It's something Mystical
Sunday, October 06, 2013
withers away @ 12:39 am
AUSTRALIA TRIP 2013
States Covered: Queensland and New South Wales
Places Covered: Sydney, Hamilton Island, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Port Macquarie, Forster, Port Stephens, Hunter Valley
Duration: 11D10N
Dates: 15 to 25 June 2013
Cars Driven:
Toyota RAV4 (15 - 16th in Sydney)
Advantages: All wheel drive. Good traction.
Disadvantages: Slow acceleration speed (not enough power for overtaking). Dumb stereo system which replayed songs from the first track every time we started the car.
Buggy (16 - 19th in Hamilton Island)
Advantages: V slow which allows time for phototaking and spotting wildlife, dead or alive. V cute to drive around.
Disadvantages: V slow, especially when going uphill. Felt quite sorry for people behind as people don't overtake in Aussie. Constant worry of being stranded mid-island with no power left as it runs on electricity.
Holden Commodore (19 - 25th from Brisbane to Sydney)
Advantages: Huge interior space and boot. V fast acceleration speed yet stable. Light sensors which auto-switched on headlights when dark.
Disadvantages: Lousy tires that skid v easily. V low bumper which makes it easily hit.
People and Roles Played:
GT
Primary Roles: Driver and the one who knows Sydney best. Sir.
Secondary Roles: The cook, the tour guide, the beach comber, the coral/shell/stone collector and guide. The photobomber. The bully.
SL
Primary Role: Maria
Secondary Roles: The hardcopy holder of tickets, confirmation print-outs, flight details etc. The treasurer. In-charge of everything in the backseat (including holding onto the dustbin of the day, protecting our dinner while GT swerves around, refilling our bottles from the gigantic 2L, 4L or 12L bottle) . The sauce-holder (Sauces come at a price over there. We brought our own.). To wake us up from bed. The assistant cook. The bullied.
PS
Primary Role: Navigator
Secondary Roles: Warn GT of speed cameras and speed limits (missed out once and resulted in a traffic fine which we have decided to ignore). Read out the distance to the next major town / destination from road signs so GT can calculate our ETA and tweak his speed / our itinerary accordingly. Watch out for animals that might cross the road and scream if seen. Switch GT's spectacles and sunglasses in the first two days. Wake GT up (by shaking or screaming) if he dozes. Stay awake so that GT doesn't doze. Wind down and up GT's car window when needed. Feed GT when he is driving (No I don't mean feeding into his mouth. More of guiding his hand to the food or passing it to him. He calls that feeding too.). Open up GT's bottle when he needs a drink. The kitchen helper. The assistant bully.
15062013 (Sat)
Rushed over from the Mayday concert at Singapore Indoor Stadium (fact is I left early T_T) to the airport. Caught GT and SL just right at the check-in counter. That's when I was told that a kid whom we all knew was around with her family. Yup, stalking us if you want to put it that way. Ignored the fact that she kept looking at us. The more pressing issue was that we all couldn't do online check-in not due to a glitch in the SQ website, but that we all needed a visa to enter Aussie and none of us knew that. There really wasn't much time left and we had to go to another counter to apply and pay for it, which was essentially just a piece of paper. But at least there was still time for me to change after we cleared immigration.
Went on the upper deck of A380 for the first time, though it really didn't feel much different. GT sat at the emergency exit so we were separated from him. Stole glances at him once in a while just for fun. Entertained ourselves by playing games together and watching movies. There was quite a bit of turbulence on this flight but who cares, I still slept like a pig.
We were running pretty late when our luggage came out so late, and given our very tight schedule on Day 1, we really didn't have time to lose. GT told me to buy his Aussie SIM card while he checked out the rented car. Was totally not accustomed to the Aussie accent and I couldn't understand half the things the counter guy said oops. Later GT passed me his phone so as to let the guy set up the connection while he ran off to settle the car again. Thank goodness I know his passcode to unlock the screen.
