Monday, 31 January 2011

Sunshine and Santa - Christmas and New Year in Sydney

Updated by Paul


Christmas in Australia is a very surreal experience – have you ever worn a Santa suit in 30 degree heat? No, neither have I because I’m not stupid. Some people, however, see nothing strange in this at all! All the Christmas cards still feature traditional snow scenes even though half the people here have never seen snow in their life. The city gets all the street decorations up and may people still have a traditional roast turkey dinner in the heat! Me? I preferred the barbeque option!

Getting to the beach at Christmas is an absolutely essential thing to do so we packed a few cold beers into the bag along with the Santa hats and headed down to Balmoral Beach. Didn’t manage to catch the Queen’s speech or a James Bond film but even if I had, I still don’t think it would have felt like Christmas - Sunshine and Santa is not the combination I’m used to - but I really think I could get used to it!

During the Christmas break we headed over to Bondi Beach – the main hangout for Brits in Australia – Think of it as the Aussie version of Earl’s Court – the place in West London where all the Aussies go when they land in UK! It was absolutely hectic down there – you couldn’t even find space on the beach to lay out a towel! Yes, the beach was nice but the town was just a little Essex – there were more Chavs running around the place than in Dagenham! With so many nicer, classier, cleaner beach suburbs to the north of Sydney – I wonder why Brits abroad all clamour to one area just to be with people with the same accents?!

One thing about Sydney is that it knows how to party and there are not too many bigger celebrations here than New Year’s Eve and the fireworks display! Most people head into the city and crowd into the areas around the harbour – the crowd numbers running into tens of thousands! With a little bit of local knowledge though, we were told about a great spot on the north shore where you could bring your own beer and have some breathing space to yourself as well as clear views across the Harbour bridge and Opera House. The fireworks were spectacular, there were only a couple of hundred people there, the atmosphere was party-like without being over crowded and we didn’t have to pay silly prices for a beer. All this and only a 30 minute walk home whilst everyone else struggled with the public transport – result!

We have finally managed to find our own apartment – in Manly, by the beach (where I can go surfing everyday after work!) – we are working and so therefore travelling around a lot less but still using the time off at weekends or holidays to explore the area. Whilst I’ve missed family and friends over the Christmas and New Year period, I have not missed the freezing weather and inevitable meltdown of road and transport infrastructure!

The Weather is getting really hot now – as I write this on Australia day, it is tipping 40 degrees – I’m off to throw a kangaroo kebab on the barbie and sink a few very cold beers – no worries and g’day mate!

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