Anna Bay – 24th Dec

Apparently it is an Australian law that you have a barbie on Christmas Day and so we made a B line for the DIY store to buy a disposable one.

We then headed to Anna Bay and One Mile Beach. The buzzing sound from the cicadas here was unbelievable. Andy decided to take a swim in the sea but I didn't fancy it and became chief photographer instead.

We bought a sausage roll from the bakery and then headed to Stockton Beach to see some of the largest sand dunes in eastern Australia. They certainly were vast, as far as the eye could see, and we could see people sand-tobogganing and 4WD over them (camel rides were also available but we didn't see them). The dunes were impressive but because we'd already 'sand-surfed' in New Zealand we didn't opt for any of the trips.

The day before we'd gone to look at the local swimming pool near the campsite and knew it closed at 6pm so we headed over for a late afternoon swim. The pool was run by the YMCA and it felt really great swimming outside in the sunshine rather than the Loughton indoor pool back home. At one point whilst doing backstroke a flock of brightly coloured parrots flew over …..a bit different to the lights of the Loughton pool roof.

After the swim we headed to the supermarket to buy our Christmas meal of shrimps and meat for the barbie before heading back to the site for dinner and Yahtzee. We also had a good chat with Phil and Kate over skype.

A Christmas Ute