When we were finally done with the phone, SL and I walked over to find GT, only to know that our rented car was not here yet. Waited for a while, but eventually decided to take another one as we were really behind time. So we took the Toyota RAV4 key and ran off (literally) to the carpark to hunt for the car. Had difficulty navigating as I was still uncertain of many things. Stupid things happened on the car while GT was trying to figure the new car out. We were in such a hurry he didn't adjust his seat or driving position before driving off. Nor did he know how to signal, and turned on the windscreen wiper instead. Didn't know where the headlights were either. It was really a huge mess and frantic in the car, especially when the navigator didn't know if we were headed in the right direction.
Reached Paddy's Market in one piece but we had to brisk walk all the way through. It wasn't easy when SL and I wanted to take photos but needed to keep up with GT in the crowd. And the place is huge, selling all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables, and even an area of seafood. Walked from one end to the other end and was fascinated by the sheer volume (of the things sold and things bought. People bought fruits by the cartons because they were cheap.) and area covered. Bought oranges (which I realised I never ate because I was always sleeping when GT and SL ate them), pears (which GT realised were hard like rocks when he cut one to eat one night and we brought them around till the very last day and left them at the apartment) and macadamia and cashew nuts (which stayed fresh for the next few days). Practically ran back to the car and swung by Krispy Kreme where we got a dozen donuts in a box and a couple of milkshakes that we realised were made of full cream milk.
Then we had to rush all the way to Blue Mountains. Drove so fast but there really wasn't much choice, since we wanted to catch the Diamond Cave tour at 3.45pm and we had to catch lunch before that too. Popped by the Three Sisters at Katoomba first, but was so cold as GT had to drop us before parking the car elsewhere and so we promptly forgot about our coats. Kinda galloped our way around as it was just too cold. Took photos really quickly and ran back (literally) to our car. Rushed down to Blackheath for fish and chips takeaway. GT and SL had to dig out our sauces from SL's luggage while I waited for the food to be done. Again, all done without our coats.
GT had to continue driving at full speed through winding roads so I had to cut up the fish for him and guide his hand to the tomato sauce for dips because the fussy boy still wanted his sauce despite the situation. Was much fun though we were in such a rush. The fish and chips were great as promised by GT, because the fish was fresh. Our box of Krispy Kreme ended up toppling over SL and the backseat floor through the swerving though. It was a huge mess which we all tried to ignore, since we were going to return the car the next day (thankfully).
Anyway, saw many many cows that were let out to graze on the grass meadows and hills. The view was absolutely fantastic though we didn't have any hands to take any photos as our hands were full with lunch. GT and I also spotted a wallaby (wild one) jumping up the cliff at the left side of the road. SL missed it as she was sitting at the back. The roads got narrower and narrower as we neared the Jenolan caves and you had to stay really focused on the roads or an accident could happen really easily.
We had to give Wentworth Falls a miss as we were short of time for the Jenolan cave tour. Thought that we might just pop by it after we were out from the cave tour even though it'll be dark by then, since we had torches with us. Was dropped off by GT really quickly as it was nearing 4 and he needed to park the car somewhere else again. So, we got off without coats. Again. Originally wanted to go for the Diamond Cave, but it was fully booked. Anyway the tour had already started. Then SL and I saw that there was a cello concert that time, which happens only once a month. Of course the guy was elated. The ticket included the concert in the Cathedral Chamber in the Lucas Cave, and a tour in the cave itself. So, why not, and we went. Enjoyed the concert, though I was so tired I did doze a couple of times. The performer actually has done his concert here for 16 years. Pretty amazing really. Then we headed into the caves with a guide, and it took us longer than expected, as there was much waiting time here and there, and the locals asked quite a few questions which the experienced guide was happy to answer in detail. It was a much more educational tour than the other cave tours I've been to though.
