Our Recent Visit

By Janine | October 3, 2009
Beautiful bird feeding off the nectar in the tree opposite Bethsaida.

Beautiful bird feeding off the nectar in the tree opposite Bethsaida.

This school holidays, I had my Mum, her partner Peter, my best friend Ann along with her kids and her friend Terry and his daughter visit us for 10 days. One thing that was very clear was that they all wanted to visit Somerset Dam and take in some of the peace and tranquility that it offers. However having six teenagers/young adults in the house laid to rest the thought of peace and tranquility.

Finally I got  a picture that I wanted – one of the lorikeets feeding off the flowers in the tree diagonally opposite us. It took a while but with patience I was successful.

One thing that was really special was that a Kookaburra landed on the railing of the back verandah as we were sat there having a cuppa. The parent was quite small, and the juvenile nearly twice the size of it. We gave it some chicken and watched as the Kookaburra tried to kill it before feeding it to the young bird. The parent landed really close to my head and didn’t look nervous. It waited patiently whilst Greg gave it some of the chicken. We made sure we didn’t give it too much because the last thing we want is for the bird to become reliant on us for it’s food. Giving it one or two pieces is OK, but beyond that we then do the bird a disservice as it comes to people in the house to get food.

For Ann, Terry and Peter (my Mum’s partner) it was the first time that they had been to the house. Peter loved it – and enjoyed the day trip that we went on. We went to Blackbutt and stopped at a road stall to get some fresh fruit which was really juicy and sweet. We then looped round and returned to Somerset Dam via Toogoolwa. We have never been there before and was interested in what the town had to offer. It’s bigger than Esk, but smaller than Kilcoy. We thought we may stop at the airstrip in Toogoolwa but when we got there found out that it was a drop zone for sky divers. There were no planes to be seen. Ann, Terry and their kids went to the Gold Coast theme parks from the Dam. It took 2 hours driving time from the Dam to the theme parks. They seemed to enjoy themselves and came back tired and exhausted after a tiring day for all of them.

We didn’t see any beasties this time round. I think Ann and Peter were a bit nervous of that. The largest thing we saw was a lizard in one of the bedrooms but we didn’t tell anyone for fear of an overreaction. Having so many people in the house would discourage any of the wildlife and creep crawlies that may enter for a food source. All the times I have seen any, they are been between the Dam and Home on the road dead or beside the road alive. I actually ran over one the last time we were up at the dam and then Greg told me how sometimes they can get into the under carriage of the car and then we have a very angry snake coming into the cabin. I was going 100 kilometres an hour though so the prospect of that is unlikely. Mind you, for the next week I checked underneath the car every time I got into it, just to make sure!

Now it is starting to warm up, we are getting more enquiries about the house. Generally we let it once a fortnight so it gives us an opportunity to go up and enjoy it as well, but we are quite happy for it to be rented more frequently if people are interested in it. We want to get a little boat and fish in the dam as an activity, but I will be taking a decent book along with me if we do that.

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Getting Warmer

By Janine | August 16, 2009

Greg, Geoffrey, Peter and I went up to the dam last weekend. When the house is not booked we try to use it ourselves for some rest and relaxation. The thing I most enjoyed was the sunshine and being able to sit in the sun as I drank my first coffee for the moring. We have bought a bench garden seat and hopefully will get up to the dam in the next few weeks. I want to put it at the front, on the Right hand side as you look at the house, just underneath the windows so that people can sit there and enjoy their morning drink and soak up the sun as well.

Greg has been busy buying some furniture off e-bay. He has picked up a few bargains. We have a cane suite which we have put in the left hand side verandah. Again it’s to take advantage of the morning sun as it streams through the lattice. We have also bought a trestle table so that people can use it on the back verandah for BBQ’s and things like that.  We have got a cute little four seater dining table and chairs which we have put in the kitchen. For breakfast and lunch, you can eat here if you wish rather than sit at the big dining table in the dining room.

As I have said before, the thing I enjoy most is the bird life that are in adbundance at the dam. I tried counting the different calls but eventually lost count.

