Christmas in Australia

It's fair to say Christmas has been a little different for us in 2012. Almost everything familiar about this time of year was whipped away and a completely new canvas set up in its place. To compare Australian and British festivities would be easy, but lazy, and what purpose do such analyses serve? Put simply, Christmas in Australia was unique and unforgettable. Here's why...

We spent Christmas Day at the home of Rob and Jan Bell, who laid on a magnificent spread. Prawns, trout and smoked salmon paved the way for kangaroo, lamb and sausages in the midst of vegetables and sauces of the mouth-watering variety.

Despite unwrapping presents 10,000 miles from London, we could scarcely have felt more at home. Rob and Jan are our Aussie parents and it seemed fitting to end the year with them - as we had started it. Ed and Helen Poulton also shared the day with us, as did Bean Bell (above, top right). You can choose your friends, not your family, although on this occasion if felt as though we had hand-picked both.

Ed and Helen are living in Port Melbourne for six months, so we followed the north-east side of Port Phillip Bay to cast an eye over the area they will call home. Joggers and cyclists were in abundance along the seafront which - to quote Lonely Planet - more closely resembles Brighton than Bondi.

At the start of a year which felt like a voyage into the unknown, one thing I did know was that I wanted to watch the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. This dream was realised on December 27 when we took our seats for Day 2 of the second Test between Australia and Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan bowling attack was devoid of dynamism and further wind was removed from their sails when paceman Chanaka Welegedara walked off injured. Spinner Rangana Herath (above) has taken more Test wickets than anyone else in 2012 but he toiled all day without reward. He did, however, provide the day's champagne moment when his brilliant one-handed catch in the deep dismissed Mike Hussey.

Michael Clarke was an injury doubt over Christmas but he made 106 to break Ricky Ponting's record of Test runs scored by an Australian in a calendar year. The Aussie captain now has 1,595 to his name in 2012.

As the day wore on, eyes turned from the field to the stands, where the vast consumption of alcohol was illustrated by the size of the beer snakes (above) proudly held aloft until stewards brusquely intervened.

Noise levels rose in Bay 13 (above) after the tea interval. There was a sizeable police presence in this part of the ground, almost as if they were actively looking for trouble-makers. This was in stark contrast to our experience of the AFL, although it tallied with tales of the police being viewed in a fairly dim light by many Australians.

Our packed train pulled out of Richmond station and Christmas, for another year, was over. We'd eaten prawns, walked on the beach and spent a day at the cricket. In our eyes, these things had made it a truly Australian affair.

New Zealand picture special

As if to provide a microcosm of a year packed with travel, we travelled to New Zealand for four days to celebrate a family birthday. Rather than eulogise about what we saw, I'll show you.

Close to Kaikoura, around 100 seals basked on the rocks.

Fabulous roads along which to drive a camper van.

Company, on two wheels.

Familiar faces at the birthday party (Rachel's mum, centre).

On the way to Arthur's Pass, NZ's highest-altitude settlement.

Traversing the South Island from west to east. Great scenes.

State Highway 73 wriggles towards Christchurch.

A sombre bus tour around Christchurch city centre showed us many of the 900 buildings to be ripped down as a result of damaged sustained during the recent earthquakes.

This display of 185 empty chairs commemorates those who died.

Here stood the Canterbury Television Building, which collapsed and caught fire, killing 115 people.

Pubs remain hauntingly deserted and untouched, with demolition notices plastered to the front doors.

Shipping containers support fragile walls. The CBD is a building site and our tour was the only one operating inside the 'red zone'.

The beautiful ChristChurch Cathedral has been decimated almost beyond the point of restoration. Its future hangs in the balance.

Farewell, Albury North

It is 9.10am. The school bell echoes around an empty playground. Sunlight glints off unbroken puddles. A flock of galahs makes its way, unhurried, across the deserted playing field. Where rubber balls bounced, where shoes scuffed, where rucksacks were flung, silence reigns. Yesterday was the last day of term. And I feel sad.

For, in this year of so many adventures, Albury North Public School has provided my happiest moments. I had the privilege of working as a teacher's aide in kindergarten before moving on to work with the kids in Year 6 (below). These young people made me smile every day. They welcomed me instantly into the classroom, as did their teacher, Michael Fayle.

Working in the school gave me a feeling of belonging - something which had been lacking during my first six months in Australia. Yes, we'd visited some amazing places, but it was only when I 'joined the staff' at ANPS that I ceased being a tourist and truly became an Albury resident. I loved the challenge of helping young people learn. They taught me plenty in return. And my involvement wasn't confined to the classroom, either.

I was a guest judge at the school talent show.


I watched the Year 6 students practice, and perform, their graduation dance.

I made friends. Every one of these young people had a different story to tell and I wanted to listen.