By the time we were out, it was all dark and extremely cold with winds. No coat, remember? All three of us were freezing as temperatures were likely about 5 deg. Took out my torch and shone the way and we ran (literally again) all the way to the carpark which was quite a distance away as it was just too cold to walk. But the stars were utterly fantastic as there were no lights around and no clouds. Used my HP app and spotted some planets and stars.
We were all happy to be in the warmth of the car, but we had no time to lose as we had a dinner reservation at Hurricane's Grill at 8.30pm. Driving out was pretty scary as it was totally dark. We were the only car around going down the mountain so you could see nothing in the rearview mirrors at all. Had to high beam all the way and keep really vigilant for any animals that might cross the road. Then we saw this really big fat furry ball lumbering itself across the road and GT had to brake suddenly. A wombat! We were so excited and GT promptly stopped by the roadside and armed with our torch we went down trying to find it but to no avail. GT was very excited too as it was his first time seeing a wild wombat. Goodness, I didn't even know it was a wombat I saw!
We continued driving in the dark at high speeds, overtaking cars as often as we can as we were horribly hungry and only had two donuts left. SL and I were admiring the stars meanwhile though, but poor GT could only focus on the roads. Though we were speeding all the way, just as our luck has it that GT spotted a police car in front of us, driving exactly at the speed limit. He had no choice but to drive behind it, as overtaking it essentially meant telling them that we're speeding. Luckily there was an accident on the opposite side of the road later and they made a u-turn to check things out. We could continue speeding after that, but GT was very paranoid about seeing police cars after that. And it wasn't easy to identify one in the utter darkness.
At some point in time, it became obvious that we would never reach in time to Sydney. Not for our dinner reservation, nor for our custard puffs at Chinatown. So we gave up speeding and it was time to reorganise our itinerary. We weren't worried as we were coming back to Sydney for the last two nights anyway. First, we went back to our accommodation at Chippendale to pick up the key. Then we drove to Hurricane's at the Bondi outlet to get our takeaway as we were bent on getting our ribs. GT locked the doors as it was a Saturday night just after a match at the stadium nearby and hoards of people were streaming out on the roads and it was unsafe according to him. There were even policemen giving directions for the pedestrians. Needless to say there was a jam too. Decided on what to get on the car and GT told us to get off and run across the road quickly to order while he would come join us asap after parking the car. Of course, with the hurry, no coat again. Thank goodness for the heater at Hurricane's Express. After making our order, we took our queue number and walked around the Bondi area. Crossed the road to get to Bondi Beach. All dark and very cold with the winds, but we could imagine how pretty it would be. Went back and picked up our dinner, which smelled superb.
Couldn't eat yet as we needed to do our grocery shopping in preparation for cooking in Hamilton Island for the next three days. Went to Westfields Eastgardens where Woolworths was open till late. From then on, we went grocery shopping every single day. As a result, we had milk, cereal, yoghurt and different desserts every single day. Had an endless supply of Red Rock Deli chips and Starburst too. Apparently the guy went late night grocery shopping as a student too to relieve stress.
Then it was finally back to our tiny apartment to eat. Just threw our luggage everywhere, carried a table in from the balcony, pulled chairs and sat down to eat. Most of our meals were eaten in silence as we were often just too hungry. But the ribs were really really good. Loaded the dishwasher for the first time too. The dishwasher proved to be such a great help over the next few days.
Was really tired and flopped around. Had to share the only toilet anyway so needed to roster the showering. Helped GT with the prepping of his sofa bed in the hall and waited for the bathroom. After bathing, GT was fast asleep cocooned in his blankets and SL and I tried to be quiet while packing everything into our luggage. Cos we're flying again the next day!
16062013 (Sun)
GT said we could squeeze in some time to pop by the Fish Market to get sashimi for breakfast. But he turned into the wrong road and went up the bridge instead. We had to give it a miss as we needed to catch a domestic flight to Hamilton Island. It's okay, since we were going to go there on our second last day anyway.
