After saying goodbye to Brisbane, we landed in Sydney on 29th December, with that strange mixture of excitement and tiredness that comes after a travel day.
The flight itself was easy enough, and the arrival was spectacular. As we came in over Sydney, we got one of those views that makes everyone lean towards the window: the harbour, the coastline, the bridge, the blue water and the city spread out beneath us. After months of moving from place to place, arriving somewhere new still had that little spark.
Then came the hire car.
And, good grief, what a machine.
We picked up what may genuinely have been the worst hire car we have ever had, even worse than a car rented by 2000 teenagers in Greece: a white MG. It had all the personality of a damp cardboard box and the driving feel of a shopping trolley with commitment issues. But it moved all be it with a lag between pressing the accelerator and actually moving, so we packed ourselves in and made our way towards Manly.
Thankfully, Manly made up for the car almost immediately.
Our accommodation had a brilliant view across the water, and after the long movement of airport, luggage, hire car chaos and city roads, it felt like we had landed somewhere properly special. The harbour was there in front of us, blue and calm, with boats moving across it and the Sydney skyline sitting in the distance.
It was a very different feeling from Brisbane. Brisbane had been Christmas heat, swimming pools, shopping centres, carols, theme parks and tropical storms. Sydney felt coastal, open and bright. More beach-town energy, but with the city still visible across the water, honestly it instantly relaxed us!
The girls settled in quickly, because children are strange little creatures who can treat a new house like home within about nine minutes. Dotty found her spot on the outdoor lounger like she had personally booked the place. Georgia was straight into the rhythm of being near the beach.
And being in Manly meant exactly that: beach time.
We headed down to the water and let the day loosen up a bit. Manly Beach was busy, properly summer-busy, full of people, towels, umbrellas, swimmers and that relaxed chaos you only get at Australian beaches. After so much travelling, there was something wonderful about not needing a big plan. Just water, sand, suncream, snacks and trying to keep track of who had which hat.
Dotty could splash about, Georgia could play, and we could take in the fact that this was now part of the journey. Not a holiday within the trip exactly, but one of those places where the pace shifts down and you realise you are lucky to be here.
We also wandered through Manly itself, finding the playground, grabbing bits we needed and slowly getting our bearings even if we had stayed close by in 2018. It has that classic Australian seaside-town feeling, but with ferries, harbour views and Sydney sitting just across the water like it was showing off, hard to explain.
By the evening, the sun dropped over the harbour and the whole place changed colour. The water turned gold, the skyline softened, and the day finally caught up with us.
Brisbane had given us Christmas.
Sydney, it seemed, was giving us a view.
And despite the tragic little MG outside, this felt like a pretty good place to begin the next chapter.