Blake and Marin visited Santa on Christmas Eve. I suspect that they asked Santa to bring everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Marin and Bill sing an edited version of Jingle Bells on her toy amplified mike. We didn't sound too bad together...at least in Marin's estimation.

Blake and Marin Parker, Vicki and Andy's delightful children, greeted us in Auckland

About 80 000 people holding red candles came to sing carols with the likes of Leo Sayers and David Hasselhoff at Sydney's Carolling in the Domain in Hyde Park. With 30 deg temp in the evening it was difficult to sing 'I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas'!

Di's checking the bottom of her chair for red backed spiders before sitting down to relax. Not a bad idea, Di.

Kate, Marie's daughter and Jeff's girlfriend, holds her hard earned Masters Degree. Well done, Kate!

Di and I are walking through a garden in Canberra with Jeff Fountain.

Just another gorgeous palm....this one is in an aboretum in the botanic garden.

As we wandered through the beautiful botanical gardens in Adelaide, we stumbled upon this pond just chockers with lotus flowers....a very pretty sight!

Here Di is giving a bottle to a little 'joey', so small that it is still in its 'pouch'.

We visited an animal refuge owned and operated by friends of Marie's. Here I was feeding the larger Kangaroos. Anne brought back to health many different types of animals that had somehow had a brush with the human population.

Di and Marie are getting ready to do some power sampling at the Almond and Olive shop down in the McLaren Vale

Fireworks followed the 'Carols in the Park' in Mt. Barker. These carolling programs is a really neat tradition in many cities in Australia.

Penfolds is just one of the many wineries that Di and I will sample from in the Barossa Valley and the McLaren Vale in close proximity to Adelaide. We loved the big reds there.

Santa and his Six White Boomers remind us that Christmas is just around the corner.

We took a tour through the limestone caves at Naracoorte, near Adelaide.

Everywhere in Australia we are encountering gorgeous parrots, lorikeets, cockatoos etc... I am afraid that our birds back home won't seem anywhere near as interesting as they used to.

Walking along a road one night we disturbed this echidna as he was chowing down on an ant colony. He is really a cute little guy.

Out for a walk one evening, we heard the familiar grunting of koalas up in the trees and managed to pick out this one, high up in a eucalyptus tree near Port Fairy.

Here we are at the famous Twelve Apostles. Actually there are only nine now as the pounding surf is constantly taking a toll on these sandstone formations along the Great Ocean Road.

Di is standing beside an enormous Moreton Bay Fig tree in the Otway Rainforest.

We went for a walk through the Otway rainforest. I should mention that the RAINforest was well named! These tree ferns were spectacular.

The 'barbie' rules in Oz. Here we were doing some peppers, onions, 'shrooms, potatoes, chicken 'snags', chicken satays and a little lamb. With a cold beer, what could be better?

From Geelong we headed west along the wonderful Great Ocean Road that would take us over to Adelaide.

Di's relaxing at a beach near Melbourne. As you can see, the constant winds have blown the fine sand up to the table and are in the process of burying it.

Bill slipped in amongst this somewhat 'rigid' band of minstrels to toot his horn on the beach at Geelong, just south of Melbourne

This King Protea is just one of the many gorgeous South African plants flourishing in Australia

Just another of the amazing flowers n Australia.

Dianne is somewhat miffed at the size of the New Zealand flax that grows with abandon over here!

Melbourne is a beautiful city with gorgeous parks and a mix of old and new buildings

We were lucky enough to be given access to a beautiful apartment in this building right in the heart of Melbourne. It was wonderful.

Our trip to Lady Elliot Island was Wonderful

Our plane out to Lady Elliot does not inspire a great deal of confidence. I guess this is why we are restricted to 10 kg fo luggage each.

That's the whole island! 30 min to walk around on the beach. The runway down the centre of the island is long enough for Cessnas, and nothing bigger. The snorkelling on the top, western shore, was magnificent, as good as many dives we've been on.

Whoa, this looks pretty basic. Should be interesting! Definitely not 5 Star, but hey, we're not into 5 Star accommodation! Actually our lodgings were very nice and once we got used to the smell of guano, we settled right in.

Yes, I think that we can enjoy ourselves here. The lagoon offered wonderful snorkelling at high tide.

White headed black noddies nested in trees all over the island. We loved the delicate foliage of this sheoak tree.

Di's enjoying the last of the golden rays of the setting sun.

Sunset on Lady Elliot. We took a picnic platter and a bottle of white wine down to the beach and watched the sunset.

Terns were nesting right on the ground all over the island. This very young chick was in the middle of the path to the restaurant. Note the old piece of coral on which the adult is sitting .

Strolling along the beach at sunrise one morning Di and I spotted this turtle in the process of digging her nest. We stopped to watch the amazing process of her laying her eggs and returning to the ocean.

Di and another island guest are assisting the tortoise by removing big chunks of coral rubble from the nest she's digging. She'd already thrown some huge pieces weighing a cpl of kg's from the nest!

Digging her nest through the coral rubble was a time consuming job. We were hoping that she'd finish before the blazing heat of the day made her give up and return to the sea

We counted 230 eggs drop...sometimes 4 or 5 at once. They were ping pong ball sized and of a rubbery nature.

We had a lovely salt water pool with its own Manta Ray. We did see a number of these giant beasts when we were diving and they are awe inspiring.

The road signs make driving fun in Australia.

Even the little ground hugging wild flowers are beautiful in Australia