The beginning
The house site taking shape on the mountain.
BALASHIHA • WOMBEYAN CAVES
The name travelled a long way.
The property took its name from Balashiha near Moscow, where owner Vlad Balashov spent his childhood. SBS documented how the Australian property came to carry that familiar name in a very different landscape.
Building, fire, recovery.
Building the house
Concrete being poured for the new home.
After the fire
The house and surrounding ground after the 2019 bushfire.
A Russian place-name, an Australian mountain, and a property that gradually became its own story.
BALASHIHA • WOMBEYAN CAVES
Building Balashiha on the mountain.
The land was bought in 2010 and the house was built on the mountain from the ground up. The photographs on this page are part of that history: the building site, concrete pour, tree planting and the landscape gradually becoming Balashiha.
BALASHIHA • WOMBEYAN CAVES
The 2019–20 bushfires came through Balashiha.
The photographs from 31 December 2019 show the fire on the property and the blackened ground around the house. SBS later documented the damage and the return of friends to help plant trees and restore habitat.
BALASHIHA • WOMBEYAN CAVES
The accommodation chapter is Wombeyan Wild.
Today Balashiha remains the history of the place, while Wombeyan Wild becomes the dedicated accommodation brand. Keeping the two identities clear lets this site preserve the story while the new site focuses on cabins, Wombeyan Caves and guest stays.
