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Friday, December 26, 2008

Iluka Xmas

We spent this, our second Christmas aboard, in the little town of Iluka, on the New South Wales coast. We arrived with our expectations high, as so many people we have spoken to have described this place as a throwback to a different era in Oz, before the fun little beach towns were all commoditized and over-developed. So far, we've been happy with what we've found here.

We arrived in Iluka early in the morning on Christmas Eve. Here is the Rose, sailing past the Gold Coast and Surfer's Paradise at the start of our sail to Iluka. Check out all the highrises in the background on the beach. We spent more than a week in that area, waiting for good winds before continuing our trip down the coast. My Dad camped on the beach here during Christmas holidays with his family in the 40s and 50s. Fun to hear him talk about this bit of coast when there was nothing more than the beach and a few holiday campgrounds.

And here are some highlights of our holiday:
Christmas Eve dinner in the cockpit.
Elias is now old enough to grasp the idea of Santa Claus, which of course gave Alisa and me a great new focus for the holiday. Elias had asked Santa for a book named "Harry the Dirty Dog". Luckily, Santa delivered.

Our eucalyptus Christmas tree. Elias and I gathered it off the beach and hung it up on the long-disused cabin heater, and Santa decorated it while we slept.
We have been in Iluka three days now, and have gone to the beach three times. This is a ratio that we like very much. The day after Christmas, Elias had his first surf session.

The beach at Iluka is long and beautiful and lightly used. And there is a little side beach just inside the breakwater for the river entrance where the water is calm, which is perfect for the little bloke. That's where this picture was taken - note the Hang Loose sign being flashed...

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