Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Holiday Happiness

Isn't it great when you head off on a holiday to a paradise that enables you to relax? Holidays are meant to be about relaxing and I must say that I was hoping for a place that was magical, spiritual and peaceful and I think my wish came true.
We packed up the car to the point of not fitting even a wafer into the boot and headed off to Apollo Bay with the intention of spending Christmas by the seaside; dabbling my feet in the salty water and risking a little sunburn for the pleasures of the beach. What we found was an oasis of sorts in the form of a house on a isolated hill overlooking the ocean and backing onto bushland.

The view was spectacular and instead of lazing on the beach all day, we basked in the glory of The Bay House, with its wildlife, its proximity to bush walks and the quietness of no TV and little phone reception. I have never ventured anywhere that didn't have every TV channel in the world let alone only one channel to peruse, but to have no reception on our phones was daunting. You may ask why? Well, I realised how much I relied on this one piece of technology. I acknowledge now how incredibly tuned into our phones we are and how if for some reason we didn't have it, the world as we know would end or at least I thought so! My boys found it difficult to be without any technology, but I think it helped them to realise their subservience to all things electronic. 

It seemed for a while that we were in withdrawal of the very invention that is supposed to make our lives easier and that by giving up this so-called improvement to our lives was an impossible task set by some relaxation god. We were even cursing the fictional techno responsible for the tower failure that brought on this abomination to technology. Just when we were starting to enjoy the sound of the ocean and the breeze in our hair, the relaxation god lost his/her train of thought and the phone reception magically reappeared.

By the end of this well earned holiday, I was reluctantly leaving the only place that allowed us to venture out of our comfort zones and explore the world around us. Before we left, we vowed to continue our new and improved life beyond our computers and our phones but it didn't last; I am here writing this blog and my boys have easily slipped back into the world of Facebook; Twitter and Hollywood on the TV. With our tiny Kmart Christmas tree in tow, we headed back to the real world, the one beyond the sanctuary of The Bay House and the one that leaves you handcuffed to screens of all sizes. 

Until next Christmas, I will have an electronic device attached to my hand (not surgically), my favourite TV shows taping on our recording device and my life locked into my blog, my novel and my job. Don't get me wrong, I love these things, they do make my life easier but I did enjoy just sitting and looking out across the expanse of ocean and interacting with the cockatoos; the resident Koala; the Shetland ponies; the wallabies; the cows and the ever laughing Kookaburras. It was fantastic!

So, here are just some of  my pics from our trip; please enjoy!




   















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