He was an incongruous figure on the beach this afternoon, dressed head to toe in red felt at today’s peak temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.

Santa likes to take his vacation in February, after delivering late Christmas parcels in January for all the children who forgot to put in their orders. “I wish they could get their act together sooner,” he sighed in confidence to our reporter.

“Of course, I could take off the Santa suit when I’m off-duty,” he acknowledged, “but I’m hyper sun-aware.”

His mantra: “Slip, Slop, Slap, and Flop, but only Flop if you’ve got a sizeable belly to land on, or you’ll hurt yourself.”