Day Fifty-Two - 11/1/26

Another reasonably cold night, but with the extra blankets it wasn’t too bad. I think we all slept pretty well, and because we were on kid duties in the morning, we were able to get a bit of a sleep-in. Not having to be up and ready until around 8:30 instead of 7 felt like a luxury. We took our time getting ready and eased into the day, which was really nice for once.

We wandered up to the breakfast hall just as the banh mi were arriving. I’d gone up a little earlier to start making our own coffee because I was desperate for one, and then our coffees arrived almost exactly at the same time as the banh mi. Perfect timing. We’d learned our lesson from the day before about ordering too many, so we scaled it back a bit. Kia and the kids had one each, and I had two. In hindsight, I probably could’ve handled a third. I also had two salted coffees, which were excellent. Kia was a bit jealous and ended up pouring the last of the salted cream from my cup into hers once I’d started drinking. I was very happy with the coffee situation. I feel like I haven’t been able to drink as much coffee as I’d like here, so a couple of cups in the morning makes everything feel right again.

After breakfast, we had some time to ourselves. Kia and I started reorganising bags again, trying to prepare for the next leg of travel and figure out how to redistribute weight a bit better. It’s still a work in progress, but we’ve got plenty of time to keep refining it.

Before the kids arrived, I took the drone up and did a flight over the farm. It was a really nice day for it, calm and clear, and I got some great photos and footage. I’ll make sure I send them through to Ha and Tofu so they can use them for the website or anything else they like.

Then the kids started arriving for the morning activity, which was rock painting. It quickly became clear that someone had accidentally bought enamel paint instead of acrylic. It did not wash out. Paint ended up everywhere. Hands, clothes, tables, rocks, more rocks, and everything in between. Maddie and Emmett both got paint on their new elephant pants and were pretty upset, but I managed to get most of it out quickly with alcohol wipes. Crisis mostly averted.

Despite the chaos, it was a great activity. Maddie painted about five rocks, Emmett did a few, and the local kids joined in as well. Part of the task was practising English with them, and one of the little girls had incredible English. She could explain colours, describe what she was painting, and tell little stories. After everyone finished painting, we split into two teams for a rock-stacking competition, and then each kid stood up and explained their rock and why they painted it the way they did. There were some really well-painted rocks, especially considering the state of the brushes and paint.

After cleaning up the paint disaster, we had lunch. Noodles instead of rice, which felt like a big win. Light beef noodle bowls with salad. Much easier on the stomach and a nice change. Everyone seemed pretty happy after that.

For the afternoon, Maddie and I were on cooking and cleaning duty for dinner, which meant we had to help prep about an hour beforehand. There was a decent chunk of time to fill after lunch. Emmett and Maddie were starting to get a bit silly and rub each other the wrong way, so I convinced Emmett to come for a walk with me. Maddie chilled out with her tablet, and Kia had a rest before heading off for animal duty later in the afternoon.

Emmett and I walked up to the nearby quarry. I wanted to grab a photo of a GPS survey mark up there for LinkedIn, and I showed him where the granite blocks had been cut. There’s a huge hole in the rock face that always impresses him. We ended up walking a lap around the whole quarry, playing a throwing game the whole way. Pick a target, take turns throwing rocks, try to hit it. Simple and endlessly entertaining.

We wandered along the road for a bit, waved to some locals, then cut back through another track and found ourselves back at the edge of the quarry. Emmett wanted to keep following the edge, which meant pushing through some bush to get around to another open section. We talked the whole time. Random questions, explanations, stories. Those one-on-one walks are some of my favourite moments. No competition for attention, just time together.

On the way back, I stepped toward what I thought might be a survey monument in an area with a lot of cut-down trees. Instantly, a snake shot out from right near my foot and took off across the paddock. Emmett and I chased after it, taking photos and videos. We’re not entirely sure what kind it was. Brown on top, a bit golden underneath, easily a metre and a half long, maybe closer to two, and fairly thick. A big one. Equal parts exciting and slightly nerve-racking.

We eventually headed back toward the farm and ran into some people collecting firewood for the evening. There were plans for a fire later on. When we got back, the kids from town were wrapping up and heading home, and we said goodbye to a few of them.

Later, Maddie and I headed up early to help prep dinner. It was a bit stressful. The cook kept saying “no, no, no,” but didn’t speak any English, so we had no idea what we were doing wrong or right. We just tried our best and laughed our way through it. Everyone else who passed by said they’d had the exact same experience at some point, which made us feel slightly better.

In the end, it really didn’t matter how anyone was cutting things. The food here always tastes amazing. It somehow just works, no matter what. So no big issue at all.

For dinner, another family arrived, four people, and then a couple of other ladies turned up as well. I think there were around 23 or 24 people in total. Maddie and I cut up a huge amount of food. Plates kept coming, food kept going out, seats needed setting, and it was busy.

We did slightly drop the ball at one point. Normally, whoever is on dinner duty dishes out the rice, but we’d wandered off briefly and by the time we came back, other people had already jumped in and started serving it. It turned into a team effort. We apologised, but everyone was completely fine about it.

Dinner itself was, once again, full of chatting. Kia and I spent time talking with a French couple who we might try to visit when we’re in Spain, if we manage a road trip up into France. They’ll be home by then, and it would be really nice to catch up with them on their own turf. They’ve been bikepacking around Europe and other parts of the world, and hearing their stories was really enjoyable.

Then came the clean-up. The amount of plates, bowls, chopsticks, spoons, serving dishes, cooking pots, chopping boards and utensils was wild. It genuinely felt like cleaning up after a hundred-seat restaurant. Maddie helped for a while, then Kia came in and helped finish it off, but it was a massive job.

By the time we finished, everyone was sitting around the fire laughing and chatting. It was already quarter past eight, and while I was about to head over and join them, I knew I wouldn’t stay too long. I was pretty tired, and we needed to get the kids into bed because tomorrow is a big travel day.

So that was Day 52. Our last full day here on Hygge Farm. We really did get into a good routine here. The kids have absolutely loved it, especially having other kids around. They’re really going to miss it. Emmett doesn’t want to leave at all. I think he loves the animals and the constant activity.

For me, I’ve loved the sense of community. The conversations, the shared work, hearing from people from different countries with completely different life perspectives. I’ll miss that too. It’s been challenging, grounding, messy, and rewarding all at once.