Nestled in the Foothills – A Weekend Home in Edi

This weekend saw me nestled in the foothills of the King Valley, in a tiny little town called Edi.

And when I say tiny… I mean blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tiny.

Edi has nothing much at all – no bustling main street, no busy cafés, no traffic lights. But you may have heard of it for one very good reason. There’s a ripper campground called Edi Cutting, where you can camp right on the banks of the King River – and it’s free. Waking up to the sound of flowing water and birdsong, with mist rising off the river as the sun climbs over the hills… there’s nothing quite like it.

For me though, Edi is so much more than a campground.

It’s home.

My parents moved there from Melbourne when I was in my teens. I still remember what a change it was – swapping city life for wide open skies, paddocks, riverbanks and rolling hills. Their property sits right on the King River, and it is truly something special. The sound of water over rocks, the tall gums reaching up into painted skies, the way the light dances across the valley at sunset – it gets into your bones.

Although Mum and Dad have now passed, the family property remains in the family. My niece and nephew now call it theirs, and that brings me so much comfort. It’s a place layered with memories – laughter around campfires, long lunches under the trees, kids running barefoot through the grass, and quiet cups of tea watching the river flow by.

We’re lucky enough to gather there twice a year. All my sisters and brother, their partners, kids and now grandkids too. Watching our family grow while standing on the same soil Mum and Dad loved so much is incredibly grounding. There’s something so beautiful about seeing us all together – generations woven into one place.

This trip was made even more special by my sister Jayne, who has such an incredible eye for beauty. The photos she captured around the King Valley say more than words ever could. Fiery sunsets spilling gold and pink across the sky. Still water reflecting mountains like glass. The King River tumbling over rocks, sparkling in the sunlight. Ancient gums silhouetted against skies that look like they’ve been painted by hand.

When I look at those colours – the soft mauves of dusk, the burnt oranges and blush pinks of sunset, the deep greens of the valley and the clear blues of the river – you can see exactly where I get my inspiration from.

Beads on Backroads was born from moments like these.

From the earthy tones of river stones.

From the rich golds of summer paddocks.

From the gentle pastels of a King Valley sky at dawn.

Nature has always been my greatest muse, and Edi holds my heart in that way. Every piece I create carries a little whisper of these landscapes – a memory of river light, a sunset glow, a quiet morning mist.

Edi may have “nothing” in the way the world measures things.

But for me, it has everything.

Family.

Memories.

Inspiration.

And a river that keeps on flowing, just like the stories we share there.

With love,

Sue 💛

Beads on Backroads