Ah, the serenity! I open the front door of my parent’s house and am greeted with this glorious sight. My parents live on five acres of land in the Australian countryside, and it’s covered in beautiful garden. We moved to this property when I was six years old, and my parents painstakingly planted every single tree.
The only sounds I hear are birds chirping, and grunting Koalas that wake me in the night. I went for a walk around the neighbourhood earlier today. My nose was filled with the delightful springtime aroma of flowers and freshly cut grass. Only four cars passed me on the road and I only saw two people, who were mowing the grass in front of their houses.
My living environment in Australia is completely different to in Mumbai. It’s so tranquil. But it lacks the magical feeling of anything being possible. Time passes slowly in the peacefulness here, and I’m sedated by the lack of activity around me.
Here are some more pictures of my surroundings.
Looking out the back door.
The back garden.
Side paddock with dam (near the trees) where I used to go fishing.
My beloved car.
The driveway leading to the house.
View down our street.
Start of our street.
Road nearby.
Just for a laugh, what are these strange looking animals?!
My parent's alpacas (they come from Peru in South America).
And by request, here are some koala pictures (taken last time I was home).
Koala in a tree near home.
Close-up of the Koala.
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{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
haha absolutely fantastic..Sharell look at the contrast the world offers. In Mumbai as I type this right now I can hear some cars honking ( I still live in relatively tranquil suburb), someone has decided to drill for past 12 hrs and is still at it, some vegetable vendor is selling stuff at top her voice and I cant even figure what vegetables she is advertising! Enjoy the nature whilst you are there.
Wonderful views!! Do you not miss this back in India? The open space, the tranquility, the privacy? It must be such a contrast!
Ah, that brought a smile to my face viksdes. I can just imagine it.
“Someone has decided to drill for the past 12 hours and is still at it”… classic!
Maddie, I definitely do miss it. Sometimes the lack of peace and privacy in India sends me insane, well at least makes me extremely tense and irritable!
Amazing….
the luxury of being in a sparsely populated country. No wonder farmers in Punjab are dieing to move there…
Oooh I like the Mazda!
I love the green in these pictures.
Very quiet and serene. How many days did it take to fence in the 5 acres? (I wouldn’t be able to do it in a lifetime I guess)
The alpacas are so cute! I just made that picture my wallpaper!
So koalas grunt? Can you see them? Can you get a snap? Are they cute and cuddly like us “Americans” are taught to believe?
My brother in law is a principal of Sainik School, so when we visit him in Kerala, it’s so nice compared to ‘regular society’- inside a gated community full of trees and very few cars, no beggars and noise…we can walk comfortably and get beautiful views like you get there. I love the trees in your yard. I’d love to lay under them and read a book!
Yeah, the Mazda is a great car Ramit. It even has a little sunroof. And it drives so well.
I’m not sure how long it took to do the fencing, but the professionals do it quite quickly here!
Hi Jennifer, yeah Koalas make the most atrocious grunting noise (kind of like a donkey eee-ooor sound but in a grunt), and often at night. It’s hard to describe but sounds quite scary! And you should hear them mate.
They are cute but not cuddly. They’ve got really sharp claws, and are not at all friendly. They’re not easy to see either. Their grunting usually gives them away (if they do it during the day). Otherwise, we know when there is one in the trees around here because the birds become so disturbed. They usually fly around, circle the tree and squawk! I’ve got some Koala snaps of one I saw when I was home last time. He was roaming along the road during the day, then ran up a tree when I came after him. I’ll add the snap to the blog post for you. 
Oh, and I do love laying under the trees. Usually out in the back garden where I’ve placed my Buddha statue. There’s an ant problem though. A big one bit me last time!
As for those alpacas, they can be really temperamental. They spit like camels! Seriously.
Wow, it’s beautiful at your parents’ house! And koalas, how cool. I’m glad you’re enjoying some peace and tranquility.
Dear Sharell, Welcome to Austra(L)ia, one Australian to another. You live in a wonderful place, even by Australian standards. What with us with our half an acre in the suburbs.
And Rohit, contrary to what the farmers of Punjab may believe, they’d not be able to make a go in Australia especially country Australia, because of water shortages, restrictions and bush fires in the dry months, like now. Their buffaloes and sarson ke khet would not thrive in the driest continent on earth!!!
Wow ! Lovely garden !
Must take a lot of work to maintain it so nicely !
Gee I didn’t know Aus was dry.
Sunroof? Yipppeee!
How do you make the smiley with the dark glasses?
So we get more pics of the Koala bear but not of the Mazda huh?
Not fair. No Ma’am, not fair at all. 
All I can say is “Wow”
Beautiful, Sharell! Just awesome!!
You have a corner of paradise to escape from time to time 
Such a lucky girl!!
Oh My God! how cute are those alpacas. look at those faces, they are just so cute.
OMG…I LOVE ALPACAS! I’m so jealous. lol. I am glad you are home and having a nice, peaceful visit. Blessings.
OMG!! KOLA, that is so cool. I have to visit a zoo just to see one of them.
OMG…….that is greener than a park in India…….I live in a small rural place in Pennsylvania, USA but your place seems huge, quieter and greener by these standards, let alone Mumbai !!
Sharell,
Your home is beautiful — how sad that your husband is not with you! I am surprised that he hasn’t made more effort to meet your family and see your side of life. Don’t you wish you could share a vast part of your experiences with him?
