Mangana Mission News - August 2011

Dear Friends and Family,
I hope that you are all dually impressed that I have managed to update the blog after only one months activities compared to the last very slack effort.
August was thankfully the last month of what felt like very long and oppressive winter in Mangana.We were blessed with a range of conditions from frosty mornings with temperatures down to -6 degrees and a number of wet and dreary days which made motivation for outdoor work a challenge.
Thankfully those dark days are now behind us and Spring has come with a vengeance!! With the warmer weather I am pleased to advise that my spirits have improved as well as a new found motivation to get outside and make the new projects come to life. There will be more updates on these events in the coming blogs!
August saw Mangana Mission blessed with 2 wonderful Helpers. The first was Ching from Taiwan who was a great girl who always had a smile on her face and was the strongest Asian Helper to have worked here on the farm ( except for Huni from Korea of course!- but he was a man!!!)

Cold morning in Mangana with Victa behind the water tank!

Ching working in the kitchen



Ching at Binnalong Bay Beach

 During her stay here at Mangana, Ching helped to clean up the formal garden after the large black wood tree fell over in a wind storm and had to be chopped up and moved to the side fence for next years winter fire wood supply. As well as this she helped by looking after the village children, cooking beautiful meals, cleaning around the house, and undertaking the challenging job of sorting out my workshop- a job not to be taken on by the faint hearted.

A few weeks after Ching departed for Westbury I was blessed by the return of a very special Helpx friend Laurine from Belgium.She originally came to visit for 12 days back in May this year but she decided to make Mangana her final home stay for 1 week before flying back to Belgium to continue her adventures. The 7 days flew past all to quickly however we managed to get the frame of the new Hot House secured in the vegetable paddock, pick a wheelbarrow load of potatoes, brew a fine Magana Larger, sing many singstar hits and enjoy a rendition of "Dirty Old Town" with the crew at the Friday Night Music Night.

Laurine fishing for Bream at the Scamander River

Laurine with the ghosts at Cullenswood Church

Happy snaps in the fromt garden

Well that about sums up the month that has just passed all to quickly ! The next couple of months appear to be very quiet on the Helpers front although Cosmos has a way of surprising us when we least expect it.
November onwards is now almost fully booked until early 2012 so there will be lots more  to report I am sure.
Till next time keep happy and safe,
Love, Light and Peace to All,
Warm Regards,
Andre

Mangana Mission News July 2011

Dear Family and Friends,
where has the last quarter of this year gone!!!!!!
I must apologise for my tardiness in updating the Mangana Mission blog however I shall try and get my act together and produce it monthly from now onwards. The greatest challenge that confronts me is now to try and remember all of the events that have taken place and the projects that have been completed with the helpers.
What feels like a very long, long time ago I was blessed with the arrival of an extremely talented young lady from France called Lucie. She is a brilliant artist so it was decided to make the most of her talents and let her loose on several artistic projects that had been in the pipeline for some time.The first of these was to paint an angel on the standing log in the native forest, followed by Ned Kelly the Gold Prospector  and the Aliens on the Cabin and finally the Pirate on the wall of  Garden Shed.

Mangana Angel

Ned Kelly on the Cabin

The Gold Panner on the Cabin

Alien Invasion at Mangana

Touching up the Pirate

Lucie at Wineglass Bay Lookout

Working in the Vegetable Gardens

During Lucie's long stay there were a couple of outstanding events that will stay in my mind forever.
The first was our decision to take a tour of the North East of Tasmania as it was a very rainy day and not really suitable for farm work. The drive across the Mathinna Plain dirt tracks was interesting due to the rain and mud however the rain refused to stop. During lunch at the Welborough Pub the rain teemed down outside, by the time we reached St Helen's on the way home the main street was totally flooded and it appeared that we would be stranded in St Helen's for the night. Due to the responsibilities of feeding the animals at Mangana we persevered and finally made our way home after over 30 water crossings! There were great celebrations upon our return!
The second great adventure was a day trip to the Freycinet National Park. In the past many helpers and WWOOFER's have mad the trek up to the Wine Glass Bay Lookout so I decided that I may as well give it a go. It was (for me at least) a challenging climb but the view at the end was worth the effort. I may even give it another go again in the future after a bit of fitness training and giving up the cigarettes!

After Lucie I was blessed with the arrival of Laurine from Belgium. She is a wonderful person and we had a great time together chatting away till early most  mornings. During her stay at Mangana Mission Laurine dedicated herself to painting the furniture on the back decking amongst other jobs. The outdoor suite had been painted quickly by myself some time ago using Chicken Feed Black Spray Paint. As the old saying goes "you get what you pay for!!" The cheap spray paint looked good for a while however by the time that Laurine arrived it was looking very tired and second rate.

