A very Australian Christmas 2018

Here in Australia we celebrate Christmas in blazing hot sunshine rather than snow,

and with high tides rather than yule tide.

This year the family packed up the car, including the dog, and headed north.  We drove all the way from Melbourne, Victoria to the central coast of New South Wales – a journey just under 1000 kilometres (that is approximately 620 miles!)

We drove from Melbourne (in the green state) to just south of Newcastle, on the east coast (in the white state)

We thought it would be a great way to see our families and to make sure our dog of  advancing years, Zara, didn’t suffer too much anxiety being away from us.

The journey took approximately 11 hours, with petrol, food and wee stops, usually all at the same place.

Is it snack time?

Are we there yet?

We eventually reached our destination in the late evening.

The long day has turned into night.

Next day we embraced the seaside atmosphere at the seaside resort known as The Entrance,

Yes, the sky is really that blue.

where the pelicans are fed daily,

The Pelicans don’t mind the crowds.

and the carnival atmosphere exists all day,

Kids of all ages beat the heat in this wading pool.

but looks much better at night.

 

The view is fine – come on up.

Try your luck – everyone’s a winner!

Round and round we go.

A beautiful man-made vista.

Throughout this week we caught up with relatives of all ages; enjoyed food and drink with them,

Who is the more colour co-ordinated sibling?

Nothing beats a Strawberry Daquiri on a hot summer day.

tried to see who was the shortest,

3 generations get together for Christmas

and caught up on the latest toy technology.

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

And of course it wouldn’t be Christmas without seeing Santa, who doesn’t seem to mind sand in his sleigh,

Salty old Santa.

and watching our traditional Christmas video, The Snowman – albeit on the laptop in our holiday apartment.

Sneaking the Snowman to the seaside.

Then we bade farewell to The Entrance and another Christmas and drove another 11 hours home to Melbourne in time for Georgia’s birthday and New Year’s Eve.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, either at home or away, with loved ones and loyal friends, and that the New Year brings much joy, prosperity and travel, either at home or away.