Surf's up

Not for Mme Tepeka and me, but it was for the kids.

After another ridiculously early morning (5am for parents, slightly later for the kids), we headed off to catch the ferry to Manly Beach, where a surf lesson awaited the younger, more active members of the family.

And an absolutely glorious day it was too. Not a cloud in the sky, as you can see. The kids did pretty well, managing to stand up a few times and even surf in to shore once or twice. Not bad.

The first extra shows that we haven't forgotten about Christmas. But it's very weird hearing buskers play Frosty the Snowman when it's 30 degrees.

And the final extra is of the Royal Caribbean ship Voyager of the Seas pulling in past the Opera House at an ungodly hour this morning. We have a soft spot for her as we did a Transatlantic crossing on her 10 years ago - our first cruise. So it was fun seeing her serenely glide into her berth this morning. She's off on an 11-night trip to New Zealand. Nice.