I love Easter here - it's absolute Autumn magic, wavering between very still and warm and blowing cold wind from the Arctic. The tides are super super low, extending for hours, the full moon drawing them in and out langurously, the late dark before the clocks fall back. There's the buzz in the air as the Rip Curl Pro begins - as yet, the first heat is postponed til 4.15 pm when the surf is hopefully big enough - and if we're lucky, there is swell.

THe last couple of mornings have been sadly tiny, so pre-dawn, pre-first light, I get out of bed and go to greet the moon. The way this beach faces, and given the time of year, the moon sets as the sun is rising over the water - and I'm in between, full of absolute joy.

When I first hit the carpark on Thursday morning the moon was kinda setting over the carpark. It was hard to get a good clear shot as I was getting used to my phone settings but you get the idea.

I love how the light bounces around the ripples in the water and sand, picking out the details in colour. I didn't know which way to look to be honest - I was so enamoured with the entire scene.

As the moon was sliding across the headland down the coast, I walked out to the point, trying to capture the majesty of the rocks and how they framed the ocean and the moon from various angles.

Looking down toward Aireys Inlet, the moon was already sliding down behind the land. It moves so fast sometimes! I was really wishing I had a proper camera but I'd also have to be ready, on the beach, all set up, waiting for the exact moment. A professional I am not. Maybe next year.

I love these moments, just me and no one else crazy enough to be chasing the moon around like an idiot. Jamie was still in bed. My best mate, who I messaged, was in bed in her boat in Hobart, too lazy to get out of bed to see the moon but also gloating she could see the sunrise from bed. She gets the joy. We message each other nearly every day with joyful moments like this.

THe next day, the moon rises far more slowly, higher in the sky. I don't get it, these movements of the moon and sun. But I was out surfing and the moon was a witness, and everyone out there (not many, that early) was pumped at the sight. How fucking cool. Who cares about the diesel shortage when you have this??

The chill was certainly in the air this morning - it was the first time I'd worn a thicker wetsuit in since last november - we were all feeling it. It was warmer in the water than in the air - the air was about 12 degrees and the water about 17. It got crowded pretty fast as it's Good Friday - everyone's off work, and turns out people can afford to drive around when they really want to.

In fact, as I write this, it's noisy out there as a street over, an Air BNB is playing doof and kids are screaming and blokes are roaring over a game of cricket. Happy noises. The kookaburra join in - a family of seven of them, cackling in mad unison. A siren - ambulance - sounds and a helicopter whirrs over head - another accident on the Great Ocean Road.

I wonder what next week will bring, after this joyous moon. THe PM here has addressed the nation to go about our lives, whilst warning us that things will get tougher, and that to spare a thought for the farmers and essential workers who need the fuel to do their jobs.

I've started knitting a new hooded scarf thing for the cooler weather - more on this later, but the meditative clack of the needles as I sit on the back stairs and watch Jamie move rocks around the garden and build a retaining wall sends me quiet and contemplative.

My neighbour's driving across the Nullabor with his son for a road trip to see a mate and go kayaking. Last time I did that, in '96, we left home and petrol was 76c a litre and mid Nullabor, it was 99c. Now I dread to think of the fuel bill. I declined a mate's offer to have a fire at hers for her birthay because her place is a four hour drive away and I don't want to spend the fuel - but really, I just want to be coast wise, under this big winter moon.

Happy Easter, everyone.

With Love,

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