The traditional Australian BBQ by the beach I thought a little hard living about 30kms from the coast in Parramatta, buuut, there is Parramatta lake which is just a 10 minute drive. This lake is man made by a damn wall placed at the eastern side of the river. It shelves off pretty quickly to 2m deep, and then who knows how deep it is. The kids life jackets make me feel a little easier, and the water is warm in the first 50cms or so. I took my hand paddles and goggles, and dove to about 4m, but at that depth, it is pitch black, freezing and a bit scary. The water is clean though, and the scene is idyllic. The smell of BBQ, happy chatter, and not too many people. Coming here was a really nice idea.

And then come the evening, the kids can be a bit hard to put down.....