Laurine being reborn from a tree in the rainforest

Laurine at Peter and Shelly's Fountain Party

Laurine giving the outside of the house a good clean

Laurine making a batch of Mangana Cider

The new look back deck after Laurines handywork

Laurine the singer at the weekly music night

As well as her painting duties Laurine also washed down the entire outside of the house, painted the rain water tank stand, made a batch of Mangana Cider (which is delicious as well as very strong!!!) fed the animals, did gardening and heaps more. I hope that she will return for a visit before she returns home to Belgium.

Mangana Mission News - March 2011

Dear Family and Friends,
I hope that you are all fit, well and most importantly happy.
As seems to be the case every month March has again been a very busy and productive time at the Mangana Mission.
The month commenced with the arrival of our first ever Helper from Malaysia - Karen Lim. She proved to be an excellent worker and has left a significant mark on the property. The first few days were devoted to giving the "formal garden" area a much needed make over. After the "summer that we never had" with sunshine one day followed by rain the next, the job of mowing the acres of lawn and weeding the numerous garden beds became a never ending chore.

Karen getting ready for work

It was decided to place weed mat around all of the roses and then cover it with horse compost to help reduce the ongoing maintenance by just a little. The bulb bed and fruit trees were also give a much needed weeding and clean up.

Relaxing in the spa at the end of the day

During her stay at Mangana Karen had a day trip up the North East Coast of Tasmania as well as a visit to the stunning Goblin Walk at the Blue Tiers Reserve. On her final day here Karen agreed to re cover the lounge chair - what was planned to be a 2 hour job ended up taking up the greater part of the day. The end result was wonderful and thankfully the Cats have avoided sharpening their claws on the side- so far anyway!

Suzi from Germany

The next helper to grace Mangana Mission was Suzi from Germany. She is a lovely girl and enjoyed Mangana , the people and the environment. The renovations to the gardens continued and it was decided to give " Mt. George" the water feature a major overhaul. It had been let go a fair bit over the past year or so due to the enormous number of projects that were being tackled.


The angry water feature gardener

The job was a challenging one however the results were well worth the efforts put in. It now looks even better than when it was originally constructed with Sippy 3 years ago

New improved water feature

The last few days that Susi was here were devoted to the thistle wars and completion of Stage 3 of the vineyard which saw the last  2 rows of the vineyard weeded and the remaining grapes finally in the ground.

The Truck gets a much needed detail

Leanne from Isle of Man arrived on a Thursday afternoon and spent 4 days here with Susi before Susi continued on her travels to the South of Tasmania. Sadly the weather during her first week was pretty dreary and wet limiting the number of outdoor jobs that could be tackled..Nevertheless when the sun returned to shine over Mangana Leanne made a great contribution to the projects that were outstanding including planting the last of the grapes, weeding, hoeing out the blasted thistles, hekping to progress the paths around the property, cooking wonderful meals and being a great friend and companion. She will be sadly missed by all at Mangana Mission and we hope that her travels go well XXX

Leanne the sharp shooter

The rains became worse and Mangana saw one of the largest floods in many years. I was getting a little concerned that the Mission may end up under water however Cosmos took care of us and the waters stopped about 1 metre from the front door!


Schoolhouse bridge under water



Mangana Mission river

Fingal Football Oval under water

South Esk River in flood with rainbow above

Victa the new addition to the household is growing daily as are the flock of chickens. Hopefully the first batch of eggs will be on the table within the next few weeks.

Victa the water cat!!!

Chook paradise

Well that's the end of this months report and i look forwards to updating you of the latest events in a months time.
"Live Well, Laugh Much,Love Often"
Love and Light,
Andre'

Mangana Mission News February Update

Dear Family and Friends,

what a turbulent month it has been in Australia with floods, cyclones and bush fires ravaging the entire continent.

Fortunately we have been safe here in "The Vortex" so far missing out on the floods that hit the East Coast of Tasmania.

Sadly Kate has had to return to Melbourne due to her deteriorating health to be close to better medical facilities and her family. Kate has been a driving force at Mangana Mission and will be very sadly missed by all of us -Cats and Chickens included. We can only all pray that Cosmos will conjure up a miracle that will see her health improve and her return to Peaceful Valley.

