Unlike last year, no subterfuge was involved getting to Ellywan. It's located on another little road, but on the eastern end of the valley, unlike Camp David at the western end. This suggests travelling via Berry, rather than the inland route through Mittagong.
And that was the plan. Until just before Bulli Pass, where the road signs indicated that Mt. Ousley was closed due to an accident, and traffic was being diverted down Bulli Pass. Confirming that, traffic ground to a halt at Panorama House, at the end of the freeway. So I adopted plan B, figuring that a single lane road down to the coast, then all those towns before returning to the freeway would be very slow going, given the volume of traffic. So off towards Appin and the Hume Highway for the inland route.
Which was a good strategy, as there were no further delays. It's a little longer, so arrival was a bit later too. Though it turned out I was second to arrive after Peter and Yvonne. And I missed the entrance (a small sign, almost hidden by trees!), requiring a turn around on a single track road. Next to arrive was Kelly with Tynan, Cooper and Lily, then Michelle with her two boys and finally Keiran and Marina, who were caught up in the traffic behind the accident.
The view from the trellis linking the main building to "Tree House", which does not exactly live up to its name, but is more of a separate building off to the side. The cloud came to nothing, so we had a dry time while here, but that was, of course, due to good luck given the rain of the last 18 months.
My trusty Triumph sitting quietly out of the way. There is a stream running along the other side of the property, and I am guessing that the tank to the right of the bike is the drinking water supply extracted from that creek or a well. The building on the left has the games/exercise room off to the left; the garage part visible here was locked.
Down towards the creek is this chook (hen) house, including a number of hens, and their regular supply of eggs for guests. Lily was quite taken by the chooks.
The "bedroom" wing of Ellywan, as seen from near the front of "Tree House". The main house is roughly boomerang shaped, with one end (the section not visible here) shorter than the other (bedroom) wing, but extending to an outdoor area, including a fire pit and barbeque.
Peter and Lily going for a walk, heading towards the games room. The under cover area on the left is the outdoor area, then the kitchen, dining room and living room, with the bedrooms off to the right.
Tree House, as seen from the front lawn. At this stage, Michelle had not arrived. This is where she will be staying.
It was cooling off as the day progressed, so birthday boy decided to start a fire in the outdoor pit. Looks like Tynan's legs.
Peter and Lily heading to open the gate for Michelle. She let us know she was close, and was already at the gate by the time we reached there. The gate is quite some distance from the house. Upon arrival, I could not find a safe place to stop the bike inside the gate - wet soil, and deep tyre ruts - so rode all the way up then walked back down to close the gate.
Michelle's boys hopped out, and Tynan and Cooper joined us to open the gate and let the car in. There is no lock on the gate, but there is a mechanism to keep it shut, involving a chain and a bolt. Which requires getting everything in the exactly correct position. Us city slickers eventually got it!
Yvonne supervising Kelly taking a photo of Michelle on the steps of "Tree House". There is room for a couple of cars underneath the house.