning and headed to the Porongurups. Hiking up the misty mountain towards the Castle Rock Skywalk, amongst the stunning scenery and breathtaking beauty of the Porongurups, was a perfect way to enjoy an early morning . 
You see things in the mist you never see in the light of the sun. Mist can make familiar landscapes seem strange and unreal. 
 When we arrived at the top everything was enveloped in cloud, but as the sun came up and the mist lifted the views are amazing. 
 This is a hike well worth the effort with stunning views of the landscape, especially from the Granite Skywalk which is suspended from Castle Rock at the very top.


Balancing Rock

A balancing rock is a naturally occurring geological formation featuring a large rock or boulder, sometimes of substantial size, resting on other rocks that often look precariously balanced. In reality, these rocks only appear to be balancing but are in fact firmly connected to a base rock by a pedestal or stem.
The balancing Rock in the Porongurups may not have made the top 10 balancing rocks in the world, some of them are pretty impressive, but never the less is pretty amazing.  Our balancing rock is a six metre high granite boulder which reportedly weighs around 186 tonnes yet rests on a base just 1.21 square metres.

Why not visit the balancing rock when you are staying at HideAway Haven.  It is an easy 30 minute drive and along the hike that takes you to Castle Rock.