Bylands Cottage - Swan Reach

31/05/2026

The East Gippsland Winter festival is back again for 2026 from June 19- July 19. There is a jam packed program again this year.
Check it out here.

Embrace the chill of the season with an abundant celebration of art, wine, local produce and live music.

12/04/2026

Although a lot of people do not love, or even like spiders, we do like spotting the lovely big huntsman’s in the outdoor loo. From what we understand, this toilet was the first flushing toilet in the region so a fitting spot for a hunsman to call home. They also eat redbacks so hopefully it also keeps those away from the toilet seat.
To reassure our guests, we do relocate them if they move inside the house. The outdoor toilet is the only room we allow them to reside in.

05/04/2026

We purchased this dresser years ago, and although we loved it, we never really had an ideal place for it at home. We finally got around to relocating it to Swan Reach where it fits a lot better. Although we are not 100% sure it is currentey located in the best position, it does do a much better job of holding games and puzzles then the old secretary desk we had in its place.

29/03/2026

Hydrangeas do surprisingly well under the peppercorn with minimal water, so when I extended this bed months ago I knew that was what I wanted to plant. I just needed to propagate some more and wait for the heat of summer to pass. The relocation of a few other plants that are also thriving filled up the space nicely. - now to wait for them all to grow.

22/03/2026

Although we completed most of the painting a few years back when first purchased the house, a few of the trickier jobs remained. The chimneys were one of those. Last weekend we decided it was time to start this job. Standing on the roof pressure washing is definitely not the safest job we have ever undertaken but was very satisfying once complete. Both chimneys were cleaned by the end of the weekend, and one was painted. We also made a start on the eves above the veranda. This job proved to be harder than it looked. Laying on your stomach on top of roof studs is defiantly not a comfortable position.

15/03/2026

After relocating the washing machine taps to place the window in, the next step was to replace the top loader machine with a new front loader. The old machine worked just fine, but this one is much nicer to use.

24/11/2025

Last weekend at the cottage involved a big job that is completely unnoticeable at the moment - blackberry spraying in the paddock. We also attempted to drag a lovely big log out of the paddock for use in the garden, but the car didn’t like that idea and we did something to the 4x4 that then required us to winch ourselves out of the paddock. Oops!
We did manage to add a hook to the wall in the bathroom for hanging a robe after a guest suggestion earlier in the year.

29/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16v5qY3M8o/?mibextid=wwXIfr

31/08/2025

More lovely sunsets over the river.

24/08/2025

Hawthorn………..my most hated w**d. The spikes are horrible and it does not like to burn. I have tacked gauze and blackberry at other properties, this is by far the worst of the 3. There was a lot of it in the paddock when we purchased the house, but it’s now almost under control. Cutting, burning and poisoning the stumps should have it all removed within the next 12 months. Only a small amount in the far corner of the paddock remains. Thank goodness!