Not only was this to be my first Christmas in Australia, but also my first Christmas without the Vincents. But I busied my mind with the upcoming novelty of sunshine, beaches and prawns. And, deep down, I knew that The Girl’s family would look after me and make me feel very welcome. It would be fine. I would have a great time.

That was until the 23 December – the day I learnt that the Christmas parcel my family sent had either been lost / sent back to the UK. I became morbidly depressed. For the first time I felt genuinely homesick and briefly contemplated jumping on a plane home. But I overcame that feeling (slightly) and just sulked mildly until Christmas morning when I was able to Skype my family and learn that my package was neither missing or on a plane back to the UK. It was still in Sydney, waiting to be collected. Funny how one piece of good news can change your mood so dramatically. In the end Christmas with The Girl’s family wasn’t overly different to a Vincent’s Christmas. Sure – there were prawns and a lovely walk on the beach; but there were also crackers, party games and warm sense of family. Or was that sun beating down upon me?

Boxing Day was the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and The Girl’s mother had kindly bought us two tickets to join her, and other family members, on a boat which would be on the starting line. I had mixed feelings. I like being out on boats, but my stomach sometimes doesn’t. Thankfully it was behaving itself (probably because I only drank a glass of wine the day before) and I was able to enjoy the day. It was also an opportunity to meet new members of The Girl’s family. All were lovely. Even the one guy I was warned about being bit of a troublemaker, in the nicest possible way.

Before we even arrived in Australia, The Girl and I were adamant that we would see 2012 in with the Sydney fireworks display. But as time went by we both realised that if we wanted a good spot we would have to be up at the crack of dawn. And all the viewing locations were strictly no booze. It was looking like our romanticised idea of having a perfect night of firework viewing was over. Not great news to greet our friend who had just flown over for stay with us for New Years.

So we all made a backup plan to stay home, get pissed and then stumble down the road at midnight in the hope of catching some fireworks. It wasn’t a great plan and I personally wasn’t holding out much hope. The Girl and our friend went shopping for booze and a quick scout for viewing positions. A few hours later they both returned home excited as anything. They found a secret park just twenty minutes away with amazing view of the harbour, the bridge and the city. There was still a no drinking rule, but we’d get smashed before we arrived. All three of us had a great time watching the spectacular fireworks, then hitting The Cross for some cocktail filled teapots.

I did manage to keep one Christmas / New Years tradition – going for a swim in the ocean on New Years Day. Though splashing through the warm, blue ocean at Bondi Beach is a little easier on the hungover soul than the icy, brown waves in Devon.

My birthday this year was a million times more sober and civilised than last year. The Girl and I had planned to go to Luna Park, but the 15 January ended up being the first washout in twenty-five days. Couldn’t even escape terrible birthday weather in the southern hemisphere. But I realised that it was also the first time in twenty-five days that we didn’t have to see someone or go somewhere. So we ended up having a lay day of tea, cakes and DVDs. It was relaxing and well-deserved.

I did go out with The Girl and my friend on the 13 January for a big birthday bash. There were lots of ciders, shots with tiny gherkins, large portions of chips and two drunken Irish lads who were trying it on with my friend and one of her friends. It felt like a very British night out.

Last month The Girl and I drove up to Canowindra to visit her paternal grandparents. It was a long drive but easy one along a familiar route – the same route as our trip to the Blue Mountains. This time though we kept driving through the Blue Mountains and further into New South Wales’ countryside. Regrettably I forgot to bring my camera on this trip so you’ll just have to imagine it. The area is vast and open; the most vast and open landscape I’ve experienced in a long time. If the fields were paving slabs, then the roads would be the dusty crack between them and you would be the tiniest ant slowly making your way from one edge to another. The whole sense of scale was intensified by the wide, clear sky and the bright sun beating down upon it. It was empty, but it was beautiful.

The grandparents house was amazing. They built themselves (or I suspect paid some men to build it) a few years earlier and in that time had turned their dry, dusty plot of land into an oasis. The vegetable garden was very impressive. We went for a walk through the quaint town of Canowindra. It was everything I’d imagined a small, country town to be like in Australia after watching The Flying Doctors all those years ago.

