Our home is typical of a modern Australian being a freestanding brick veneer home with a metal roof. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 living areas, a dining area, 2 bathrooms (one being an en-suite to the master bedroom), laundry, spacious kitchen and an outdoor entertainment area. It has all the conveniences you would expect with a modern Australian home like televisions, video / DVD, oven, cook top, refrigerator, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, computer and gas BBQ.

We live in a quiet village 8 km from the centre of Bathurst. The street we live in is a cul-de-sac (ie. no through traffic) which our kids love as they can freely ride bikes, skates and scooters on the street. Our kids also enjoy the large cubby house on our block and playing in the river, which is a 15 minute walk away.

We also have five hens that we can arrange care for, but they would also be happy providing you with fresh eggs in return for food scraps, grain and water.

Located approximately two and a half hours drive west of Sydney, Bathurst is ideally located to experience the “real” Australia. There are literally too many things to enjoy in this part of Australia to list thoroughly, but here are some of the main attractions.

Bathurst is primarily recognised as the home of Mt Panorama, which is regarded as one of the most challenging, exciting and picturesque motor racing circuits in the world. However, as Australia’s oldest inland European settlement, the area is also rich in history that includes European settlement, gold rushes, bushrangers and transport achievements.

The area around Bathurst has been blessed with some of the most unique natural features in the world, including the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (over 1 million hectares of forest containing hundreds of unique species of plants and animals). There are vast and impressive sandstone escarpments and some of the best limestone caves in the world, including the largest limestone arch in the southern hemisphere.

For wine lovers, you’ll be on the doorstep of the premier cool climate wine growing area in Australia. There are over 60 cellar doors to sample the local product, ranging from small boutique wineries to large producers and exporters.

And the best part is that any of the above can easily be managed as a day trip from our house!

For a city of 32,000 people, Bathurst has excellent facilities. There is a good representation of all the major retailers, as well as numerous speciality shops. There’s also a diverse range of dining options from Aussie pub food to fine dining in a range of cuisines (including Greek, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Thai, French, vegetarian, etc), sporting facilities (including a new aquatic centre to be completed in mid 2007), art galleries and museums.

Of course, if you absolutely must see things like the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Bathurst is well connected to Sydney. You could take scenic drive on high quality roads through Blue Mountains World Heritage Area or one of the 12 flights or over 35 coach/rail connections weekly to Sydney.

Jason (33) is employed by the NSW Government in environment protection. Tammy (31) is a full time mum and psychology student at university. We also both own a business researching renewable energy technology.

Our three children Kaitlyn (9), Abigail (7), and Gabriel (5) will all be at school next year.

We all want to broaden our horizons and experience new countries and cultures, and we think exchanging home is the perfect way to do this.