Christmas Day

Just thought we’d show you Christmas day in Oz....

Skype fed into the TV helps so much...thats the Davies family in Hereford being a part of our Christmas morning.

Unfortunate shot this one, it looks like Sal is shouting to the web cam....”be patient, you’ll get your presents in 13hours alright”...........trust me, she wasn’t.

New bike, very happy.

Chester (also known as Baxter) enjoying his present.

Holly and her Beanie Kids (not all from Christmas!)

Worrying shot for Dad - just starting to plan moat around house.

 

Its not all Sunshine in Aus, very heavy rain all Christmas Day, but still warm enough for thongs (Whoops Flip-Flops...hey, and thongs!)

 

Lunch with friends.

Christmas Holiday...Part 2

Another night on our interesting campsite and having slept on what I wrote yesterday I thought that I had better make amends. Everyone is very well behaved and the 10PM to 8AM silent rule is adhered to by all, allowing everyone to get a peaceful night, which is just great for the kids. Indeed the first thing you hear in the morning is at 8.02 and it the noise of the previous nights beer bottles being emptied into the recycling bins....bliss.

Managed to get a few shots of the campsite that strangely didn’t make the brochure, obvious these images were taken with a hidden cam with no consideration for my personal safety. I particularly like the homemade pizza oven, great use of a beer keg and the beautiful “welcome” sign above the door.....I’m starting to warm to this place.

The refuge camp alley just opposite our caravan...5km/hr limit means that you are unlikey to reach the end with all 4 wheels still on the car.

Anyway, enough of the Campsite entertainment, we went out on the bikes today and dragged the girls a few Miles down the coast. Lovely views and some great coves and beaches.

180 deg view...bit clunky but you get the idea.

just to re-cap, we were on bikes, hence the gloves - I'm am in no way doing a tribute to the king of rock.

The PM was again spent on another beach.  Water very warm at this time of the year

Yes, I agree its obviously a screen shot from a Bond Movie, apart from the minor fact that the model is trying to regain control of her partly lost bikini bottoms.

Christmas Holiday at Gerroa

Combining Christmas with Summer Holidays isn’t the best idea that Aus have ever had, it means that the entire Country goes on leave at the same time and typically 90% of the population head to the Coast. Accommodation is inevitably at a premium so we starting looking for a pitch in a campsite in July. I recall phoning 15 sites (all full) before finally getting the last available slot at Gerroa Camp site on the NSW Coast.......how lucky am I, I thought and sat back thinking of those that hadn’t been as proactive as me. However, here I am sat in “the spectacular discovery campsite” which is 90% permanent vans that date back to the 1960s and packs of filthy kids running around.....picture a scene from Slum Dog Millionaire!....and to cap it all off the blinking neon sign at the gate says Vacancies....I now know why.

I have heard that the closer to Sydney that you stay the more likely you will be camping with the VB (Victoria Bitter) Crew......we are close enough, and this isn’t the crew it’s the Coach, Manager and Board Members.

Despite the interesting site and company, we have decided to press on and make the best of our week at the coast (there is literally nowhere else to stay)...so, to the beach it is..

Christmas Cake on the beach...how traditional is that?!

Quick Story - As we walked down the boardwalk with all of our beach gear a couple of little lads ran past us asking if there were any strong swimmer around. On arriving on the sand one of the local veterans approach me and asked to loan my surfboard as there were 2 guys trapped in a rip...I naturally said no, get lost its mine yes and he ran off in his budgie smugglers to perform a rescue. (2 inexperienced older gents exhausted from swimming against a rip. What an exciting start to the day.

The Dorsett camp - all watersports catered for and it only takes 40 minutes to drag everything from the car to our chosen spot.

Merry Christmas from Canberra

Happy Christmas! 
This was taken today on Christmas Eve - note Paul's decking behind!

A busy December...

Weekend at the coast with friends, Pat, Jodi and their daughter Grace. Caravan getting lots of use.

With age comes a natural self preservation.....its early days for Immi !

Sunday morning and the surf is up, a great day in the waves.

Yes, its a George Foreman grill...but it saves smelling the van out.

Looking for "things" in the rockpools...just like New Quay!

 

Roasting Marshmallows around the fire, delish.

First ever times without training wheels (Aus Term)....I bet Sal a B'fast in bed and she won!

The pool work is still going, should be finished before we hit the 12month point.....ahhhhh, its driving me mad.....the plans looked so simple on a piece of A4 paper.

 

Father Christmas comes to Immi's Pre-school - 30c outside, lucky chap!

 

Thats as close as she wanted to get....come on Santa, just throw it.

 

Christmas Party at Immi's Pre-school

Dinner at our Friends little farm, a very moderate 550acres but they only have a few cows, a horse or 2 and a Peacock so why go large....here's Louis (the Peacock)..

  

WOW - tthey have more kids than us...what a crew..

Hunter

 

Home made Christmas decorations time.