Big Splash!

We had a fun New Years eve (day) trip to nearby Big Splash. Big Splash is Canberra's only waterpark and apart from a short trip a few years ago we'd never been there - which I guess indicates just how much there is to see and do in the rest of Canberra!

Typically on hot days like today I've preferred the picturesque Cotter river to the waterpark, but together with some friends we went along. It was actually pretty good timing as a lot of people leave town at this time of year to head inter-state to see family or to Sydney for the fireworks. It meant that the park wasn't crowded, queues for rides were tiny and we all had a fair share on numerous rides.

The park is actually pretty good - they advertise that they have nine slides - which is a bit of a stretch as some of them are really only for tots, but on the whole it's a really nice set up and the big rides that they do have were now perfectly suited to an 8 and 10 year old. We spent a lot of the day there - armed with our new $30 'no' pro which I think takes pretty decent pics given its cost.

Short break to Marlo

Weather wise Canberra, being inland, heats up in the summer while coastal towns including Sydney tend to remain at lower (and often more bearable) temperatures. In the winter the reverse happens.

As a result the majority of Canberra's population heads south east during the summer to the beaches of Batemans Bay - encountering the Kings Highway which has precarious twists and turns and usually has at least half a dozen fatalities a year as people rush to and fro from the beaches.

Similarly while Melbournian's do head East they often end at Lakes Entrance (a spot probably 300km from the centre of Melbourne) and most likely holiday far closer to home.

Recently we've discovered Marlo - a small town situated about 4 hours directly south of Canberra and east of Lakes Entrance. It's in, what one of our friends described as, a bit of a 'tourist shadow'.  It's a further (but less difficult) drive than Batemans Bay (and probably adds about an hour to the journey) but is an attractive little place - being built on the outlet where the Snowy River meets the Sea.

That in itself probably causes the place some issues (there are pictures online of floods which have happened at various points) but for the majority of the time it is a quiet and picturesque place with pelicans and a small friendly local population. There is a lovely pub which looks out to the estuary and affords beautiful sunsets each evening. Some of the beaches nearby are so unspoilt - we walked to Salmon Rocks one morning - a long stretch of incredibly beautiful beach with great waves.

Nearby Orbost is the 'centre' of things with a couple of schools and a supermarket. Orbost has a busy and thriving highstreet - but even that though looks like it's been pretty unchanged over the last 50 years or so.

We headed down to Marlo a couple of nights. In the end the kids decided that we should stay longer, so two nights become three, which in turn became four. Living is easy in that part of the world, we had a morning fishing (Audrey caught 4 fish, Eli 2 and me nothing!) and a couple of days on the beach and in the river, so we were sad when we finally did head back home.

Waiting for the sunset in the pub

Beautiful Marlo sunset

Beach selfie

Audrey and I made a driftwood campsite! (Eli conked out and slept on the beach)

Youngs Creek Waterfall (a really tranquil spot) - we were the only ones there all morning

Audrey showing her fishing skills

Eli with a salmon

Eating our catch!

Water fun in Marlo

Canberra's Christmas Lights

Christmas Lights on peoples' houses grow increasingly more and more spectacular every year. We spent a couple of evenings touring round various suburbs. Some of the lights are so huge that the roads require traffic calming measures. It's all good fun and with the advent of LED lights, I guess not as expensive as it used to be. Probably top of the list was a house in Bonner (in Canberra's north) who had a co-ordinated display together with a smoke machine, a snow maker and a bubble machine.

 

 

 

Audrey on Romeo

Kata tournament

The kids took part in a Kata tournament at the weekend. It's held in the north of the city at the 'sister' dojo. In all about 40 kids took part. In their classification, Eli finished 2nd and Audrey 3rd, which was a pretty good result.

Christmas Biscuits

I found some Christmas cookie-cutters in the cupboard this morning which turned out to provide us with entertainment for a fair amount of a sunny Sunday afternoon.

There were a whole array of shapes - from trees, to stars, to snowflakes and the kids loved (and were pretty meticulous) decorating and icing them.

Rabbit Proof Fence

Canberra is lucky to be home to the National Film and Sound Archive - a veritable treasure trove of film and music resources dating back many years. The Archive holds over 2 million items all of them accessible by the public.

Currently the Archive is running a series of Australian films under the banner of 'Starstuck'. One of the films on offer was Rabbit-Proof Fence the story of three aboriginal girls taken from their mother in Western Australia, sent to a church mission and tells how they found their way home and back to their family by using the immensely long fence of the title (which runs across Australia). In many ways the film is successful as it personifies the terrible issue of Australia's 'stolen generation' of 'half-caste' Aboriginals taken from their families (and mostly used as cheap labour). Tens of thousands of Aboriginal Australians have been affected by the stolen generation and the perverse decisions of the Australian authorities of the time.

I took Eli and Audrey along for the showing after school. I was worried that a) I couldn't remember if the film was 'age appropriate' or if there was a horrific scene somewhere in the middle of it! and b) whether they'd actually 'get' what the film was about.

As it turned out I needn't have worried. The film was introduced by its Producer (David Eflick) and he described some of the finer points of the film and the casting of the three wonderful actors.

What I found fascinating was just how both Audrey and Eli related to the characters (the three girls, Molly, Daisy and Gracie) as they were similar ages to themselves (8.10 and 14). The film is both thought provoking, sad but also exciting as the girls struggle to avoid re-capture by authorities.

We had a really good conversation on the way home - the kids couldn't understand how you could discriminate against someone because of the colour of their skin and we discussed the stolen generation and its awful impact on Aboriginal communities. I was so proud of A&E - I'd gone to the film with some trepidation, but came home knowing that they'd 'got' it.

Peter and the Wolf

We went along to see a rendition of Peter and the Wolf by Canberra's Philharmonic Orchestra. It took place in the Albert Hall (a building significantly smaller than its London namesake). The kids really enjoyed it, but the building was packed to the rafters as the tickets were really cheap and it had been well promoted.

(Eli with his mate Hamish)

Eli pays a visit to his mates

Eli has a good buddy Aidan who changed Primary schools last year. Eli still misses him a fair bit and the two are ever so close. Eli was delighted on Sunday to have a play-date and the chance to spend much of the day with his friend.

Here's a photo

Choosing our Christmas Tree

For the (nearly 10) years we've lived in Australia we've always chosen to have a 'real' Christmas tree. It's a bit crazy really as Canberra's often very hot summers usually wilt the thing within a few days leaving a floppy and often grey looking tree up the corner of your living room for a month.

Still, we persist with our 'tradition'. Some friends have bought me a tree for the last couple of years direct from a grower in Gundaroo. This year Audrey and I went with them and had fun choosing our tree (from a field containing probably thousands of beautifully trimmed trees). Audrey had ambitions on enormous trees (some which wouldn't have looked out of place in Trafalgar Square) but I talked her down into one which fit nicely in our living room.

I'd managed to buy some decorations at heavily reduced prices in the January (2017) sales and so we
had fun decorating it when we got home.



Choosing our tree

Decorating

Christmas selfie

In all its glory



Happy Christmas from the Hickmans!