Returning the car took some time and we had to rush to the Jetstar express counter. Had a drinking parade quickly and ran through immigration. BUT I got stopped and was checked. Randomly. Argh I must have looked too anxious to go off. Then had to run all the way to the gate. Had to run every time I fly with GT. Dunno why. But as always, we made it.
Had the window seat in front of GT. He took SL's camera and took photos. I snapped away as well. It didn't take long before we saw Hamilton Island. Loved it when we saw the clear blue waters and skies. Realised the airstrip is really short and they had to do a u-turn to go back to where we actually landed first to let us down. Walked out (didn't need to clear immigration at all) and saw someone holding a placard with GT's name. Woahhh. He was the one at reception to help us with our accommodation stuff. Told us where to get our luggage and where to meet him later. Found the Cruise Whitsundays booth where we took some brochures and asked some questions. Then we realised we actually could stand really near to the airstrip and our luggage had to be taken ourselves! No luggage belt whatsoever. Just go there and take. Quite er, refreshing. lol.
We then went back to the reception guy, who gave us a map and told us everything we could do on the island with reference to the map. Listened along with GT as I had to navigate him. Thought it was easy enough since there weren't many roads anyway, but realised I was quite wrong as they didn't show the roads that led to private housings. Took more brochures, asked more questions, and realised we had to book our tours from the Tour Desk. Was led to our buggy, which will be our vehicle for the next three days. Had an old one as our original one was under repairs or something. Was told that we would get our actual one soon and GT will be called when it's ready, but we never got the call. All traffic rules hold for our buggy as with any other car in Aussie, including roadside parking, signalling and seat belts. It was quite an experience as there were no doors, no need to lock it and we just left it alone and trusted that no one would steal it. Our luggage was brought to the apartment by our porter, who arrived earlier than us though we departed earlier, as I didn't know which road we had to turn into till we hit a dead end. Oops.
We all thought it was going to be a house, but it turned out to be on the second floor. But oh who cares, it was so big and the view was cool! Complete with Wii and games and a telescope, we were all very pleased with the apartment. After enough phototaking, it was time to go off in our buggy to the Tour Desk to book the tours before it closed. We were spoiled for choice as there were so many. Took really long to decide. In fact, we booked one tour already, and later switched it for another when another lady served us. Took so many brochures back again.
Then we headed to the only row of shops on the island that was near the marina. Was fascinated by the number of seagulls and cockatoos around. The crows were really huge too. Went grocery shopping and got fresh vegetables. The choosing of the vegetables was left to GT. Also went to the fish and chips shop to grab our very late lunch, which became our staple for the next few days as it was the cheapest food around. But it didn't matter as the fish was always so fresh. While waiting for our food with the buzzer, we walked down the row of shops and looked at the real estate shop. Gosh, the houses there were so much bigger and cheaper.
Went back and had our lunch at about, what 5pm? After which we went out in our buggy again. Thought we had charged it enough, but apparently we didn't charge it properly and we were so scared we would get stranded in the dark night. Went exploring just a little and GT was just getting caught up with all the property. Went to the lookout point at One Tree Hill where it was supposedly the nicest to see the sunset from the island. Obviously it was all dark, but we could see the lights from the marina side and houses so it was pretty nice. Used my hp app again to look at the stars and planets. Then GT kept saying there was something watching us from the bushes, so we promptly left and returned to our apartment.
Fell asleep for really quite long at the sofa. Seemed to be the usual for me as I was always the last to bathe. Then we linked up with SL's data and so we all had the internet to use with our phones. But as with me, I had to have dinner no matter how late it was. I whined and it wasn't before long that we all got up and went into the kitchen. It was originally supposed to be cooked by SL and I only, but I guess GT couldn't take it standing there to watch. He came in and took charge of the kitchen. I guess I only helped to skin the carrots and wash up. In no time, we had a very messy kitchen and a meal of spaghetti with canned tuna, diced capsicum and sliced carrots. At about 11.30pm. It wasn't too bad, just that the sauce we bought was a tad too salty. I was pleasantly surprised at how perfectly boiled the carrots were. Not too hard and not too soft. I guess that's what a few years of living overseas does to you huh? The kitchen was so horrendously dirty I wiped up everything with wet wipes. Even the floor which had drips here and there.
