Jude Tulloch Artist

 When you walk around the side of our house you seem to cross into another world. Our front door looks out onto a suburban street in a beachside suburb, while the back veranda overlooks the Marcus Section of Noosa National Park. Even though it’s not a spectacular panoramic view, or a sought after ocean view, visitors and guests always tell us how much they love the backdrop and the calmness it engenders.

The colours constantly alter as the light changes with the day and with the weather conditions. There are always birds and butterflies moving through, and insects making circles in the water. While the trees across the lowland can be swaying furiously in a heavy wind, our veranda remains protected, yet curiously, on hot still days there is often a whisper of a breeze.

I never take our view for granted, and draw immense pleasure from being so close to nature. To those who seek to manage and control nature rather than be part of nature; those who see a view as a commodity or their entitlement; those who illegally cut down trees to get a better view or to make their properties more valuable; I can say you miss out on something very simple yet profound. It’s something that money can’t buy.

Next time you think about a house with a view, think about it as an immersive experience. That’s what our view is, an experience that gives me a deep understanding that we humans are really another creature that is part of the fascinating, finely-tuned, intricate connections of nature.