Jonni mowing the Shooting Range

The leaving of Kate has been a great personal shock and sadness to me -  I managed to loose my partner and job all in 1 day. The future is unsure as to where the torrents will take me however I am sure that Cosmos will help sort it all out in the end! There is no way that I shall be leaving "The Mission" unless it is in a box. There has been far too much work, blood, sweat and tears placed into the property by over 60 young helpers from all over the globe (and me) to let the vision  falter.

Emma and Victa Weeding the garden

This has also been the month of the Helper Invasion starting with Emma and Jonni from Sweden joining us for 1 week to assist around the property. It was a really fun week with lots of laughter, fun, good food and great company. We also held our most wild Friday Pizza and Music Night with the Mayor and Jason entertaining us like never before - the music was exceptionally nice!

Emma and Jonni at the music night

The band in full swing

Andre and Emma

Steve and his big toy building the range

Thanks to the input of Steve over dinner one evening a few new projects were devised. The first was a Shooting Range where we would be able to have some target shooting fun and the next was a more ambitious project of a pitch and putt golf course.

Emma on Target !!!

Good to his word Steve arrived the following morning with his large machine and the fun and games began!

Steve testing out the Mangana Range

 The day after Emma and Jonni left to explore the South of Tasmania we were blessed with the arrival of Camille and Antoine from France.

They threw themselves into a range of projects and fitted into the Mangana Mission way immediately.

Camille working in the fields



Antoine working in the veggie garden



The horse poo going onto the veggie gardens

  

The week that they spent here sadly went all to quickly however we did manage to move the back fence and secure it around the vineyard to keep the kangaroos from pruning the grapes. We also managed to mulch the vegetable beds with horse compost,water the plants and weed and rotary hoe the top garden bed near the Cabin and plant it out with Lebanese grapes that were kindly given to us by a neighbour Brian. On top of this there was a day trip to the North East beaches, 2 pizza and Music Nights and a number of Spa's.
A very busy and fun week for all concerned.

Alison digging potatoes for dinner

Less than a week after they departed Alison from Taiwan arrived for a 2 week stay at Mangana. She has proved to be a lovely lady who has assisted with weeding, watering, cooking, cleaning and a number of other tasks around the farm. Thanks to her excellent grasp of the English language she has also been a great conversationalist.

Alison the Mangana Waterer

Near the end of the month we were joined by Connor from the USA and Tine his wife from Belgium for a short 3 day stay. They were not here for long but their legacy will live on for a long time.

Connor resurfacing the track to the Cabin

They decided to accept the challenge of resurfacing the tracks around the property which had been originally layed by Scottish Mike. The problem that we discovered was that the course rock gravel that we had originally used was a mecca for weeds and was near impossible to weed by hand. As we have a zero poison policy here at Mangana Mission a new alternative had to be found. It was decided to purchase weed matting and 10 ton of fine gravel and resurface the paths.

Tine putting her back into it!!

For 2 days they worked diligently laying the weed matt , pinning it down, moving gravel, raking and then rolling it down. The end results look fantastic and hopefully will be weed free for a long time to come. Connor also created some rock art features along the path including a 4 metre crocodile.
Thanks very much for your great efforts.

New look Mangana path behind stage

Well that must be the end of a most interesting, challenging month and probably the longest single monthly blog from Mangana.

Take Care, Keep Happy, Be Safe

Love and Light,
Andre

Mangana Mission News April 2010 -January 2011

 

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Mangana Mission News - December 2010 and January 2011

Dear Family and Friends,
firstly may we wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a  wonderful  New Year ahead for 2011.
The past year has flown by at warp speed and now here we are planning and preparing for another that has just begun.

Lunch on the Paddlesteamer Resteraunt, St. Helens

Apologies for not doing a December Blog however life at Mangana Mission has been so hectic over the past several weeks that my Blog duties were placed on the back burner.

Francois hard at work at Mountain Mikes

December saw us being graced with 3 great Helpers - Cara from Canada and Justine and Francois from France. The result of this strong team being here was that a huge amount of work was completed around the property.

Cara putting her back into it.

The vineyard has now been planted out with hundreds of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grape vines now in the ground. Cara has been kept busy over the past hot week keeping the water up to them!

Justine and Friend

The team also completed and painted the new " Chookingham Palace" where we now have our first real live stock on the property.

Painting the roof of the chicken house

 9 New Hampshire chickens which were collected from Ellindale South West Tasmania on the 9th January. Thanks must also go to Mountain Mike from Mangana Heights for all of his technical and building expertise that helped this project to be such a great success ( as well as being the Co-Driver on the chicken collection trip!)

Chookingham Palace complete

Cara and Justine spent 2 days creating a magnificent painting on the back wall of the stage whilst Francois became a talented lawn mowing expert.



