Where is Chatsbury in Australia, I hear you ask.... well, this was exactly the same question that I had asked... and if you are interested it is on the Sydney side of Goulburn! And it a really lovely area of Australia as well... once out of the regional centre of Gouburn city/town... you start to hit the unpaved roads of rural NSW... don't bother washing your car before heading out this way... you will get slathered with dust if it is dry, and mud if it is wet!
Plus, drive slowly... unless you plan on giving yourself a huge punctured tyre on the many rocks that line the unsealed roads!
However, once you get Rhyanna Park itself, you are greeted to this long and scenic sealed road up to the house itself. Honestly, a big delight after so many kilometres of bouncing up and down on uneven tracks!
... and parking down the back, you make your way into the main house area through the playground and fruit trees. On this day, it was spectacularly hot... and you remember that the best place in the hot Australian summer is always under shade!
... and once past the garden, you enter the main grounds. This part was set up for the wedding reception that I was playing for... well, not the reception, but the ceremony.
Moving further around, past the pool and a dam with a cow in it... you reach a little gazebo... sadly, that wasn't where the ceremony was being held... that shade would have been perfect! But we were in a more open area, but there was shade for the musicians under a large outdoor umbrella.... the guests had it rougher, sitting in the sun with small parasols for protection.
Honestly, if you are doing a summer outdoor wedding in the middle of the afternoon, you really have to find a better place for the guests! Either that or delay by a few hours to get a bit more of a cooler atmosphere and less of the harsh sun! Or choose the morning...
... and so, this is Rhyanna Park. Apparently, it used to be a private country residence that was built by a rich guy sometime... and then they ran into problems, and had to sell the place off for a couple of million Australian dollars. The new owner now uses it for an luxury AirBNB or a wedding/function venue...
... and it is really a lovely place for either of those options! In fact, I'm even toying around with the idea of using it for a Baroque music residential summer course! How awesome would that be??? But lets not kid ourselves, this is the sort of place that charges about 5000 AUD per night!
... and there is that splendid sense of isolation... imagine playing music out here! In the gazebo.. in the morning, a few cold drinks on hand!