Patonga

We spent Christmas in Patonga, north of Sydney, in a house by the creek that could only be reached by rowing boat (I can row, so that was my job). It's peaceful, beautiful, and full of local wildlife (kookaburras and bush turkeys on the deck, an 8-foot long diamond python in the undergrowth, ducks on the creek, crabs at the waterline, pelicans at the beach and possums in the trees). There's a local pub and a fish and chip shop staffed by a grim-faced woman who likes nothing more than to tell people the place is closed at dinnertime. The fish and chips were great, though.