Happy New Year everyone! The Christmas season has gone very well for us here in Australia. Given the hospitality of Jenny, a long time family friend, and members of her family we have been very well fed and entertained over the holiday period. Christmas day was spent with the Eckman family at their home overlooking Lake Macquarie - a gorgeous setting. There were several children present so that added to the fun. On Boxing Day we headed to another nieces of Jenny's for another big dinner. Turkey and ham were served both days but the main feature was the prawns. We had steamed prawns as well as barbecued garlic and sesame prawns - all were very tasty. Both days were great opportunities to meet new people and experience a true Australian Christmas. On the 27th Jenny joined us as we headed out for a couple of days in the Blue Mountains. The traffic on the way was crazy (Australians call this time of year the "silly season" and now we know why). Despite some crowds we really enjoyed our time in the area. We did a few hikes and took in the what the mountains had to offer. It was a nice change from the many coastlines we had toured (not that we don't like the coastlines mind you). On the way back to Jenny's (in Coorangbong) we took in the Zig Zag Railway and a lovely drive along the Hawksbury River. There are also many farms, forests and vineyards to see so thanks to both Jenny, and her great-nephew Bradley being our tour guides, we saw a lot! We went on a day trip to The City of Newcastle, a beach outing to Nelson Bay, a trip in the Waddigan Mountains and a day touring the Hunter Valley Wineries. All were absolutely lovely!

New Years was celebrated in a unique way this year. We watched fireworks over the lake from Wangi Wangi Beach. On New Years Day Bradley took us touring Lake Macquarie in his boat. It was great fun! We especially liked going through the heads and out to view the coastline. It certainly isn't something we get to do very often back home. Jenny hosted a New Years dinner and made me a pavlova birthday cake - very Aussie and delicious!

Now it's time to pack our bags for a short trip over the pond to New Zealand. We leave with many fond memories of our time here and certainly hope to return again. Many thanks to friends Jenny and Denise for hosting us -- amazing hospitality!

We've added a few pictures of our holiday season on the "so this is Christmas" page as well as in the "Sydney and Surrounding Area" album. We hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we did taking them. We would love to be able to share the scent of the eucalyptus gum trees, the laugh of the Kookaburras or the taste of fresh baked pies to supplement the photos but technology doesn't allow that yet so you'll have to make do. All the best for 2012!