Back wall of the stage thanks to Cara and Justine

Just before Christmas we were blessed by a new arrival at Mangana Mission. After the sad passing of Jeromie we were very grateful to receive a new baby boy kitten - Victa from Gary and Cody in the village. He has proved to be a wonderful addition to the family and is a constant source of amusement to all.

Our new kitten- Victa

We all had a very enjoyable Christmas Day and Boxing Day with lots of laughter, alcohol and friends dropping in. Mangana Central was really hectic!



Christmas lunch at Mangana

 New Years Eve saw us run our second Mangana Mission Party with about 25 friends attending from all over the North East Coast.

Steve and Jason on the stage at New Years Eve Party

Andre after being made up for New Years Eve

Live entertainment provided by Russell on the flute, Steve and Jason on their guitars and Phil from St Helens on his guitar as well. Thanks for the boys for their wonderful entertainment and by all reports a great time was had by all in attendance.

Francois looking coy with a wig on at New Years Eve Party.

We wish you all a Very Happy Year ahead in 2011. May it be filled with happiness, joy, love, success and most importantly good health.
Till Next Time,
Love and Light,
Andre' & Kate

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Mangana Mission News - November 2011

Dear Friends and Family,
our apologies for the delay in the posting of the November Blog however life has been very hectic down here in Mangana

The 3 year anniversary of the Mangana Mission has now just passed (1st December 2010) and what a fun and thrilling adventure it has proved to be. The projects that were on our original 3 year plan have now been completed as well as a number that we could not have imagined back in 2007. The vineyard is taking shape more slowly than we had expected however what a large project it has turned out to be! 11 rows of 35 metres in length to be cut into the rocky ground, 88 gum bush poles to be cut and the bark stripped off, 88 holes to be dug into the ground to hold the poles, and then the wires and  planting of the grapes.



Vineyard Posts Finally In !!

 The French invasion has continued with the arrival of Dynamic Daniel followed by Jennifer and Etienne who have all played a major role in the Mangana Projects. Daniel was instrumental in the vineyard post and wire projects as well as the construction of the huge stage surround with the help of mountain Mike

 Daniel relaxing in the Spa after hard day on the farm

The stage surround was a huge job taking about one and a half days to complete however the end result is amazing as will be shown on the December Blog. We are now well prepared for our first Mangana New Years Eve Party in a few weeks time!

Daniel celebrating the completion of the Stage Cover

Daniel sadly left us to continue his Aussi adventures however the next day saw the exciting arrival of Jennifer and Etienne from France. The first reason for the excitement was that Jennifer left her bag on the bus in Fingal and for the first time in 3 years we had to chase the Callows Coach down the 20km road to St. Marys! There was much flashing of head lights on the car as well as a little driving over the speed limit however we finally caught our prey in front of the St. Marys Newsagent and the bag was retrieved.


Jennifer working in the vegetable garden

 A great deal of progress has been made in the vegetable plot with nearly all of the beds being weeded and then mulched (thanks to Jennifer and Etienne )followed by the planting of dozens of seeds and seedlings. We are optimistic of a bountiful harvest this summer.



Jennifer and Etienne weeding the vegetable garden

 We have also been blessed by a wonderful French cook in Etienne who has graced us with his culinary delights every evening supported by his trusty assistant and dish washer Jennifer. The plants are not the only things growing at Mangana- so are our waistlines!!

Then Mangana Mission was graced with the arrival of David the Photographer from (you guessed it!) France.

David on the Deck

He was one of the most amazing helpers who have visited Mangana with a quirky sense of humor, a great cook, wonderful worker in the gardens and enormous fun to have around. He truly became one of the family (my son from another mother!) and his contributions to the vineyard were exceptional as well as his love for his new girlfriend- the Brush Cutter.

David Brewing Beer

His photographic skills are incredible as can be seen on our other blog at
:www.manganamissionpics.blogspot.com

I look forwards to the day that David returns to "The Vortex" and successfully catches the Possum !


Jeromie of Mangana - The Foreman RIP


The last day of November was a very sad day with the passing away of our beautiful boy cat Jeromie. We went looking for him as he was late home for dinner and Vanessa and Marie were already in their bedroom. He was discovered behind the bulb garden in the front yard sadly deceased. There were no obvious signs of any injury so that we think that maybe he had been bitten by a snake. There have not been any sightings of snakes at Mangana Mission for almost 3 years however Jeromie often roamed far and wide.
He was buried at his favourite hiding spot in the vegetable garden area with full honours and Mangana Mission will never be the same without him.

