Despite a somewhat rainy and humid start to the season, summer is indeed here and in full swing at that. With temperatures once again peaking and the UV index teetering towards the top end of the scale, the time has come for city-dwellers to make their escape from the hustle and bustle for a refreshing break.
To find out who’s doing what, Neos Kosmos went ahead and spoke with a number of Greek-Australians to get a better idea about their summertime sabbaticals.
For legal academic and climate policy negotiator Dr Stephen Minas, this summer’s about reconnecting.
“It’s the first one in three years where we’ve been able to see family and friends in basically normal conditions,” he explains.
Dr. Minas, who spent much of the last three years working overseas, is currently soaking up the rays in good company on the Mornington Peninsula.
“I think that’s something we might have taken for granted in the past.”
Christina Gavnoudias tells Neos Kosmos that for her, the summer break is about quality time with the whole family.
“From boxing day for at least two weeks we all gather up here as a family, Mum, Dad, my husband Vlas and our three kids, and my brother Louis, his wife Tanya and their two kids,” she explains.
“When we were younger we’d come up to Sorrento on camping trips with Mum and Dad, and Mum would always say how the sight of the ferry coming in reminded her of home.”
Her mother Pitsa Kortesis loved the idea of taking a morning constitutional to the backdrop of the ferry coming and going so much, that alongside her husband Strato, the pair decided to make it their home away from home.
“Everybody has their own things going on during the year, but coming together as a family is so important. It can’t tell you how happy it makes me to wake up and see the children in the morning and hear them say ‘Yiayia, can we have pancakes?” Pitsa says.
It’s become a tradition for the family to come together at Sorrento over the break, the highlight being New Year’s Eve, when the kids wait eagerly the whole day for the chance to get the lucky slice of Yiayia’s much loved tsoureki-vasilopita at the stroke of midnight.
Teacher Chris Fotinopoulos says he’s been mixing some more cosmopolitan recreation in between visits to the beach.
“I’m focusing on the epicurean pleasures this summer, feasting with the family on produce from various local markets, which we’re transforming with the help of our favourite cookbook at the moment, Kathy Tsaples’ Sweet Greek Life,” he said.
Of course, Chris has sequestered away an appropriate amount of time for expeditions to the coast with his doted-on pooch.
“Not to mention I’m currently embellishing my wardrobe with an eclectic mix of eccentric garbs from my preferred shops, all to my own personal backing track of good tunes, it’s the Greek stoner-rock crew 1000mods at the moment,” he adds.
Leah Nassis made it all the way to Western Australia in an attempt to escape the somewhat unusual humidity Melbourne’s been experiencing this year.
“I went with a group of uni friends, it was great. We just spent our time eating, bar hopping and doing so much walking; Perth has a tonne to see and its absolutely beautiful, the city feels quite unique.”
They made their way to Margaret River where the wineries were apparently sensational.
“It’s so underrated and the food was fantastic, I feel like I didn’t have a single bad meal the whole time. Even though the weather was scorching, since it’s a dry heat it was a lot easier to deal with.”
While in Fremantle she crossed paths with an old friend she hadn’t seen since the lull between COVID lockdowns.
“It’d been 18 months since we’d seen each and it was just such a happy coincidence, it was the perfect getaway.”
The President of the Greek Community of Victoria Bill Papastergiadis is on a road trip up the east coast from NSW to Queensland stopping at famed surf beaches. A keen surfer Bill told Neos Kosmos that the break allows him “to take a deep breath of a eucalyptus scented Australian summer”.
Neos Kosmos’ own senior journalist, Fotis Kapetopoulos is at the time of writing making his way to Dromana for a well-earned week of seaside satisfaction.
“My family, my best friend Greg and his family rent out a magnificent little place about a five-minute walk from the beach,” he tells us.
“Of course, a lot of our time is spent there; much of my time making a fool of myself as I try in vain to match the skim-boarding skills of much younger beachgoers,” he admits.
Fotis says that the remainder of their time away, is usually spent visiting the many well-regarded restaurants in the surrounding area or firing up the BBQ for a more relaxed evening of dinner and drinks.
“A fair bit of our time will be spent mixing cocktails… and far less of it will be spent drinking them.”
Des Varyiamis has been spending his summers in Bermagui on the NSW Sapphire Coast since 1989.
As a younger man he’d head up with his brothers and a few friends from the neighbourhood. What started off as some mates spending a couple weeks on the coast has evolved into a seven-family expedition.
“What can I say we’ve got everything we could want up here, mountain biking, snorkeling, spearfishing and a bit of surf fishing at night, you name it,” Des says.
As it’s only 20 kilometres off the continental shelf, Bermagui’s renowned among anglers across the country, not just for the countless species of fish but the abundance of octopus, which becomes a staple of the group’s diet during the trip, as Des says “simply delicious.”
“Every second day I’ll go with a couple others for a round of golf, occasionally we’ll head to Narooma a few towns over, they’ve got a beautiful coastal course there.”
The kids have just as much fun as the adults, and Des says you’ll rarely ever see them on their phones.
“Now that they’re a bit older they just organise to meet up themselves, they’re together all day; whether they’re playing a bit of soccer or footy, hanging out at the park, in the evenings they’ll walk along the beach in a big group while we oldies relax after a full-on day.”All said and done, it seems Australia’s Hellenes are certainly making hay while the sun shines.
