The Plunge Down Under

Grandparents in the Grampians

A common theme for us during the past couple of years of our adventures in Australia is that our noteworthy events come in bunches.  Weeks go by with very little happening out of the ordinary, and I find myself polling the children for blog post ideas.  The camera remains packed away in the cupboard, and then bang, things spiral out of control, and I can't keep up with it all.  That is the situation I find myself in this afternoon, as we relax outdoors in northwestern Victoria in a national park known as The Grampians. A more beautiful place we have not seen in Australia, and so I think I will put up a post about it, in spite of the fact that I have several in the pipeline waiting to be published from the past two weeks.

We have had a history of rain following us on our journeys in the antipodean bush, but for this particular trip, the weather could not be better.  Clear blue skies, warm sunshine with a pleasant mountain breeze to make it welcome, and bob's your uncle.  It's a good thing the weather is perfect, because we bundled my parents into the car less than twenty-four hours after picking them up at the airport in Melbourne.  Jet lag is not the easiest thing to overcome after a thirty-one hour journey, but they are very good sports and are doing their best to enjoy this experience to the fullest.

Katie and Cameron are away at camp, and so this is a special time for Sophie and James to spend with their Grandpa and Grandma.  James thought our destination was a perfect place to take them based on the name alone, and we have to agree.  Our little motel is situated between two mountain ranges, and comes with a mob of roos that live on the property as well as several emus.  As a bonus, it also has free wi-fi, an all-too-rare occurrence down under.  Add in a swimming pool and trampoline for the youngest two, and everyone is happy.

After a leisurely three-and-a-half hour drive from Melbourne yesterday, we arrived in Halls Gap around 3:30pm.  We checked in and decided to give the kids a chance to swim and bounce before an early dinner.  My mom surprised us all by ordering kangaroo, something we have not yet had the courage to do.  The waiter had assured her it would be tender, and in fact it was.  We all had a piece of the slightly gamey meat, and later, with stomachs comfortably full, we headed out to enjoy the evening wildlife we had been promised.  There certainly was no shortage.

The next morning we followed the advice of the friendly tourist information agent and drove the scenic road through the Grampians, stopping at each lookout for a short hike and to admire the views.

Boroka Lookout:

Reed's Point:

Sophie begged and begged, but we did not allow her out on the balconies, pictured above.  We all stayed well behind the protective fencing, unlike the other crazy tourists.

Mackenzie Falls:

We have one morning left to take in this idyllic corner of Victoria.  I have no doubt that we will leave wanting to plan a return trip.

A Blue Christmas

If I had to choose a color to describe our Christmas this year, it would be blue.  By blue I am not so much referring to our emotions, although it is true that there were a few tears shed on the day itself over the pain of being separated from our family at this special time of year.  Instead I am thinking more of the all those glorious hues of sea and sky that we enjoyed day after day during the week leading up to Christmas in the village of Lorne, located on the Great Ocean Road. The house where we stayed looked out over the ocean, and we marveled at the constantly changing colors, each combination seemingly more beautiful than the one before.

I am proud to report that in spite of frigid water temperatures, every single Wilkin went for a plunge in the crystal clear ocean water at least once.

It wouldn't be Christmas on the beach in Australia without a little beach cricket.  You can see the boys playing in the background of the above photo, and our younger three in the photo below.  Because of a bit of rain, we had the beach to ourselves that morning for an hour under an absolutely brilliant sky.

There was also time for some footy throwing on the beach.

We did indeed miss family, but we were thankful for friends with whom to share our holiday.  Katie's friend Rebekah spent a few days with us, and then the Browns joined us for the last five days, including Christmas day itself.  Gillian organized the decorations as well as the food, choosing blue as the unifying color.

The al fresco Christmas breakfast was surely a first for the Wilkin family.

For dinner, seafood was both the first course and the highlight.

A few of us went for a walk along the Lorne pier and beach as the sun set on Christmas evening.  If you look closely, you might see a hint of blue on the girls' lips as the wind was quite chilly.

Finally, to close, I chose a few photos with the color blue, taken from the hundreds added to my library during the past two weeks.

Sunrise on Christmas Eve:

The sunsets also contained more blue than any other color:

As I sat on Sorrento Back Beach yesterday taking the above two photos, I started worrying about all the snow forecoasted for Ohio.  Thankfully my dad was able to get himself and my mom on an earlier flight out of Cleveland.  They made it to Houston safely.  We look forward to welcoming them to sunny Melbourne tomorrow. Best wishes to all of you and yours for a happy year to come.

 

Christmas Carols

A common theme among North American expats in Australia during the month of December is the strangeness of preparing for Christmas in the summer season.  It certainly does not seem right to be out shopping in “singlet, shorts, and thongs”—i.e. tank top, shorts and flip flops--to the tune of “Roasting Chestnuts” or “Silver Bells.”  Our local city council’s theme this year is “Home for Christmas.”  The motif is white snowflakes against a red background.  These signboards are posted everywhere, no doubt to encourage us to spend our money.  They just don't look right to me, not only because of the bright sunshine and warm temperatures, but also because of the presence nearby of flowering trees and bushes.

