I always thought we were odd because we weren’t like those families who took beach holidays. Lebanon is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, but my family are from its mountainous northern region, so until they came to Australia, my parents had hardly ever visited the beach.
One year, we took a “beach holiday” to Kiama, where we ate plenty of ice-cream and visited the Kiama blowhole, but my mum was petrified of the sea so we never went swimming. Even a walk on the shore ended prematurely because a wave rolled in and hit Mum’s ankles – she thought it was powerful enough to carry us all out to sea.
So when everyone else in Sydney headed east, north or south towards water, my family always went west – many of our family holidays took place in regional centres, in places such as Goulburn, Bathurst and Dubbo.
This picture of me in front of the Big Merino was taken when I was about two on a road trip down to Canberra. My parents had been married for three years. Mum was new to Australia, and Dad was still showing her around. Dad has always loved the southern highlands and southern tablelands of New South Wales, and Goulburn was a place we stopped at wherever we were going. My parents loved long drives and the bush, and we’d pack the car with bags of Lebanese bread, sandwich fillings, and books and board games. When we arrived at our accommodation, we had to sit in the car or wait outside while my mother scrubbed the place clean.
Our holidays were short because Dad couldn’t take too long off work (he owned a hardware store), but those two or three nights away felt exciting. There was always a McDonald’s stop on the drive, a lot of lollies, car sickness and Lebanese music, until I got a Discman and those So Fresh CDs and could escape momentarily into a bubble I thought was less cringe.
We had a couple of VHS tapes that went everywhere with us: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movies and Hanna-Barbera cartoons and we were always guaranteed a night of wood-fired pizza (but never a later bedtime). Someone got sunburnt every trip because we forgot/left the sunscreen. I don’t remember much of the little details, but I remember those holidays felt like a treat, even though money was probably tight.
I’m now a mother of three, and we do the beach holiday thing. I am as petrified of my children in the sea as my mum was, though I am definitely working through that! My father is retired and has a place in the bush, so I make it my mission to give my kids the best of both worlds, with long drives down to visit him via the southern highlands and Goulburn.
The So Fresh CDs have been replaced by a Spotify playlist, but I still sneak a few choice Lebanese songs on for old times’ sake. And, now I have a selfie of all of us with the Big Merino.
