Christmas Break

Christmas break this year was a busy one. We decided to drive to Melbourne... inland!

First major stop was Dubbo. By the time we arrived we were quite happy to eat tea and then crash. Next day was our adventure to Dubbo Zoo. It was good to see all the animals in large paddocks, even if it meant you always didn't see much of them. We learnt how to tell the difference between a White and Black Rhino, and that a White Rhino is a mis-translation of the original word "Wide" because of their wide lip. It was an exhausting day because of the size of the Zoo, but it is definitely a must-see!

When we arrived in Melbourne we spend time with Clinton's brothers and father, as well as their relatives. We traipsed around the City, went to Lygon Street, but no, we didn't see any gang wars play out. Clinton and Sonja discovered a second hand bookshop that they desperately wanted to relocate to Brisbane.


Clinton went to the Boxing Day cricket with his brothers and dad. While they were up really high, they all enjoyed it. Clinton loved watching Bay 13 and the antics that went on there.

Sonja went to Puffing Billy with her parents.
While up on the Puffing Billy adventure Sonja went and looked at the model train display. It was amazing! There were lists around the room and you had to try to find the objects in the different scenes. Every now and then the lights would be turned off, and all the house, street, shop and train lights would come on.





After Christmas Day, Clinton and Sonja went off with Sonja's parents to explore the Great Ocean Road. The scenery was beautiful, pity that it was windy, cold and rained on and off. It was interesting to read about how the landscape formed and continued to change. The towns were quaint and the things to see never ended. One thing that in particular amused Sonja, was these signs. She wondered how the tourists got to this point, if they were unaware that we drove on the left from the beginning of their journey....

It was then time for the journey back to begin. Stopping by Canberra gave us a change to catch up with Lachlan & Clansi and see a bit of Canberra. Clinton went with Lachlan to see his Lab. He took a whole heap of photos that I'm sure make sense to them, but perhaps not the rest of the world! We also visited Cocking Green Gardens, which was wonderful! All the small details amused us to no end!

Then we were off again, to Cooranbong this time. We left Clinton's car there and flew back to Brisbane to mow the lawn... well, to do some other stuff as well. Our poor little garden hadn't faired well while we were away. Brisbane had some very intense heat and not enough rain. We then flew back to Cooranbong to go to Clinton's housemates' wedding.

Peter & Karina's wedding was lovely. But, as all weddings are, it was a great excuse to catch up with friends. Our table at the reception had a wonderful time. It was certinally good fun! Apparently, Clinton is worse to hit than a Kangaroo, and Braden is seen to be an MC eater. Very educational! After the wedding we then flew back home.