Postcard from Yallingup

Photo: With Lennie at Caves House, Yallingup

After a pretty hectic few weeks, my wife and I are enjoying a few days rest and recuperation here in Yallingup, Western Australia. Yallingup is a popular place for holiday homes among people wanting to escape Perth to enjoy beaches and forests. It is the most beautiful place.

One spot I love to visit is Caves House, a well-known hotel and restaurant in the area, now popular as a wedding venue. I have always felt powerfully drawn to established gardens, huge trees and lush landscaping. There is something archetypally attractive about a mansion on a hill, with steps leading down to shaded gardens …

with lush foliage and vivid flowers under the soaring canopy.

Whenever I find myself in a place like this, I imagine bringing a group here to sit on the lawn and let nature stream through the senses. Such an exquisite location!

There are so many flowers out at this time of the year and the gardens are still beautifully lush before the summer heat, like the beds at The Berry Farm (below) another place I love to visit. If you are lucky, you’ll see a blue wren - some of them quite bold as they swoop down on the cafe tables to collect crumbs. We missed out this time, but saw plenty of nectar feeders fluttering about the outdoor restaurant.

One of the things I like most about the South West of Western Australia is how we have the whole Mediterranean thing going on with vineyards, olive groves, beaches and surfing. But at the same time there are ancient forests, undulating landscapes and gorgeous gardens of both the wild and manicured varieties. With a well known producer, I tried to get a TV show off the ground, based on a Buddhist psychotherapist living here - a way of showcasing a beautiful part of Australia which many people don’t even know exists. We were unable to find a interested distributor or streamer - I am guessing the content was too esoteric.

Friends have very generously offered us the use of their magnificent home overlooking Yallingup. I find that a view like this stills all mental activity … at least for a while.

What is there to think when faced with such an extraordinary sweep - a vista constantly shifting according to the weather and the time of day.

And what more peaceful way to end the day than by watching sunset over Yallingup beach? The sun is just a tiny, red sliver on the horizon …

I also love the peace and silence of this place. Living in the city, we become habituated to constant background noise. Coming out to far away places, there is such calm and silence. Perfect for meditation!

---

I’ll be back at the weekend with an article about my godmother Kay, who some of you have already met through my Africa book. It was Kay who first encouraged me to take an interest in Buddhism, and who has continued to influence my writing to this day. Ours is a story of extraordinary interconnection - the meeting of hearts and minds which I feel sure has not been limited to this lifetime alone. I am looking forward to sharing the story as much as I know of it!