We wish you all a very Happy Christmas time and a Safe, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

The next blog will include pictures and maybe even a video of our News Years Eve Party!

Take Care, Keep Safe and Enjoy Life

Love and Light,

Andre' & Kate

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Mangana Mission News - October 2010

Dear Friends and Family,
where has the year gone ! They are now selling Xmas Cards at the local supermarket!

Digging for Mangana Potatoes

 The apparently endless projects continue here at Mangana Mission however the end is getting near. Our 3 year plan is now almost complete and we are pleased to advise that things are looking pretty darn good.

Flora Rotary Hoeing the Garden Beds

This month has seen us blessed with the arrival of 2 wonderful members of the HelpX program from France- Flora and Adrien They spent just over 2 weeks here at Mangana and were actively involved in a number of projects. They helped to harvest the potatoes, rotary hoe the garden beds in preparation for this summers crops, make the trails around the orchard, help create  a pond , collected fire wood ,detailed the 2 vehicles, mowed the lawns and pulled up thistles and spent one day helping Mountain Mike on his property. They also cooked wonderful crepes and Flora was a great dish washer and window cleaner!!

Steve "Mayor" Parker and Jason playing music at the party !

This was over and above their help in setting up the Mangana Muster Party as well as being the signature International Act playing 3 French tunes to rapturous applause!

Andre' & Jason singing at the Mangana Mission Music Night

October has also seen the arrival at Mangana Mission of "Mountain Mike" from New South Wales. Jason made the initial introductions however Mike has now become an integral part of Mangana Mission. He has proved to be extremely skilled and a font of much knowledge that has been gratefully lapped up by us.We are most thankful for his efforts in repairing the dune buggy as well as supplying over 80 gum posts for the vineyard and spars for the soon to be constructed stage cover.

Mike and Andre- The Mangana Nights!

As another year draws to its inevitable close it is a time to reflect on the past as well as plan for the future. We have managed to survive the challenges that "Cosmos" has dealt us over the past 10 months as well as keep our vision firmly planted upon our "Mission"- to try and create an almost self sufficient lifestyle on a small holding.. The farm is now almost complete with vegetables, orchard, berries and vineyard. The only planned additions that we currently have room for are a number of feathered friends  including chickens, ducks, geese and more. They will provide an organic pest eradication crew as well as eggs for the kitchen table. Plans are also afoot for a small flock of black sheep to keep the grass under control and to be friends to Jeromie, Vanessa and Marie (our cats!). There is a chance that we may be able to look at purchasing an adjoining block in the New Year which will allow us to expand the vineyard and run some Clydesdale's. Time will reveal all!
Take Care, Keep Happy, Safe and Carpe Diem (Seize the Moment!!)
Love and Light,
Andre' & Kate

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Mangana Mission Mail- September 2010

 Dear Friends and Family,

Spring has arrived at Mangana Mission and has seen the return of the prodigal son- Mike from Scotland.

Relaxing in the spa after a hard day trail making




  Mike has taken up the mantle of being our first ever returnee! This may have been as a result of my desperate email begging his return to help get the property ready for our first big party or maybe it was just the power of the Mangana Vortex!



Mangana Mission Stage and Amphitheatre



 Either way his return was a time of much joy and has resulted in several tons of gravel being moved from up the hill and now laid upon the Mangana Mission Paths. These are not only a landscaping feature but also provide a means for Kate to visit the entire property on her scooter. (  to ensure that the crew are hard at work!)

Andre standing beside the Mangana Monolith

Thankfully about half of the paths are now complete- we now have a trail all the way up the hill to Scotty's Cabin as well as one across the front formal garden to where the Chicken Hilton will reside and one to the stream near to the Mandela Berry Garden. It has been a challenging job however the results are wonderful.We now await the next delivery of gravel to allow another major project to be completed!

Mangana Rock Feature Beside Trail in Front Garden

The hot houses are packed to capacity with vegetables waiting to be planted as well as over 300 grape cuttings that we plan to plant in the vineyard in November.




The Mangana Muster Party that was planned for the 25th September was rescheduled to the 16th October. The organisers happened to forget that the 25th September clashed with a major Australian Cultural Event- THE GRAND FINAL! Thankfully Jason and The Mayor were on the ball and pointed out the challenging clash of dates! We look forwards to an update of the party on our next blog.




Mike planting the first crop of broad beans.



The stage and amphitheatre are now complete after some rather tense times- moving 3 logs that weighed about 1 ton each into position with the help of the Delica and a couple of crow bars. I was fearful that Mike would end up returning to Melbourne being 4 metres tall by .5cm wide! With a great deal of care and diligence the job was completed safely and another feature is now in place for future events.

