Our latest project was a bit daunting, we’d put it off thinking it would be difficult and time consuming. There is a bridge over the stream at the bottom of the hill in the rainforest

and the timbers have been deteriorating since we moved in. No longer was it safe to traverse in a tractor…….

……the time had come. Michael had sourced hardwood from a local sawmill and it was already stacked and ready to go. After cutting them to length

we laid them out to make sure we had enough

and drilled the nail holes in preparation.

The old boards were easily prised off

and the new ones were dragged down the hill a few at a time.

One by one, they were set in place

and nailed to the supporting beams (old telegraph poles).

We were pleasantly surprised at the progress we made

and the old ones were stacked for future use.

The last of the old ones came off

and the new ones were all laid.

It was hot work but the surroundings made up for the discomfort.

Side rails finished off the edges and Poppy was on hand to give advice.

We thought it fitting that she should be first to test the strength of the new bridge.

After that hard work in the heat, there was only one way to get back up the hill.