Christmas Time in Australia

My very first Christmas away from home was back in 2014. It was filled with excitement of the unknown as I had never been apart from my family during this time, and little did I know it was to be the first of many. What better place to spend Christmas away from Scotland than on the beach, Bondi Beach to be exact.

The morning was glorious and I headed to the beach with other 'orphans', wearing the obligatory Santa hats and having a Christmas swim. 

The beach, as you can imagine is packed full of locals and tourists all wanting their photo on the beach to brag to friends and family back home.

This particular day was an absolute scorcher. The sea was refreshing and we worked up an appetite to have Prawn salad and potato salad. I still find it strange not having the traditional turkey my Dad makes at Christmas. 

On Boxing Day there is the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, which you can watch from Sydney Harbour and all the way along the coast. 

Aussies usually have the days off between Christmas and New Year, and so in this case, I headed up to Summer Bay aka Palm Beach.

We decided to climb to the very top of the Barrenjoey Lighthouse, a must do if you ever visit Sydney. The views up there are incredible and you can see all the way to the Central Coast on good days.

I am finally headed home this year for Christmas to spend it with my family. Will be strange to not have my usual Christmas swim but family far outweighs the beach! 

Farmstay in Rockhampton - Australia

The next stop on the tour was our farmstay. I can't quite remember where we actually were, but it was near Rockhampton. The farmstay, as it turned out, was a paddock and a barn, which wasn't really near the farm. It had all been set up for groups like ours.

Next to the barn was a field full of beautiful horses and in the distance was a picturesque mountain.

The group went on a bushwalk with the farmer and his family, and on it we learned more about our surroundings. The area used to be famous for mining, with miners from all over the world coming to try their luck to find precious minerals.

The rock below was hollowed out by a Chinese miner and he lived in it. Now only bats live there. I realise it looks a little dodgy, those with dirty minds will get what I mean...

We then were told about the horrific past of the Aboriginals of the area, who were pushed from the top of the mountain to their deaths. Just so that the miners could expand their search and reap the rewards. How shameful.

Below are old miners houses, made out of corrugated iron.

We then headed back to base, and got in the bus to see the actual farm. This wee dog sat next to me and was very cute and friendly.

The farm had all sorts of animals, and some people got into the goat pen. The youngest son of the farmer hopped on the back of a ginormous pig and rode it around the pen. It was quite funny to see.

These three cows followed us around.

The sunsets in this part of the world are absolutely stunning.

We then all huddled round the campfire, eating homemade stew and damper - bread made from beer. Some of the group were tired and wanted to go to bed early, so we set up our swags. These are traditional Australian camping beds. I set mine up so I could be out in the open.

My group stayed up, drank more, and played a game of throwing horse shoes at a hoop. It was actually quite fun, but I think we were very loud. Once I finally wanted to go to bed, the rain came on and I was pulled under cover. It wasn't the best night sleep I've ever had!

Emu Park - Beach Walk - Australia

After leaving the beauty and dingoes of Fraser Island behind, we embarked on a train journey to Rockhampton. About five minute into the trip, we were informed our planned future itinerary was no longer going to happen due to a cyclone in the Whitsundays. I was devastated. The whole point of booking this trip was to see both Fraser Island and the Whitsundays. It appeared there was no secure plan B in this situation and we would have to spend the night in Emu Park, about forty minutes from Rocky. The sunset above was when we arrived into the train station.

We were put up in a 'resort' in Emu Park and treated to a BBQ. It was at least relative luxury on a backpacker budget. The plan the next day was to go to a crocodile farm. I flat out refused to go, as I am not a massive fan of crocodiles and I did not want to go to a tourist trap. The resort owner and bus driver Pauly was kind enough to let me do my own thing, and off I went to check out the delights of Emu Park.

The resort itself was about five minutes walk from the beach. And when I got there, I was all by myself. I cranked up Jack Johnson and walked around in bliss, despite the increasingly worse weather. I became very interested in washed up beachwood...

These trees had been torn up during the last cyclone.

I think the image below pretty much sums up Emu Park. Pretty bleak. The next day we would be headed to a nearby farm to sleep under the stars in a swag.