After my last round of chemotherapy in January it took at least three weeks to start feeling well enough to go out into the world.  My doctor suggested four weeks as a benchmark for restarting Aqua Fit and Gym classes so with this in mind I felt able to book a Mothers’ Day present given in May, 2025.

It was a Mystery Picnic.  It could be booked for Sydney, Hunter Valley and various country locations but I chose the Southern Highlands because it was closer and we were beginning to feel the effects of the war in Iran on our fuel prices.

After consulting the weather forecast I booked a day which promised to be warm and sunny but not too hot. The first task was to determine where we were going.  The website gave a series of clues once we had redeemed our gift.

The first clue sent us to Fitzroy Falls but as there was no food to be picked up and we had been there many times before, we gave it a miss, thereby saving 16 kilometres worth of fuel.

The next stop was Moss Vale so we elected to drive up Macquarie Pass.  It is undergoing some maintenance at the moment so we waited at a stop sign for a long time while traffic snaked along the single lane beside us.  Still, the sky was blue, the trees tall and magnificent and we were out on a mystery picnic so no time for complaining.

At Robertson we paused at Moonacres Kitchen, a favourite coffee shop, for a flat white and a pastry. Very nice but we should have waited until we reached the first stop of the mystery picnic which was the Moss Vale Post Office. Built in 1891, the same year as Keiraville Public School, it was a Post Office for 100 years.  PO’s all over the country have been abandoned as they have moved into smaller, more modern premises. They have often been turned into character filled galleries, cafes and restaurants.  The old Moss Vale PO underwent significant restoration in 2017 and now serves breakfast, lunch and beverages in a beautiful heritage setting.  We were able to choose two sweet treats from the cake cabinet which we took away with us for our picnic.

I had worked out the clues the day before so we would know where we were going so the next destination was the town of Berrima, ten kilometres away.  Our object was to find the Lolly Swagman, a shop selling fudge, as well as other lollies and sweets of all descriptions..  While I might try to avoid fudge as a general rule, it was free, so why not?  In fact, it was very tasty, two thick slices of plain chocolate  plus cherry ripe. Of course we didn’t eat it then.  Might spoil our mystery lunch!

The next three destinations were all in Bowral, another ten kilometres away.  I am very familiar with this town as I went to Bowral High School for six years.  It has become a popular destination for day trippers from Sydney, especially at the weekend.

It was suggested we go and look at the Mary Poppins Statue but we skipped it this time.  We have seen the one in Maryborough, QLD and it seems Bowral is claiming PL Travers as well as Don Bradman even though both of these Australian icons were born elsewhere.

The Bendooley Estate Larder in Bong Bong Street, Bowral had us salivating as we entered the door.  John bought a pie for his dinner that night as I was going to book club. We picked up the mystery picnic wraps for our lunch and were on our way to Janek’s Café, a short walk down the street and around the corner on the Corbett Plaza.  I only had to say my name and we were advised to take two soft drinks from the fridge. 

Further down Bong Bong Street at the Raw and Wild Market Café we were handed a delicious looking antipasto platter.

Seven kilometres on was our picnic destination at Mittagong’s Lake Alexandra.  We found a covered picnic table, hauled our esky and picnic basket down the hill and enjoyed our feast.  There was far too much food to eat in one session so it ended up lasting us for a couple of days.  A bus load of school children were noisily eating their lunches nearby (but not too close)  making me think back to my first home prac which I completed in 1970 at Mittagong Public School, just behind the lake.

Lake Alexandra is man-made, created in 1875, and was used to supply water to steam engines carrying coal to the Fitzroy Iron Works. I was interested to read that the lake was formed accidentally when an embankment was built to transport coal and coke from the back of Mount Alexandra to the iron works. Since the 1890s it has been a public recreational park.

It was time to head home, this time along the Hume Highway and down to Wollongong via the Picton Road. What a great day and a great present from my family!