For some time, a prominent local department store has been advertising their Christmas parade and pantomime. Tonight we went into town to have a look.

Queen St Mall is a pedestrianised shopping zone. We arrived with time on our hands and promptly fell into the nearest beer-dispensing hostelry. Since it was right in the middle of Queen St we reckoned we couldn’t really miss the event from there. While still largely preoccupied with drinks, suddenly, a donkey! And shepherds, complete with tea towels. Hard on the heels of the donkey, three elaborately-adorned camels. With riders in robes and costumed guides leading the camels. The last one had a shovel with her, in case of animal-related incidents.

Having finished our drinks, we followed the camels. The parade was just getting ready, and we got an excellent view of every scene. The procession was an eclectic mix of folklore. Santa made an appearance, donkeys, sheep and camels, and groups of performers singing and dancing. A bit of Rio-style Mardi Gras was evident in the elaborately-decorated floats. And, only in Australia would a Christmas parade include snorkeling gear and a barbecue! It was fun.

This blog post was written on my iPad, so the pictures aren’t arranged the way they normally are. I hope you enjoy them anyway!