The period ahead looks quite promising with Gemma and Sean coming from the UK next month, followed by Janelle from Taiwan and then Cara from Canada to see the year out.

There may be some others that we don't know of yet but time will reveal all.

Kate has been having an Art Frenzy spending hours up in the Scotty's Cabin Art Room putting together pieces for an exhibition in Launceston.

Thankfully all of our original plans appear to be coming to fruition. We set ourselves a 3 year plan to regenerate the property and complete all of the major projects by December 2010 and thanks to all of our Helpers and WWOOFERs the dream seems to be becoming a reality! Warm and Sincere Thanks to you all.

Love and Light,

Andre' & Kate

XXXXOOOO

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Mangana Mission Mail- August 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

our good fortune continued with the arrival of Mike from Scotland at the end of July.

Mike has been in this great brown land for almost 1 year and was looking for WWOOFING work to assist with obtaining a second years Visa in Australia.

He arrived whilst the lovely Laeticia was still here with us and as "Cosmos" determined, his home town was Edinburgh Scotland- just where Laeticia was moving for her next years university studies. He was able to assist her with places of interest, good suburbs and contacts to assist her on her quest. It truly is a weird and wonderful world that we live in!

Mike the Mangana Barrista at Work!!!

Whilst residing in Melbourne for the past few months Mike had worked in a restaurant and his Barrista skills were gladly accepted with a daily express at lunchtime.

Mike the Bush ranger of Mangana

Mike entering the Mangana Vortex!!

During his 3 week stay at Mangana Mike was involved with many jobs and projects including the clearing of gorse,reeds and tussock grass from Stage 2 of the vineyard, fencing the new extended house paddock, rotary hoeing of the garden beds, fire wood transporter and splitter and most importantly trail blazer with the new paths around the property. The work was at times challenging however the results are amazing!

Mike and his Mangana Hoe !!

Mike is also an amazing musician and he was involved with the establishment of a new Mangana Mission tradition : The Friday Night Pizza and Jam Nights. This involves local musicians from the village coming to the Mission to share Pizza, laughs, a drink or 10 and play music,every Friday night. Thanks for your great input Mike and the tune that the Blues harp loved!

Mikes solo jam !

It was a true pleasure to share our lives with Mike as he had a ready smile, great work effort, fun to have around and most importantly loved to wash dishes and was a dab hand in the kitchen! We await your return to Mangana!!!!

Guest Book Comments:
Well guys,my time here has been truly something else! I've been a gorse and tussock grass assasin, fencer (not the sword kind), rorary hoe driver,gravel shoveler,rock carrier,river creator (the most like God that I have ever felt),lumberjack, barrista,chef,flood chaser,and the rest that I have forgotten due to so many good times.And all in 3 weeks!
Thank you so much for making me feel so at home in the Mangana vortex.It can be a scary place what with the mayors stories of ghosts and UFO's and the way time and phone reception dont exist. In reality of course it is paradise.
A paradise created in the unique and brilliant minds that are yours, Andre' & Kate, and made a reality by your hard work and belief and the help of us wwoofer's. I must say I'm ,pardon my French, pretty fuckin proud to have been a part of Mangana Mission and I'm sure that a wee part of it will always be with me. And I'll of course have to return to see the finished paths and the amphitheatre! I've got to come back for ManganaStock! It'll be massive.I'm gonna tell everyone I know and we'll all come om a musical pilgrimage ans it'll be like the original Woodstock only smaller and instead of Hendrix we'll have Jason who's just as mesmerising.
anyway! And Kate will be there on her keyboard and you'll be there on the blues harp and picolo trumpet(when its fixed) and the mayor!!! bashing out tune after tune until 3.00 am. Wouldn't miss it for the world!
So good luck with the music and the pizza and self sufficiency ans love and light and making your dreams a reality.The world needs Mangana Mission!!
A million thanks
Mike X
PS Tell  Jason and the Mayor I say farewell for now M 

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Mangana Mission News July 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

after a couple of quiet months here at the Mission with a dearth of Helpers or WWOOFER's we have been blessed by an angel.

Laetitia from the North East of France via Paris arrived at our humble abode and had an immediate impact upon our lives and the projects that we had planned to complete over the winter months.

Thanks to her great efforts Stage 1 of our vineyard was completed as well as the Mandela Berry Garden . Laticia also looked after the kittens for 2 days whilst Kate and I travelled to Dover to spend a very enjoyable night with our  friends Kat and Paul at the St. Imre Vineyard as well as obtaining part of the root stock for the upcoming vineyard..

