2008 Road Trip: Unexpected Christmas visitors

Blue Tongue Lizard

On our 2008 Road Trip to Sydney our main objective was to reach Sydney in time for Christmas. This was so we could spend Christmas and New year with our son and daughter in law who live in Artarmon, just a few train stops north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This time our daughter came along too, so it was also a family reunion.

We had a great Christmas lunch and were joined by our daughter in law’s relatives; it was good to see all of them again too. L’s parents only live a half hour drive from us, but we rarely get to see them, so it was good that they could fly over from Adelaide for the festivities. As usual I ate too much for lunch. And dinner.

In the afternoon we were relaxing out on the back lawn. The more energetic ones played a few games; the rest of us chatted and snoozed during the balmy afternoon.

During our post lunch siesta we were visited by a beautiful butterfly. It was a Dainty Swallowtail Papilio anactus and is shown in the photo below. They are quite common in the Sydney area.

Most people drifted indoors late in the afternoon, but my son and I stayed outside chatting. We, too, rarely get together these days, except on the phone. When everything was quiet the resident Blue Tongue Lizard came out to see what all the fuss had been about.

Dainty Swallowtail Papilio anactus