Festive Fun on Australia’s East Coast

End of Year Reflections

Another year around the sun. Another Xmas. Another time to pause and reflect. The year end, and the marking of another birthday being the perfect circuit breaker to reflect on the year gone, and set my intentions for the year ahead. 

It is also a good time to catch up on some reading. And there are some people I read about that continue to live long in the imagination. So long that I can only assume they lived very long lives. And what seems to always surprise me is how short some of these lives were. That their lives were full, rather than long. Given the choice I would opt for a long, and full life. If I had to pick one, it would be the latter. Better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand days as a sheep.

One of the books I am currently reading is about Napoleon Bonaparte. The General, and one time Emperor of France. Having now outlived Napoleon, I find it hard to fathom how he fit so much into his short 51 years. Hailing from the island of Corsica, and not even speaking French, Napoleon rose through the ranks, and created a legacy that lives on, even today.

Heading back to Margaret River

I may not have conquered countries, but I have had the great fortune to visit many. For us, 2023 started in Tokyo, Japan, and for the first four months of the year we explored much of South East Asia. The year ended in Australia, in Byron Bay on the east coast. Before then we had my birthday celebrations and Xmas break in Margaret River. You may have heard me talk of Margaret River previously.

Yes, for three days over Xmas we were back in our happy place. Revisiting Injidup Spa Retreat near Yallingup. Waking on Xmas Day to views of the Pacific Ocean, and wide expanses of empty sandy beaches. Truly blessed. Being rather isolated, we had to bring three days food and drink supply with us. A couple of eskies full, we had enough food and alcohol to last. We hoped.

Birthday breakast overlooking the ocean

As has become a birthday tradition we cooked up a full English breakfast on the BBQ and cracked open the Sparkling Shiraz that we had been saving for this very occasion. Later, as we had a dip in the plunge pool, we reflected on the year that we have had. We completed our big overseas adventure, finally getting to do our almost year long travel sabbatical. Upon our return to Australia we found a rental in Perth, and proceeded to readjust to life in one place. The best we could.

One plus to being located in Perth is being so close to the Margaret River region. Picking up the hire car on Christmas Eve, we were pulling up for a vineyard lunch less than three hours later. Rustico at Hay Shed Hill is a long time favourite, usually opting for this excellent degusation menu. Who can look past that crispy pork belly? However, in keeping with the time of year, this time we had the Xmas Feast. And what a feast it was. Victoria had to roll me out once we had finished our Mango and Raspberry Pavlova.

And I rolled all the way back to the plunge pool at the villa. A glass of champagne in hand, we toasted another great day. We didn’t move much for the rest of the day, bouncing between the pool and the sun loungers. As the sun set my thoughts turned to Xmas morning and how long it would take me to open all the birthday presents under the small Xmas tree we had brought with us.

Life is all about Swings and Roundabouts

Boxing Day saw us having lunch at Swings and Roundabouts, a restaurant and cellar door very close to where we were staying. We had pondered on whether it would be busy. Trying to find a space to park in the over flow car park answered that question for us. Victoria had the foresight to reserve a table for us and for a couple of hours we had a very good lunch, decamping onto the lawn with a glass of wine afterwards to soak up the atmosphere of the live music.

Life can be pretty good at times. And this was definitely one of those times. 

Byron Bay Bound

Another of those times was just two days later as we boarded an early flight to Brisbane. Our summer holiday was about to start in earnest. We had a four and half hour flight to Brisbane where we collected a hire car and Victoria drove us the two hours south, across the border into New South Wales, and into Byron Bay.

The last time we were in Byron was about six years ago. Each time we visit we have a great time, and this time was no exception.

Australia’s Most Easterly Point

Five days went by in a blur of excellent food, margaritas, and long beach walks. We walked up to the lighthouse, the most easterly point in Australia, watching large pods of dolphins frolic in the sea alongside us. Taking advantage of the free bikes from the hotel, we cycled out of town to visit Stone & Wood brewery. This visit was even better than the one six years ago as they are now in a bigger location and have a small range of food options. A paddle of beer and chicken wings made for a good afternoon.

Before cycling back to town we went a little further afield and called in at “The Farm”. A large working farm that houses the Three Blue Ducks restaurant. No food for us this time, just a walk around the farm and amongst the sunflowers.

As a reward for a very high step count we ended most days laid around the hotel pool, ordering margaritas from the (too) convenient QR codes that now appear to be absolutely everywhere. Very easy to use, and very easy to lose track of exactly how much money you are spending. Ah well, as we say, “life is short, live it well.”

Over the border to Queensland

Which we intended to do by relaxing and making the most of the break we had. Wednesday morning saw us checking out of the hotel, jumping in the hire car, and heading back over the border to Queensland. We called in at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast to stretch our legs. This area is constantly changing and part of me feels a little sad to be seeing all the original small apartment buildings being demolished for shiny new apartment towers that a lot of people will not be able to afford.

Some people will call it progress. Thankfully in Australia some things never change. One of these is the love of the humble meat pie. My lunch was a very good one with ketchup before driving the final hour into Brisbane, a city we last visited in 2022, our jumping off point for leaving Australia when we commenced our long travel sabbatical. 

Howard Street Wharves

On our last visit we stayed in Fortitude Valley and this time opted for the hotspot of Howard Street Wharves. An area that has been revitalised with new restaurants, bars, and a huge brewery called Felons, serving an excellent hazy pale ale. Our hotel, the CrystalBrook Vincent, was in a prime location, at the end of the Story Bridge. Australia’s second favourite bridge looked quite a pretty sight, festooned in bright green and red lights in the evening.

What is a holiday without a degustation dinner? Ours was at Rogue Bistro, in nearby Newstead, where we enjoyed the 5 course “summer dego” menu. Every morsel was delicious and with the matching wines, we had a gorgeous meal that almost stretched to three hours.

Final Reflections

As we entered the festive period we planned to completely down tools and switch off for a couple of weeks. And this is exactly what we did. I flew through the excellent new biography of Elon Musk. Victoria managed to read the books she had received for her birthday in November. 

I write this as we enjoy the final weekend before most of Australia returns to work after what always feels like a nationwide summer holiday. I’m left wondering what the new year will bring. What new places will we visit? Which new restaurants will we get to experience? What I do know is that the year will be full of both as this is what we will make happen. It will manifest.

What will you make happen this year?