Christmas holidays at Torquay on the Great Ocean Road

Wow! As soon as school is over for the year, Aussie holiday-makers come to Torquay and other spots along the Great Ocean Road. The caravan parks fill and every bit of accommodation is taken up with families and groups ready to relax. Beach cricket or footy, building sandcastles or just relaxing in the shade is the very essence of an Aussie summer.

English visitors are fascinated by the Aussie Christmas and imagine us eating turkey, ham and plum pudding in our bathers. Of course many of us still do! Most around here seem to opt for a barbecue with salads and seafood these days though. And I enjoy demonstrating my gourmet credentials with some new exotica - this year it was duck confit and our tradition of summer pudding.

Our pre-Christmas family gatherings culminated in a trip on the ferry between Queenscliff and Sorrento to meet with cousins on the Mornington Peninsula - always pleasant and relaxing. Quite often dolphins swim beside the ferry, although the only dolphin we saw was at the Sorrento pier enjoying leftover fish from a fishing boat.

As I sit here blogging, the plink-plonk of tennis balls against rackets just behind our house reminds me that at the end of January the Australian Open will be held in Melbourne, and all eyes will be watching the television until the winner is declared. This is the signal for the end of the school holidays.

Meanwhile all along the coast, every age of surfer and swimmer will be out enjoying the cool waters as temperatures climb above 30C. Inland, where I grew up, temperatures have reached 40C lately. Fortunately for us, here on the coast the heat is tempered by the daily sea breeze.

We love the excitement and buzz that this time of year brings to our small town as we see so many people enjoying what is ours all year round.

Tags: beach cricket, Christmas in Australia, Great Ocean Road, Torquay
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