The time she shared with us was undoubtedly one of the most special and rewarding of all of the 56 people who we have been fortunate enough to open our home and hearts to. Laetitia thoroughly enjoyed the daily challenges of farm life, applied herself diligently to all of her chores and always had a smile on her face! Most importantly she had a thirst for knowledge and a desire to learn new skills.

 During her almost 3 week stay at "Peaceful Valley she had a trip to visit the magnificent sites of the North East Coast including Scamander.Beaumaris, St Helens and of course Priscilla at the Pub in the Paddock at Pyanganna,. This was followed by an afternoon jaunt up the mountains to Storeys Creek and Rossarden as well as a day trip to Launceston to see the monkeys at Central Park.

We both hope that she will find the time to return to Mangana in the future to help with the pressing of "Laetitia Lane Pinot Gris" and to share her infectious smile with us and the entire township of Mangana!

Guest Book Comments:

Dear Andre' & Kate,

words are hard to find to describe what I feel towards your place.It is home and not home at the same time."Home" because it has everything every Homo Sapien (UGA BUGA) can want in a home "not home" because it is out of place and out of time (well of course because it is in a vortex!!) Something between a dream and a memory of a better place and better time.

As for what I feel towards you Kate and Andre',words are much easier to find: I LOVE YOU! I think those are the best and simplest words I can find.

Be sure that I will be back very soon to enjoy life in the Mangana Way and above all life WITH YOU. I will miss you. Thank You

Laetitia

Saturday, May 1, 2010

April 2010 at Mangana

Dear Family and Friends,
another month has passed at "Peaceful Valley"  and we are pleased to advise that all is well and we have managed to complete a number of new projects around the property.
The month commenced with the arrival of Masato from Japan. He proved to be a diligent worker and was always up to the challenges given to him. During his 2 weeks at the property he worked hard in the vegetable gardens,the removal of tussock grass from the orchard, weeding and rotary hoeing of the top garden bed near the cabin, splitting a mountain of fire wood and cooked a number of delicious Japanese meals.
He was a great WWOOFER  and his efforts and commitment will be sadly missed. We both wish him well in his Australian travels and English studies in Queensland.

GUEST BOOK COMMENTS:
"Thank you 4 every thing while stayed here could enjoy all of time.After to Brisbane will study hard if have much more skill in my english we would be able to enjoy much more.Will come back here at this time mangana mission must be much more bigger so cant work alone, will make girlfriend and come back here.Really appreciate for you.Thank you very much for two weeks nice meeting you take good care"
 Masato from Japan

After a short break of 2 days from the time that Masato left us  Michael from Yorkshire in the United Kingdom arrived at Mangana to take up the challenge! He started his involvement with a day of removing our friendly thistles and a very thorough job of weeding the water feature. His weeding was exceptional and no plant was safe from his wrath (this included ferns, flowers and more!) Thankfully the majority of the good plants were saved from the sheep and replanted from whence they came.

After a number of months of watching the lifestyle shows on Cable TV Mangana Mission was abuzz with plans of an internal Spring Clean in Autumn! Thankfully Michael and his partner in crime Mandy from Texas in the USA who had arrived here the day after Michael were up to the task. The entrance way and kitchen/family room were repainted in white (this makes them look bigger!), the trim was repaired and repainted, plaster cracks repaired, lounge recovered and the 80 year old cabinet was stripped of several layers of paint and redone in varnish and stain. We are pleased to advise that the place has never looked better inside!

GUEST BOOK COMMENTS:
"Thanks to you both for a fantastic stay.The glorious landscape is the perfect setting for a peaceful two weeks with the most relaxed people that I have met so far on my travels.The food has always been fit for a king.The spa was very relaxing and the wildlife was plentiful.The days off were not wasted just like the days worked.
Thanks again Andre & Kate (and the cats)P.S. Good luck with the beer and moonshine."
Michael - United Kingdom

GUEST BOOK COMMENTS:
"Dear Kate and Andre',
my time here was some of the most peaceful that I have ever had.Your hospitality made me feel at home right away and also like a real contributing factor to the household which was lovely.I enjoyed your conversation,easy going routine and sense of humor.
Thank you for the tours and the Ben Lammond summit hike.I won't soon forget the beauty of Tasmania now! Remember me when you see the tiny flaws in the new cabinet and walls! There are quite a few. I won't forget you! All the best with the beer and smokes, fried green tomatoes and everything in between"
XOXO Mandy - Texas USA

        

After 4 hectic and fruitful months Kate and I are looking forwards to a little quiet time at the "Mission".The helpers have been wonderful however the pace of the projects has been frenetic. Thankfully the foundation of all of our major projects are now almost complete (except for the proposed vineyard and free range chicken run) and with the days getting shorter and the temperatures dropping we are looking forwards to having some time in front of the fireplace with the kittens!
Take care, thanks again to all of our international family of helpers/ WWOOFER's and we look forwards to keeping you all posted of developments as they occur!
Love and Light,
Andre, Kate and the Kittens!