Later that evening we learnt about some family and local history. The family history first; The Girl’s ancestors helped out a local bushman called Ben Hall by giving him a horse. A bushman, if you didn’t know, is a highwayman. But Ben Hall is seen as being more as a hero than a criminal because of the circumstances around him. Next we learnt that during the Second World War there was a Japanese POW camp nearby. One night a lot of the prisoners escaped into the surrounding countryside. Some were killed, some were caught, sadly many committed suicide. Amazingly not one member of the public was harmed, though four Australian soldiers were killed.

Two weeks later we drove down to Canberra to meet The Girl’s father. We spent our Saturday on a walking / driving tour of Canberra were we saw wild kangaroos in a park, the embassies of the world and the surrounding countryside, which again, was lovely. For dinner we went to a tasty Thai restaurant and then to a Belgian beer bar for my first truly delicious beer since I arrived in Australia. I savoured every drop of that beer.

The next day we all went to Questacon – a children’s science museum. The Girl had fond memories of going there as a child and wanted relive / share those experiences with me. Her first words inside were “It’s a lot smaller than I remember. “, but we all had a great time. I even went on the death slide along with seven screaming tweens. Afterwards we all went on a Segway tour around the lake. I thought I’d take to the Segway like a duck to water, but I really struggled to get my grips with it. The Girl however, contrary to what I thought, was whizzing all over the place like a professional.

When we travelled down on Friday night it was already dark and stormy so we missed all of the countryside. Driving back Sunday afternoon was a treat though. It was a clear, bright afternoon. Hills and valleys were bathed in the rich, golden light photographers and artists dream of. Lake George (which isn’t a lake all year round) looked gloriously wild and rugged. Again… no camera. So just use your imagination.

Before I left for Canberra, a few people joked about Canberra being the worst place in Australia – that it was dull and lifeless. I think that is a little unfair. It is certainly quiet, the quietest capitol city I’ve ever been to. But it’s pretty too – if in a Stepford Wives way. It boosts plenty of sculptures, museums, parks, tree-lined avenues and the impressive Parliament House. The surrounding countryside, a collection of small hills, is also beautiful. If you were pushed for time, I wouldn’t recommend Canberra as a must see city. But if you were in the area, it’s certainly worth ducking in for a bit.

We have our first new Australian friend. She’s a lovely young girl from Queensland who’s half English. We first met her last month on a night out with one of The Girl’s old Brisbane friends. The old Brisbane friend is the mutual acquaintance. Since that night out we’ve had the new friend over for a home made fish curry and I’ve been out looking at sculptures in Bondi with her.

On Sunday all three of us went to Taronga Zoo for a grand day out looking at animals. We saw all the usual suspects; elephants, giraffes, lions, chimpanzees and tigers. Even ten week old tiger cubs. We broke up out days of meandering with a seal show and a bird show. The seal show was all fairly standard – seals barking, seals splashing, seals balancing balls on their noses. The bird show, though entertaining, wasn’t as fun as I anticipated. Although there was a funny moment when a duck quickly changed it’s mind about flying towards us once it noticed a falcon was “on stage”. We ended our day looking at Australia’s native species; kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils, Koalas, cassowaries and the ever fascinating reptiles. One woman was so excited in the Reptile House that I heard her scream “Oh shit! Look at the size of that snake”. Quickly followed by “Oh double shit! Look at the size of THAT snake”.

The weather report said that it was going to be one of the hottest days of the year so far, and it certainly felt like it. Probably one of the hottest days of my life. But you’ll be surprised to read that I didn’t wilt. Didn’t even really sweat that much either. The girls however were wilting. Probably because they both decided to wear black. We only had to suffer the heat until 5pm – a thunderstorm descended and cleared the air. Not before The Girl and I burnt a little

I’m still not sure if I’m 100% happy with zoos. While I acknowledge that they all do a great job with conservation and education, for example the plight of the Tasmanian Devils, part of me still thinks that locking up an animal is really sad. Especially when you see primates – you can’t help but empathise with them. I guess in an ideal world all these animals would be able to live their lives out in the world. But sadly we don’t live in an ideal world.

What I am 100% about is our new friend. The Girl and I are already looking forward to having dinner at her house on Wednesday.

P.S. Please don’t get jealous. I still love you all.

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