Sunday 26th December –Boxing Day

Yesterday was a very strange Christmas day. Festivities in Australia are just not the same. Waking up in a campervan for Christmas just did not feel right! I did have a nice Christmas but I’m looking forward to next Christmas a lot more now.

We woke up and opened our presents –mostly from each other but we’d bought some with Christmas money we’d been sent for ourselves as well. I’d wrapped mine up so I still had something to open from my family (you got me 2 pairs of shoes, nail varnish and a water filter bottle). I also had an adventure book (a notepad to write down all our adventures in) and pen, a little turtle from Reef HQ that I wanted, now known as Mr Turtle, a pink book light, a book of over 365 chicken recipes (I’d told Ryan that I wanted to work my way through a cookbook but it would probably have to be a chicken one as i don’t eat much else), a rubber duck and some chocolates from Ryan and his parents and Santa.

We then headed to Cape Byron where we walked up to the lighthouse for a Christmas day walk and then had a Barbeque on the beach. We’d bought a disposable one so it actually tasted like BBQ. Our Christmas dinner consisted of chicken kebabs and barbequed sausages wrapped in bacon . We then jumped into the sea to use our new bodyboard that we’s bought on Christmas eve. After this the day was nearly over so we headed back to the campsite where I spoke to my family and we watched Wallace and Grommit before bed.

Today we’re driving down south to who knows where. Need to get some kilometres done to get us to Sydney for New Year. Apart from Christmas since I last wrote we drove from Bundaberg to Tin Can Bay where we spent a rainy day and then got up early in the morning for dolphin feeding! They are wild dolphins that come up to the jetty in the harbour because originally one of the dolphins in the pod was injured and fed back to health in the harbour, once better she carried on coming back to be fed bringing her pod with her. It is now her grandson and his girlfriend that come for feeding! It was amazing to be so close to a dolphin –they were so gentle and playful.

After feeding the dolphins we drove to Noosa where we went kayaking in the river and then koala spotting. I was so excited to see my first wild koala and on the same day as feeding a dolphin made for an amazing day!

We then went to Australia zoo the next day where some of the kangaroos had baby joeys- they were so so cute! I want one as a pet! We also got to look round the wildlife hospital. Which was pretty wierd as there were windows into the operating theatre and treatment room, where you could see koalas being treated and operated on. This was very strange to see.

We then headed to Brisbane and stayed at Sunbeam for 2 nights while we did our Christmas shopping and sorted the van out a bit. It was strange being back in Brisbane, like our trip was coming to an end –it almost felt homely! I wasn’t looking forward to going back at all but now i think it might be nice to stay in the same place for a while and think I may be getting a little attatched to Brisbane. From there we drove to Byron Bay where we spent Christmas eve doing a little shopping and then bodyboarding. The waves were very powerful though and I managed to get swept off by one and somersaulting underwater it was so powerful! That was pretty scary! I went back in for one more go though! And they waves weren’t so powerful Christmas day anyway.

Miss you lots, can’t wait to see everyone again as have been missing everyone lots at Christmas!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Lots of love

Claire xxx