Family reunion.

Prelude: my bro and I are going traveling, so we set aside last Friday arvo to go to a travel agent together, before we headed to Canberra on Sat morning for a family reunion. I decided to get my passport photo printed at photo king even though it was further to walk, to compare it with the print quality of the other place, then I was gonna walk back and pop into STA or something and get info till Matt got here. Walking around the corner, the first place I saw had a big student flights sign, but STA does student and normal, so I walked in and asked. And the second thing I said was "you look like my cousin", doing a confused double-take. And it actually WAS a cousin. I still can't get over it. So he sold us travel. Flying to Heathrow 16 April, then to Namibia, then home, 4 weeks. Yay! Will start planning how to fill time between flights soon. Here's a clue: there is a very interesting movie in post-production.

So then, the proper family reunion, an "every 5 years—Mum's side of the family" thing. There were 50 of us, 4 generations, and we went on a cruise on Lake Burley Griffin, and hung out on the Christmas tree farm outside Canberra. There was such nice weather on Saturday, warm and sunny, but I also enjoyed the cool windy weather. Nothing so therapeutic as a walk in a fresh breeze. The extended family are really nice, although being so extended and dispersed we don't know each other very well. I was asked several times how I was enjoying Perth, which is fair enough, I didn't chat to everyone because really, one weekend every 5 years is not enough time to bother learning all their names! Anyway, this is me on the cruise. You get a good view because all the important buildings are around the edge of the lake. If I were Governor General I would go to work in a speed-boat.

On a walk around the farm I spotted a family of fairy wrens, 4 babies were huddled on a twig. When I went back with my camera I only managed to get an adult male (and a hiding baby). They hide and hop so quickly. I love fairy wrens, it's as cute as seeing an actual fairy.

This is a crop of Christmas trees. There was a particularly handsome big one but I didn't photo it. My aunt says it is set aside for Parliament House next Christmas! How prestigious.