Happy New Year everyone!  Apologies for my radio silence over the last six weeks;  I was in Australia for a month visiting my two sons who both now live in Sydney. 

I thought I'd share some of the photos of my trip to Australia. It was the most amazing holiday with plenty of wonderful memories. I flew over the city in a helicopter, did a jet boat ride at breakneck speed across the harbour, an evening out on the harbour in a friend's boat, visited some beautiful beaches north and south of the city, a trip to Adelaide and most importantly I ate oysters nearly every day!!  However, I found it strange having Christmas in a hot climate (the last one I had was back home in NZ in 1976!). I definitely prefer a northern hemisphere Christmas.

I've posted some of the highlights of my trip below; a bit of a whistle stop tour to give you a flavour of my trip.

One of my sons lives in a flat in Rose Bay, right on the beach with an idyllic view of the Harbour Bridge. I was transfixed by the harbour, the bridge, the beach (a doggy haven) and the amazing sunsets.

Firstly, the sunsets from my son's flat in Rose Bay:

A helicopter ride over Sydney Harbour, out to the heads and down the coastline of the Eastern Suburbs:

A day trip to the Royal National Park south of Sydney where we stopped at the stunningly beautiful beach and lagoon of Wattamolla

A drive up the coast on Boxing Day to the northern beaches - Avoca and Terrigal. 

An amazing evening on Sydney Harbour with friends

I flew down to Adelaide to stay with friends for four days. I've never been to Adelaide before and it reminded me of my home town Christchurch with which it is twinned.  We had a day in the Barossa Valley with lunch at Fino in the Seppeltfield Winery. The winery was founded by the Seppelt family in the 1850s. It is famous for the date palms of which there are over 2,000. The road leading to the winery, Seppeltsfield Road, is affectionately known as the Avenue of Hopes & Dreams.

No trip would be complete without a visit to some fabulous interiors shops. There are two in the upmarket suburb of Woollahra in Sydney - Pigott's Store and Parterre.  

I could bore you with loads more images so I think I'll stop here.  Would love to hear if you've been to Australia and what you thought of it.

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