 We have also commented several times on the lack of Christmas decorating that goes on in our neighborhood.  I think that Americans in general just love to decorate the exterior of their living places more than Australians, whether it be for Halloween, Easter, or Christmas.  However stringing Christmas lights in the middle of summer just isn’t as rewarding down under since it doesn’t get dark until 9pm or so.  We rarely see the full effect of those houses whose owners have gone to the effort to put up lights.

 There is an Australian tradition, however, that transports me into the spirit of the Christmas season.  Christmas carols events are very common.  City councils host "Carols by Candlelight" in local parks, and there are Christmas carols services held by many schools and churches.  Last year I was blown away by the service put on by the girls’ school at Scots Church in the city.  I had experienced nothing like it before.  The service was a mixture of musical performances by the various school choirs, scripture readings, and congregational singing.  Listening to, and participating in, the familiar carols in a packed out building sent my spirits soaring.

Even more exciting for us, however, was the carols service put on by our own church.  We are blessed to have several talented musicians in our church who not only performed, but also graciously invited the children of the congregation to join them in a few of the pieces.  The excitement began at home as three of our children began to practice, and then to play together, K on the flute, C on the double bass, and S on the violin.  These practices did not always go smoothly, but still it was amazing to hear our kids playing together.

Last Sunday was the big night.  The combination of the choir, the brass ensemble, the organ, and the numerous voices raised in song was an amazing experience.  We were very proud of our children, of course, and grateful for this opportunity for them to play for others.  But mostly I was grateful for the reason for the occasion itself: the celebration of Advent, the coming of Christ into our world to live with us, to suffer with and for us, and to redeem us.  

You can watch a video of the two carols that our children played in here.

 

Birthday Party

The events are piling up far faster than I can manage to document in this space.  Between end-of-year musical performances for three children, Christmas carols services at two different schools and at our church, and the last day of primary school for Cameron followed by his graduation, our heads are whirling at the moment.  Hopefully I will get back to all of these, but for now, here are photos of the joint birthday party planned solely by the fourteen-year-olds themselves.  

 

The Color Purple

With the flurry of Christmas preparations occurring in our household on this Wednesday morning in Melbourne, it would perhaps be more appropriate to do a post on the colors of red or green.  If there is one color that I will forever associate with the month of December in Australia, however, I believe it will be the color purple.  

For starters, there is a beautiful flowering tree that blossoms to a gorgeous deep shade of violet in mid December, the jacaranda.  Then there are the agapanthus plants everywhere in Melbourne that are just coming into their full glory in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  They are surrounded by countless other flowers in all shades of purple.  My attempts to capture them, particularly the jacaranda, on my phone camera are disappointing, but I will share them anyway, and then finish with my favorite purple photos from 2012.

Soon the blossoms will fall, leaving a pretty purple carpet underneath the trees.  As for the agapanthus, I took so many photos last year, that I am ignoring them this year.  Here is one token photo from 2012:

Flowers certainly are the theme of this purple post, but they are not the only thing that comes to mind when I think of with the color purple in Melbourne.  I am sure I have mentioned before that nearly all schools in Australia, whether public or private, require their students to wear a uniform.  It seems to me that blue is the most common color, with the occasional red, gray, or green uniform thrown in to change things up a bit. There is one school, though, that really stands out with its choice of purple for the compulsory uniform.  The students of Wesley College are instantly recognizable all over the city, whether they are wearing the bright purple blazer, the light purple dress shirt, or the striped purple P.E. uniform.

Finally, I went through some of the photos shot with my Nikon d5000 from the past year and picked a few to share.  My all-time favorite is at the top.  It was taken at Cousin Maxine's cottage in New Brunswick, Canada, last July, as were the last two in this post. The remaining ones were taken near our house in Australia. As always, if you would like to vote for one, please do! I enjoy hearing from my readers.  

 

Fourteen

Fourteen years ago today we welcomed a tiny daughter into our lives.  I had spent months dreaming of this moment.  I would often sit in the rocking chair in the nursery we had decorated and imagine what it would be like to hold her in my arms.  Even so, I was completely unprepared for the waves of love that washed over me as I held her on my chest, and she gazed up at me with her wide-open eyes. It was like nothing I had ever experienced.  I wondered why no one had tried to tell me just how wonderful this moment would be.  Eventually I realized that it would have been impossible.  

Today that baby girl that we struggled to dress at the hospital stands at the exact same height as I do. We share the same shoe size. She knows far more than I do about many subjects, particularly anything related to technology and music.  I marvel at the changes in her over the past fourteen years, feeling at the same time a curious mixture of joy, pride, and sadness.  We are happy for the growth and maturity that we have witnessed in our daughter over the past year, but are also a bit wistful at times for that little girl with blond curls who climbed into our laps for a hug, and who prayed each night before she went to sleep, "Thank you for Mommy and Daddy.  I love them so much."  We love you too, Katie, and we look forward to what the next year will bring for you.

You can read more about our first-born here.