I have very fond memories of holidays from my childhood. Of course there were lots of different holidays, but my very favourite ones were when my parents would book a house or apartment, first at a place called Burrum Heads on the Queensland coast between Brisbane and Rockhampton and then as we got older, at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. For me, the days and weeks just seemed to go on forever - days full of swimming in the sea, playing on the beach, reading, playing cards and board games, eating fish & chips and icecream cones, long walks and socializing with all the other kids we met in the area. Now that I have my own children, I find myself wanting to recreate the same kind of holidays for my little family, all over again.
To that end, we have actually bought our own house which we will eventually use for holidays, but for now it's permanently rented out to help us pay the mortgage! More on that another time...
In the meantime, I have discovered another place which provides me with everything I'm looking for in a family holiday. We've been twice now and certainly hope to go again sometime soon. It's my friend Andrea's house, called Sommarhus, in Port Fairy, Victoria. When she and her husband aren't using it for their own holidays, they rent it out to others.
You tend to enter the house through the back door from the carport and this is the view that greets you as you round the corner of the house. We spent so many hours sitting out here, eating our meals, drinking cups of tea and reading, playing games etc.
The patio leads out on to this lovely green, flat lawn, perfect for three little boys to run around, play totem tennis,football, wrestle,all the sorts of things little boys love to do.
That chair on the lawn is my favourite spot to sit and read...
This view greeted us as we entered the kitchen through the back door...
Cozy fireplace for cold nights...
Then just a short walk, ride or drive away is Pea Soup Beach, the perfect sheltered beach for young children. The water is calm and shallow, lots of rocks for climbing on, sand hills for rolling down, rock pools for searching for sea life in, great spot for fishing with a fishing rod too..
Another of the great things about Port Fairy is that it's so flat and reasonably quiet most of the time with bike paths all over the place. For the first time ever we managed to get our whole family on bikes and we absolutely loved it. We went for a family ride each morning, to have coffees and hot chocolates at one of the lovely cafes in town and then continued on to the park and along the bike paths around the headland. It was a fabulous way to start the day and then we'd head to the beach...
Now that I'm looking through my photos I'm kicking myself for not having taken more - I've missed things like the fabulous outdoor shower, the gorgeous bedrooms, the beautiful river, the lighthouse, the streetscape of Port Fairy, great cafes and homewares stores...what a shame - guess I was just too busy enjoying myself!
I used to love exotic overseas adventure holidays, but at this stage of my life, it's the simple things that make a great holiday for me and my family.
PS If you're interested in renting Andrea's house, you can contact her on 0431 925410 or sommarhus126@gmail.com.
