Rosebud, what sort of a name is that for a town? Well, we were going to find out as that is where we were spending Christmas with Ruth’s family. Google maps revealed that it was a coastal town some 85km south of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula near the entrance to Port Phillip Bay.
After a spell of hot humid weather and a series of very sticky nights (with little sleep), our departure day dawned gloomy with a cover of very low cloud. Best I check the airport status. Oh, the first two flights have been disrupted, with the second one cancelled. Ruth enquired as to what Plan B was? “Probably spending Christmas day in Kerikeri figuring out how we would get our travels back on track” was my rather pathetic but truthful answer.
Fortunately, the cloud lifted enough for us to get to Auckland. A delay in Auckland and a very slow disembarkment in Melbourne meant a late finish to the day. After an overnight stay near the airport we collected a rental car and headed into the city where we met up with the rest of the contingent heading to Rosebud. Information on our destination was still somewhat sketchy., even those with local knowledge were unable to fill in many of the gaps. Was it a town of budding Roses? Or, discovered by an explorer who decided to affectionately name it after his wife?
A few hours later all was revealed. No rose bushes in evidence but plenty of images of a sailing ship. As we walked Milton (Mark’s dog) along the waterfront early on Christmas day morning we came across a plaque that gave us the answer. The town owed its name to a sailing ship named ‘The Rosebud’ that had foundered on the beach in the 1850s. Originally named ‘The Rosebud’ in memory of the ship that the locals had plundered of its cargo and timbers, it was later shortened to ‘Rosebud’.
So how was Christmas in Rosebud? A spacious airbnb, family, a few friends plus Milton the dog. Fun, games, book reading, a chance to catch up with the family who live across ‘the ditch’ (Tasman Sea) and family that had treked across it. It was another different and enjoyable Christmas day.
Adventures on the wrong side of 60 
While you bask in the warmth with Milton, we’re in snowy (cold!) conditions with 2 active grandsons. Just think: in just over 2 weeks we will all be together in Laos. Hard to believe!
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Luang Prabang looks to be having about the same temperatures as we were enjoying in Kerikeri before we left – mid to high 20’s (c). Melbourne is a roller coaster – yesterday we had to add an extra layer in few days they are predicting 40c. I am sure you will slot into the warmer conditions very quickly. We fly out to Chiang Mai very (very) early Friday morning.
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