For those of you that live overseas you probably don’t ever think about Australia being anything other than warm and sunny, but let me assure you we DEFINITELY get a winter here! Not the kind of really low temperatures that the Northern hemisphere gets but it’s all proportionate to what you’re used to right? Also, our houses are not made for the cold weather – they are more about keeping us cool in the long summers – so unless you have reverse cycle air conditioning or preferably a wood burning stove, you are going to feel the chill. I remember when our kids were little and we had a rather cavernous lounge with one tiny gas heater that we would all huddle around, how cold I always felt. We did have a wood fire but it took ages to get going and wood was expensive so it was always more of a treat when we used that. So mostly we tend to heat just one main room and then pop our electric blankets on about half an hour before bedtime so that we can slip into a warm cocoon and fall promptly asleep! The further south people live the harsher the winter and the desire to escape it becomes stronger! Increasingly people in Australia are travelling to escape the cold and whether that is to the northern hemisphere with its promise of European summers languishing on the terraces of Italy amongst potted lemon trees, Aperol spritz in hand, sailing the azure waters of Croatia or heading to Queensland, the perpetually sunny state, to feel the sun on your skin and enjoy an ice cream on the beach, people are attempting to break up the cold weather with a Winter Escape. Nobody feels this more than Tasmanians who endure a decidedly much colder winter than the rest of us (they are the last stop before Antarctica after all) so rather than visiting our Tassie Crew in Hobart we all decided to have a week on the Gold Coast instead!

Its an 11 hour drive from our place to the Gold Coast so we are very lucky that our good friends Wayne and Kathy live in Forster exactly half way up and they very kindly offered to mind Bailey for us while we were up north. They are dog people and miss their lovely old dog Gus, so they were happy to have her and as they live on the beach and walk every day Bailey was also in for a treat – her own little beachside holiday! She was very cosy tucked into her bed on the back seat on the drive up and for once when I waved her off I didn’t feel guilty leaving her behind! We arrived in Coolangatta in time for a beautiful sunset, a glass of wine at the surf club just opposite our apartment and got everything set up for the family just in time for their late evening arrival. There was much excitement when they arrived, exploring all the rooms and checking out our holiday food in the pantry! By the time we woke in the morning watching the little dots of surfers bobbing in the water on the beach opposite we were already feeling relaxed.

Papa is always very sought after when we get together, they just love being with him with his off beat sense of humour (and his many little packets of jelly snakes and smarties!) and it warms my heart when I see them snuggled up with him in bed or on the lounge or hand in hand as they walk along chatting gaily, seemingly without a care in the world. I love seeing the world through the kid’s eyes, their excitement for the simple things and with no idea what sort of world exists outside of their beautiful little bubble. It’s very soothing and we absolutely love being part of their childhood holiday memories.

Loz and Berry have some friends that lived about 15 minutes away rfom our apartment and their little girl was 3 so they quickly became a little girl gang and as her Dad was an avid surfer he lent Loz a surfboard to enjoy for a morning. It was great to see her introducing the girls to the surf and seeing them all hand in hand jumping over the waves. Myla was determined to ride a wave into shore and she gave it a good go! Loz managed to show them how it was done standing up on the waves long enough for the girls to be impressed!!

It wasn’t all about the beach though, we enjoyed some long walks, an afternoon of barefoot bowling and a visit from our Nephew and family who live further up the coast. It was great to see them and for them to reconnect with Loz and the girls and for us to see our great Nephew growing up into such a nice young man. The girls were mesmerised by a bag of Polly Pockets that I had saved of Laurens from when she was a little girl and happily played for ages with them, buying us some nice adult time – win win!!

Part of the fun of holidays is eating out and obviously the surf clubs are the easiest option around here but we did get a bit over their rather humdrum menus and found family friendly restaurants a bit slim on the ground too. The girls however just thought dinner time was the best thing – getting dressed up and walking to dinner, having different food from normal and if they were lucky an icecream to enjoy on the walk home. Once they were in bed, drinks and card games were the order of the day for the adults and of course our favourite – the quiz from The Australian newspaper which we always do when we get together! The boys had their sport to watch, the girls had their books to read and it was a lovely restful week. Nothing beats reconnecting in a neutral place where no one feels they have to be on duty, worrying about menus or laundry or entertaining people – a break is ALWAYS a good idea!

So our last day came around rather too quickly for our liking, we were just getting into the groove when it was time to pack up and go. They had time before their plane to visit the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary which finished off their little holiday perfectly and they took off back to Hobart, reality and WINTER! A few more memories in the bank though and we loved it. Apparently the strongest memories of childhood come from the odd week of holidays taken between the ages of 5 and 12 so I’m hoping we will live on in their memories long after we are gone….

Cam and I were lucky though as we got to prolong our holiday feeling by driving back to Forster for a few nights. Baz swims in the ocean every morning with a group of people and it was so lovely to walk Bailey along the beach watching the pods of dolphins swimming oh so close to them and then enjoying a coffee and bacon and egg roll on the beach once they finished. The beach life is certainly appealing. Daily walks, lovely dinners , a couple of catch ups with local friends at the One Mile Surf Club and reading our books in the afternoon sun made for a relaxing few days before we could no longer delay our return to The Meadow. To be honest I wasn’t sure about returning to reality after such a wonderful 6 weeks of various holidays – what a lucky girl am!