So what did we make of Christmas/New Year Down Under?

It's not all beaches here
see all photos »

We’re coming to the end of our ‘quieter’ couple of weeks where we’ve probably come the closest to feeling like actually living in Australia for a bit, rather than travelling or being on holiday. Some of that has been due to finding a very nice (brand new) apartment in a residential area in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast. We’ve developed our own domestic routine which has included supermarket visits, washing & ironing and doing our own cooking – and even sitting down to watch the early evening news on TV!

A great place to be a pom right now!
see all photos »

We’ve also indulged in some daily exercise - an hour’s beach walk and a swim in the pool and have at last begun to shift some of our post-California weight gain.

Christmas came and went very quickly – yes, everyone does head for the beach or the parks and gather with families to share copious amounts of food and drink. But, the difference is that it’s very, very informal – much more than we had expected – and is more like a summer bank holiday with decent weather in England. The great Aussie BBQ is also something of a myth; we saw far more picnics than BBQs although wonder whether that’s due to the high fire risks everywhere at the moment with so many bush fires.

The waterways outside our apartment
see all photos »

We also hadn’t really appreciated that Christmas here really marks the beginning of the summer/school holidays. From mid-December through to the end of January is the equivalent of our July/August school holiday period. Therefore early January is particularly busy on the coast, although still pales into insignificance when you see the beaches at Bournemouth & Brighton on August Bank Holiday!

On Christmas Eve we did a very touristy thing and went to Seaworld whilst everyone else was doing their food shopping! The weather has been mixed lately, but was very hot and sunny, as was Christmas Day fortunately. We spent an enjoyable few hours watching dolphin shows and water-skiing displays, followed by a well-deserved and much more grown-up seafood lunch at one of the local marinas in the afternoon.

That's one way to catch lunch! Oh, and mind the sharks that are found in these waterways.
see all photos »

Christmas Day was spent watching our neighbours fishing in the local waterways (which we’ve since discovered is also home to many sharks) for their lunch, followed by a leisurely walk and a very enjoyable – seafood again! – lunch at a newly opened restaurant we discovered at Burleigh Heads beach. The guy was clearly keen to impress since there’s much competition in the area, so needless to say the food and service were excellent.

On Boxing Day here, everything’s pretty much over and the summer holidays really begin. With one exception – the Boxing Day sales! Having decided we could do with replacing some t-shirts, we thought we’d venture round the corner to the shopping centre and pick up a bargain or two. The Aussies are rather laid back, and – we thought – would not have the same interest in either shopping or the sales as the British. Wrong! By 9 am the car park was full, the queues would have put Harrods first day sale to shame, and people were fighting over a bargain, especially ladieswear! The queues for the changing rooms extended the length of the store so, not to be beaten, the women simply tried on what they wanted … where they wanted! All Mike needed was a cup of coffee and a sofa and he was very happy thank you.

Surfers Paradise taken from Burleigh Heads
see all photos »

The only thing that then remained was to get the car out of the car park – a relatively simple exercise on a normal day. On Boxing Day it took 45 minutes to get to the exit barrier!

Today’s New Year’s Eve, so it’s chicken, salad and a bottle of wine on the beach tonight, followed by a firework display, then tomorrow we drive north a couple of hours to Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast. By the time we leave tomorrow, New Year’s Eve will be underway in the UK & Europe, so we hope you have a great one!!