It’s all about timing and money, Alpaca-fan.
He’ll definitely come next time. I can’t wait to share this part of my life with him.
Oh, the garden takes A LOT to maintain. My mum works out in it every day. And sometimes the large trees will get blown over in a storm. The driveway will get blocked, and my dad has to go and cut the trees up with a chainsaw. There’s also a wild rabbit problem here at the moment. My dad has been out with a rifle every day killing rabbits (very sad but it has to happen because they breed so much and become pests). When we had chickens, foxes also used to come and try and eat them. There’s always work to be done here!
Ok thats a lot of work. I’m happy to be in Delhi.
Plus, you’d be terribly lonely here without constant interaction with the neighbours!
i was laughing at Ramit’s above written comment… (no lunch is free
I am in mumbai to visit parents and the house next door has been sold recently.. the new occupants have decided that they want to redo the whole floor and walls.. so the whole day we get to hear ‘thak thak thak,drill drill drill’ I am sure our house will develop few cracks too because of this.. but who cares
here.. Its utter madness all around.
anyways, one can’t get everything at every place… enjoy the serenity and stay with parents in the cozy lap of nature there.
Cheers
That’s one of the best places to live on this planet
we used to live in a similar one here in pune (govt owned) but not 5 acres though
Was just wondering…
having no neighbors to interact with and as if living in the middle of no where per se dont things get a little scary and lonely at times
And what about snakes/Crocks do they come to visit your place sometimes?
I would have loved to live in such a place but technically i think it would take loads of energy and patience for that
Good on ya mate
Cheers, mate!
It’s the reverse of how it is for me — I find India takes lots of energy and patience! In Australia, it’s not so common to interact with the neighbours. Even in the cities we don’t have much to do with our neighbours, and hardly ever see them! People are used to it and don’t get lonely. They usually have an active social life with their friends. People would get quite annoyed if their neighbours (and even friends) kept dropping in unannounced, like they do in India. We like our space and privacy here. I know it’s something that Indians find hard to cope with when they come and live in the West. They tend to feel really isolated. Whereas, I tend to feel claustrophobic in India! Being around people all the time makes me feel tired.
Snakes do come. My dad kills them too! We fortunately don’t have crocs here though — they’re up north in Australia.
Sometimes I do get a little scared here at night! And of course, there are the spiders as well…. I’ve already come across quite a few of them since I’ve been back…
Well it really is a lot of work you know. So what do you do with the rabbits and snakes once you kill them?
Thanks Tara
Ramit, we eat them of course! Don’t want anything going to waste! (Just joking). They get buried or burned.
Just joking? My dad grew up in Texas and ate rattlesnake from time to time. He said it’s chewy but it tastes like chicken!
It sure is a lot of work living somewhere green. I just finished up about three weeks of raking fallen leaves, raking more fallen leaves, bagging them, bagging more of them, ad nauseam.
He ate them? Ughhhhhh! And why did I have to read this at 8:30 AM breakfast time?
Yuccckkkkkkk!
Lovely pics:)
So you were in heaven!!! not that I mean your life is hell now, no ! just the nature I see is so beautiful and when you were in Australia you were seeing it every day but now you see it from time to time, don’t you really miss life your previous lifestyle???
Only seeing it from time to time makes me appreciate it more.
While I do miss it, I would be missing out on a lot more if I wasn’t in India. My life is much more inspiring and fulfilling there, and beautiful surroundings can’t provide that. Plus, I can always come back to this. It’s not going anywhere! There are always sacrifices to be made in life…. 
It is sooo pretty! Everyone is going to get a really nice of view of Australia lol…I will have to show Ramit at least the more typical view…the ugly old asbestos fence and neighbour’s house close…your place is just so lovely…and even I find the thought of koalas nearby pretty darn exciting!
have fun at home. It’s a great time to be back home with christmas and thanksgiving round the corner.
How do you make fences with asbestos? I thought you could only make roofs with it?
http://www.buildingreports.com.au/asbestos.htm check this out…the standard fence here for a long time!
Thanks
I’ll show my children da pics of alpacas & koalas.Ur houz seems lyk a dream houz 2 me,in a distant farway land,away from da hustle bustle of da city!Wow!Now,I feel,I can understand even better how it mustve been for u 2 adjust here in India,dat 2 in highly populated Mumbai.Love can do wonders!It truly transforms ppl in a way dey wudve never ever imagined,e.g. me.I always dreamt of being married 2 a guy settled in Delhi,so dat I cud stay close 2 my parents.I wnted 2 go abroad for my post-grad & Ph.D.But none of dat happened!I believe in da saying:God gave me nothing I wanted,coz he was busy giving me everything I needed!
by the way,da koala seriously seems lyk a soft toy!Cant wait till my kids cum home!
Definitely, me too!
It’s amazing where life can take us sometimes…. on such a completely unexpected journey!
It really is quiet and spacious here, the complete opposite to Mumbai. As I’m writing this, wild parrots have come to the back door to be fed. They let my mum get really close to them, as they’ve grown to trust her. I’m starting to appreciate each place for what it is though, and the contrasts offered. I get the best of both worlds!
Suhani, that’s a beautiful saying. Thanks, I’ll remember it always.
loved that saying..i crib too much about this city in general
Viksdes, we all crib about out cities. It’s human nature.
Welcome Ramit!From da moment I first read dis sayin,it has bcum lyk a mantra for me,its just so true!