The Christmas New Year period provides a time for relaxing and resetting. Work, or in my case my PhD, is the last thing on people’s minds and it’s usually hot!

It’s a time to go to the beach and we were very lucky this year to be invited by our daughter, her partner and our new grandson to spend New Year with them at my daughter’s partner’s family shack at Black Point on the Yorke Peninsula.

Black Point is about a two-hour drive from Adelaide if the traffic isn’t too bad. We were lucky and the traffic was light.

Although Yorke Peninsula is one of South Australia’s favourite summer holiday spots, we don’t visit often. So it was delightful to be invited.

As kids, my favourite person and I had trips to Yorke Peninsula and my favourite person had lived there for a short time when she was little – the joys of being a minister’s daughter.  In my case, my last visit was to James Well for a Partner Retreat which proved to be the catalyst for a move to the firm that sustained me for the remainder of my working life, although through the raging argument that ensued at the retreat I certainly couldn’t have foreseen it.

The drive out of Adelaide took us through North Adelaide and onto Port Wakefield Road. The terrain is so different from our usual drive to our holiday house on the Fleurieu Peninsula. It’s a straight drive just a couple of turns at the top of the peninsula and then we were there. It’s flat and dry, quintessential Australian countryside.

Following the rule of not driving for too long in any one stint, we stopped at Port Wakefield to stretch our legs. It’s a typical country town. It’s just the right distance from Adelaide to stop and refuel both yourself and the car. It’s the staging point for trips north or west in the state and the turnoff to Yorke Peninsula just out of the town can bottleneck but we weren’t held up at all.

Through Port Wakefield, we headed down the other side of Yorke Peninsula past Ardrossan and then onto Black Point, which for most of the year would be described as sleepy. At this time of the year it’s a lively delightful little beachside town.

As we pulled into our accommodation we were greeted by the neighbours apologising for the noise they’d planned to make for New Year, and our daughter’s partner setting up the boiler so he could cook ups the crabs he’d caught in the morning.

Black Point used to just be shacks on the beachfront but today there is a little more development with more modern beach house built behind.  Our daughter’s partner’s family shack fronts straight onto the beach. It was once just one room and a verandah although today it’s been made a little more modern with separate bedrooms and an indoor bathroom and loo! It is the verandah that is the focal point. It’s right on the beach. I have photos of my daughter’s partner fishing off the verandah but the tide was out so there was no chance of that on this occasion.

What could be better for enjoying this lovely location?

The beach and the ocean are the focus here. No vibrant nightlife, it’s a place to make your own fun whether you are young, old or somewhere in between. I am sure our new grandson will be joining in with the neighbours’ grandchildren in years to come frolicking in the water, playing games and generally having fun.  I ‘m also sure he will quickly be out on the water fishing as that is a passion of his parents.

For us, a stroll along the beach with the dog was the order of the day before a short fishing trip in the gulf. No fish and too much wind meant no fish dinner! But it was lovely out on the water. Great views of the gulf and back to the beach.

Fishing done and it was back to the verandah and a glass of wine, fresh crabs and a chance to relax, because that what you do. What could be better in the late afternoon sun and early evening before the NYE festivities commenced in the numerous shacks along the beach?

The shacks are all so close to each other that although private everyone knows each other meaning plenty of banter and lots of laughs.

Our New Years Eve was spent vicariously enjoying the activities of others on the beach.  We enjoyed them all as we had a relaxing evening just the five of us.

Bonfires on the beach and fireworks – who needs Sydney Harbour?

As the New Year approached the noise levels rose and then bang, bang it was NY. Just a lovely way to see the New Year in.

It came as no surprise that the morning was quiet. As I walked along the beach with the dog there wasn’t a soul. Just the remnants of a few bonfires and the odd firework carcass. It was a lovely half hour or so, the beach all to our dog and I.

As the morning progressed a few people started to surface. A swim to clear the head or a morning stroll with the kids and the dog. Just lovely.

 My daughter took advantage of my being up to give me my grandson so she and her partner could have a little more sleep. No hardship there. Just sitting on the verandah taking in the sights and the neighbours wishing him a Happy New Year. After a cooked breakfast on the BBQ we made an early decision that the wind again was too strong for fishing. So it was back to the verandah to take in the views.

I am not someone who generally likes just sitting around but this place is idyllic. It’s easy to just sit and relax. Sure New Year in New York is pretty special, and I am glad we have done that but I think this was better.

As sad as it was we needed to be back in Adelaide late on New Year’s Day, so about lunchtime, it was back in the car for the trip back. A short but lovely stay proving that you can have the benefits of slow travel even on a short stay.