It came upon a midnight clear...

There's much to see around the towns and cities this time of year,

but there's something special along the seaside as well...

I took my brothers kids out to Whiffin Spit for the afternoon...

There's nothing that Griffin loves more than to run with the kids!

We came to ramble on the beach, exploring driftwood houses...

There were rocks to turn over and crabs to discover...

Even tiny hands held tiny crabs...

But the real reason we came here today, was to see the work of 

many secret elves.

You see every year, without being seen or heard, in the middle of a cold night,

the same tree is decorated on the spit...

People who walk the spit add there own bits and pieces as the days lead up to Christmas...

A lot of pieces are from found objects on the beach so the shore gets 

a clean up as well...

Some leave memorials to those who used to walk the spit, man and dog together...

And then after New Years, as quietly as they came, the secret elves come again

and undress the tree, saving it all for the next season.

The beach always holds surprises, some gruesome, like this whole sheep we found...

very strange.

The birds are out and about, flitting beside us in the bush as we walk along...

Then it's time to go in for hot chocolate.

One of the best parts of walking far on a cold day!