A lovely Christmas holiday

It's funny when you're on a six-month adventure to think of having a Christmas holiday, but I'm really glad that we did. I decided it would be nice for the kids to make Christmas a different part of the adventure, one involving a week in a caravan park by the sea like thousands of other families do every year.

We had a great time doing not much at all. Less adventuring and more relaxing : flying our new kites and watching the sunset over the ocean were priorities.

Christmas Day and Boxing Day we moved as far as the steps to the beach for a play in the rock pools, building sand castles and jumping over a couple of waves. Not a great swimming beach, as Dylan will attest to following a couple of dumpings, but fun nonetheless.

A barbecued butterflied lamb and snow pea salad made for a special Christmas dinner and some biscuits and puddings purchased in a gift box back at Beechworth Bakery ensured we had plenty of goodies to eat.

We also ventured all the way across the road to the Kilcunda General Store, a funky little cafe/post office/general store for a couple of coffees and even breakfast one day.

A day trip to San Remo and Phillip Island ticked another box as we watched the pelicans being fed, saw koalas and experienced the famous penguin parade. It was ridiculously busy and I suspect we'll find peak tourist season is not our favourite time for touring. I'm hoping we might find some more penguins in our travels (maybe Tasmania?) that we can enjoy without the 3,000 other people.

Once again, a couple of quiet moments saved us from the crowds...a walk along the pier after the pelican feeding frenzy where we saw big stingrays and dolphins surfing the tide....a little winery 'Purple Hen' on a Phillip Island back road where Brian and I got to taste while the kids played with some toys and picked giant gum nuts off some amazing eucalypts.

So all in all a nice break in one spot for a week with some time to relax, I even got to read a book, something I haven't done in a very long time!

We're now staying about half an hour out of Melbourne for a couple of days until our Tasmanian Adventure begins with a big boat ride on New Years Day.