One thing we did do was go into kilcoy which is only 20 minutes down the road. Kilcoy had their market on and we browsed through some of the stalls… in some ways I am glad we went late, becuase I could have bought more than I needed.. but I would like to go again. There were some really interesting stalls. We bought some brussel sprouts from a produce stall.. they were yummy. Before you say anything – yes I love brussel sprouts and my husband enjoys them as well. I love them steamed with a bit of salt on them and lashings of butter. I made a cheese sauce to go with them this time and we had a fantastic vegetarian meal. When I was still a single mum, that is the way I used up all the vegetables in the fridge before I went for my next fortnightly shop. The kids loved it, although Katherine hated the brussel sprouts. The market is on second and last Saturday of the month, so if you are nearby or in town on those days, the markets are a great place to visit.

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Origin Of The Name Bethsaida

By Janine | January 2, 2009

After we bought the house, we were thinking about what we would name it, given that we were going to list it for rental for holiday accommodation and retreats. As such, we wanted a distinct name that would be memorable and easy to remember.

Somerset Dam

Somerset Dam

As Christians, we thought of Somerset Dam and the fact the dam is stocked with fish each year. Bethsaida is the place where the disciple Peter was born before he served the Lord Jesus. Bethsaida reminded us of Somerset Dam, given it provides many fishermen with abundant fishing and activity.

We ourselves enjoy fishing and took our disabled boys out to Shorncliffe today to catch some fish. We did catch some, but nothing worth eating and all was thrown back. For Geoffrey and Peter, the thrill is in catching that fish… there is nothing else attached to the activity. We intend to get fishing licenses ourselves so that we can fish ourselves at the dam.

Hopefully, one day we will catch that fish that will be big enough to cook and eat.. and what a feast that will be. I will have to make sure I have my camera out ready to capture that moment. We want to get a name plate made for the house with the name Bethsaida on it. Not sure what we want or who we may consult to do this for us.. but it is there at the back of our minds.

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Welcome to Bethsaida

By Janine | January 2, 2009

All I could sayw as WOW! what a great house we have just bought…

Bethsaida

Bethsaida

I had never been inside a Queenslander before and were staying with friends up at the dam when we went to the house we bought to borrow a cake tin from the previous owner. As soon as I walked inside I thought ‘retreats’ and on my return to our friends cottage, the street below, said to Greg that he must come and have a look at the house. We did that the morning after and Greg had similar reactions to me, but was thinking about Special Needs groups as he is a special needs teacher at the local special school near to where we live.

We decided to return to Brisbane and over the next week think of any reasons NOT to buy the house and neither of us could come up with anything significant that would prevent us from buying it. People were also telling us how good the house was, we would be mad to pass up an opportunity such as this, and that it was one of the biggest houses in the dam, so had more versatility around it.

We put the offer on the house which was accepted and over the last few months have been buying furniture to put into the house. We have utilized the maximum sleeping arrangements so that larger groups can stay at the house with 6 single bunk beds, totaling 12 beds, and 2 Queen sized beds

We have had a number of enquiries, from family groups to jet ski and fishing groups, so once live, and online, it will be prudent to book quickly because we are expecting people to be booking soon.

We have two air conditioners, both situated in the two smaller bedrooms. There is plenty of room to lounge around and veg out if that takes your fancy. Modern cooking facilities are available with an electric oven and hot plates as well as a Wood range for use during the winter months if that takes your fancy. The wood heater in the lounge also works and we tried it out before the warmer months came upon us.

We have just been up at the dam for the last few days and were surprised at the amount of people that were there. We are going to get pre-paid Internet as well as our broadband account we have, so that we can access the website up at the dam and accept bookings when we are staying up there.

If you wish to book the house, please ring 07 3351 6236 and if there is no answer please ring 07 5426 0090. Please leave a message on both phones to register your interest and we will endeavor to get back to you as soon as we can.

We hope that you enjoy this site and we will post photo’s and announcements of activities happening in and around the dam as we become aware of them. Greg and Janine.

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