Dear Family and Friends,

what a turbulent month it has been in Australia with floods, cyclones and bush fires ravaging the entire continent.

Fortunately we have been safe here in "The Vortex" so far missing out on the floods that hit the East Coast of Tasmania.

Sadly Kate has had to return to Melbourne due to her deteriorating health to be close to better medical facilities and her family. Kate has been a driving force at Mangana Mission and will be very sadly missed by all of us -Cats and Chickens included.

We can only all pray that Cosmos can conjure up a miracle that will see her health improve and her return to Peaceful Valley.

Jonni mowing the Shooting Range

The leaving of Kate has been a great personal shock and sadness to me -  I managed to loose my partner and job all in 1 day. The future is unsure as to where the torrents will take me however I am sure that Cosmos will help sort it all out in the end! There is no way that I shall be leaving "The Mission" unless it is in a box. There has been far too much work, blood, sweat and tears placed into the property by over 60 young helpers from all over the globe (and me) to let the vision  falter.

Emma and Victa Weeding the garden

This has also been the month of the Swedish invasion with Emma and Jonni joining us for 1 week to assist around the property. It was a really fun week with lots of laughter, fun, good food and great company. We also held our most wild Friday Pizza and Music Night with the Mayor and Jason entertaining us like never before - the music was exceptionally nice!

Emma and Jonni at the music night

The band in full swing

Andre and Emma

Steve and his big toy building the range

Thanks to the input of Steve over dinner one evening a few new projects were devised. The first was a Shooting Range where we would be able to have some target shooting fun and the next was a more ambitious project of a golf course.

Emma on Target !!!

Good to his word Steve arrived the following morning with his large machine and the fun and games began!

Steve testing out the Mangana Range

 The day after Emma and Jonni left to explore the South of Tasmania we were blessed with the arrival of Camille and Antoine from France.

They threw themselves into a range of projects and fitted into the Mangana Mission way immediately.

Camille working in the fields



Antoine working in the veggie garden

The horse poo going onto the veggie gardens

 

Dear Family and Friends,

what a turbulent month it has been in Australia with floods, cyclones and bush fires ravaging the entire continent.

Fortunately we have been safe here in "The Vortex" so far missing out on the floods that hit the East Coast of Tasmania.

Sadly Kate has had to return to Melbourne due to her deteriorating health to be close to better medical facilities and her family. Kate has been a driving force at Mangana Mission and will be very sadly missed by all of us -Cats and Chickens included.

We can only all pray that Cosmos can conjure up a miracle that will see her health improve and her return to Peaceful Valley.

Jonni mowing the Shooting Range

The leaving of Kate has been a great personal shock and sadness to me -  I managed to loose my partner and job all in 1 day. The future is unsure as to where the torrents will take me however I am sure that Cosmos will help sort it all out in the end! There is no way that I shall be leaving "The Mission" unless it is in a box. There has been far too much work, blood, sweat and tears placed into the property by over 60 young helpers from all over the globe (and me) to let the vision  falter.

Emma and Victa Weeding the garden

This has also been the month of the Swedish invasion with Emma and Jonni joining us for 1 week to assist around the property. It was a really fun week with lots of laughter, fun, good food and great company. We also held our most wild Friday Pizza and Music Night with the Mayor and Jason entertaining us like never before - the music was exceptionally nice!

Emma and Jonni at the music night

The band in full swing

Andre and Emma

Steve and his big toy building the range

Thanks to the input of Steve over dinner one evening a few new projects were devised. The first was a Shooting Range where we would be able to have some target shooting fun and the next was a more ambitious project of a golf course.

Emma on Target !!!

Good to his word Steve arrived the following morning with his large machine and the fun and games began!

Steve testing out the Mangana Range

 The day after Emma and Jonni left to explore the South of Tasmania we were blessed with the arrival of Camille and Antoine from France.

They threw themselves into a range of projects and fitted into the Mangana Mission way immediately.

Camille working in the fields



Antoine working in the veggie garden

The horse poo going onto the veggie gardens