Walking across that empty playground, I knew how much I was going to miss Albury North Public School. To spend two terms (with separate classes), to build relationships, to learn, to joke, to play, to share, to laugh, and then to walk away, will be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

Rachel's exchange brought us to Australia. Alongside vice-principal Adrian Fury, principal Paul Smith (above) and so many others, she has shone. Quel surprise. I can't begin to write her story - she will tell that herself. But it has been in the most unlikely place - the classroom next to Rachel's - where my year in Australia really came alive.

I will always be grateful to Paul for taking a punt on me and inviting me into his school. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher to work alongside than Michael Fayle (above). And I will remember the wonderfully indefatigable Albury North students even when we're on the other side of the world, and they've moved on to high school.

Our time here is almost up. Of course, it will be a thrill to renew acquantainces back home and to catch up on the year we missed in England. But there will always be a special place in my heart for Albury North Public School and the people - young and older - who helped me create such fond memories.
Oh, that our paths should cross again.

Thank you - and goodbye.

Mitta Mitta: so good they named it twice

Advent calendars are open and December is slipping away, but there are still adventures to be had in Australia. Our latest escape from the hustle and bustle of work was through the Victorian High Country, with Peter and Leanne Chalmers (below), in a four-wheel-drive. Leanne works in the office at Albury North Public School - Rachel's exchange workplace.

Our base for the weekend was the small town of Mitta Mitta but we spent most of our time on the move.

Peter expertly guided us down into Lightning Creek (above) and up the other side on numerous occasions as we followed the dirt track through the forest.

Heading up a convoy of three vehicles gave us a chance to view the water crossings from an alternative perspective. We learnt that no descent is truly 'steep' unless "you're hanging in your seat belt" - and we never got close to that on the day.

The places at which we stopped along the way were unsurpisingly deserted and totally peaceful. A picnic lunch was eaten to the accompaniment of birdsong and chinking cutlery. Certainly, this was an Australian experience we'd never have stumbled across of our own accord. For most of the others in our group, this was familiar territory and we felt privileged to be shown outposts which held such significance for them.

This deer was waiting for us around a bend in the track. It sauntered along in front of us before leaping into the undergrowth.

Our home for two nights was Magorra Caravan Park in Mitta Mitta. With the third Test Match between Australia and South Africa on TV and a full roast dinner cooked over heat beads for the whole group on Saturday evening, we were richly entertained.

Peter even gave us a fishing lesson before we left. Another chapter had been written in our 2012 story, completely different to all that had gone before, thanks to a gang of fair dinkum country Aussies.

Australian Capital Territory

When we told people we were going to Canberra, the response - almost universally - was "why?" Australians are hardly in love with their capital and most foreigners probably couldn't tell you what, or where, it is. In spite of all this, we felt a year Down Under was incomplete without a trip into Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

Our travel partner on this occasion was Ben Grilli, pictured here at the top of Monument Hill in Albury. Ben and I spent many hours traversing England in the Woking FC supporters coach, so I knew he'd be ready to rise early and hit the road to Canberra.

Before entering the city itself, we headed to the outskirts, where one of Rachel's colleagues, Adrian Fury (in pink), was competing in the Queanbeyan Gift race meeting. Like lots of athletics in Australia, the event was held on grass rather than a track. However, the illusion of a school sports day vanished when we heard the 120m final carried prize money of $16,000. We left sun-drenched Queanbeyan Park with the heats still in progress.

First stop in Canberra was the War Memorial, a fine tribute to those who killed in conflicts all across the globe. It was fittingly tranquil and the tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier in the Hall of Memory (through the doorway at the back of shot, above) was especially poignant.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

Here we are on the roof of Parliament House, the centre of Australian politics. We did have to pass through an airport-style security scanner to get in, but beyond that we were free to roam wherever we wanted...

...including right into the House of Representatives. I have zero interest in the squabblings of Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott & Co but to sit in the 'inner sanctum' was still a moment worth savouring.

Rachel liked these chairs.

Canberra is also home to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), where the country's elite athletes train.

We took an AIS tour, led by Australian race walker Rachel Tallent (above). She certainly knew her stuff and answered every question our group could throw at her.

From the basketball arena...

...to the volleyball courts...

...and past much more to the swimming pools, we got a glimpse of the facilities available to Australia's best.

The AIS was set up in response to a dismal showing by Australia at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. As we stood poolside, I resisted the overwhelming urge to comment on their swimming performance at London 2012.

We were almost the last people to leave the AIS, a fascinating place and a decent way to end our whistle-stop tour of Canberra. Although the capital may not be in the same league as Melbourne or Sydney, that doesn't mean it's not worth visiting.

Why go? So you can make your own mind up.