17062013 (Mon)
We were out nice and early to catch the red sailboat out for snorkeling. It was an extremely relaxing time out at sea, as there were not many people on board and we just couldn't stop taking photos of the beautiful scenery out there. No matter which angle you took the photos, they all turned out good.
It was time to get ready for snorkeling soon after, and we were surveyed on our swimming skills, prior experience etc. Tried on flippers to see which size we were to take, and it turned out that I was the one with the smallest flippers on board. Even my stinger suit which is already XS was still loose on me. Was so sua ku that I even wore the stinger suit the wrong way round with the zip in front, until someone else on board me so. So embarrassing. GT nearly did the same thing until I stopped him.
Now, SL and I haven't swam in ages, so we both had to stick close to GT while snorkeling at Chalkies Beach. The directionless SL even requested to hold onto GT's float so that she won't swim off-course. The corals and fishes were fantastic in those clear waters, but both SL and I were having trouble breathing only through our mouth. In fact I drank quite a bit of seawater. Not as salty as what we have back here actually. Had to keep standing up (in swallow waters) or tread water (in deeper waters) to clear the goggles and snorkel tube of water, and of course, to breathe. Thankfully after some time I got the hang of it. Not that difficult really, just need some getting use to. So after I could snorkel for a longer time without standing/treading water, I ended up straying from the other two. In fact I did what the captain told us not to do: swim above the corals. We were told to go along the edge of the corals, but not above, as they were sharp and could cut easily. Even GT warned us about that. But before I knew it I was above and really really near the corals. They were less than a metre below me and I just had to continue swimming as I could not stand on top of the corals can I. While navigating myself with my arms, I brushed against some coral that looked like a bivalve, and oooh it felt jelly-like. Very cool. When I finally found a patch of empty ground among all that coral, I just had to take a break and find the other two. That was when I brushed my foot against the corals. I didn't feel any pain nor see any blood, so thought I didn't cut myself. Without my spectacles, it was difficult to see and thank goodness we have colourful floats with us, so I could finally locate them and swam towards them. Before long, GT swam away on his own, leaving the SL and I to swim slower.
Snorkeling was really a cool experience, though I was so cold right after getting out of water. Nearly forgot how that felt like already. We were the last few to get on board and wash up, and we were famished by then. Had a great lunch of self-made wrap with very fresh ingredients and fresh prawns. Perfect.
Then we stopped at Whitehaven Beach, one of the whitest beaches in the world. My gosh, words cannot describe how white the sand was and how clear the waters were. You just couldn't stop taking photos of the place. Hereby also starts GT's ecology lessons for the rest of the days on the sandy beach, rocky shore, and whatever habitats you have. Thanks to him, we spotted crabs, fishes etc, and with his itchy fingers, played with them too. Got a family to help us take a group photo and we became acquaintances from then. It was too hot to stay on the beach though, so we went into the forest along the trail to go up to the lookout point.
GT started walking first while SL and I trailed behind, as we were also interested in spotting flora and fauna around us. I think we ended up taking a different turn and so we couldn't find him anymore. Decided to just walk ourselves then. Met him coming down while we were going up. It was quite comical actually lol. It was a very enjoyable forest trail as it wasn't humid and temperature was just right. I was wearing my jacket and shorts and I was hardly sweating or sticky though we were going upslope. View from up there was very nice of course. Took many photos before going down hurriedly, as we had to catch the timing to return to the sailboat.
Made it down a little earlier than stipulated and found GT talking to the family we met earlier. Turned out that the family was from Gold Coast, which was our next destination after Hamilton. Had a hearty talk with them and of course how could GT miss the chance of showing off his fishing catches? It was a pity we didn't have a chance to take a photo with them, but we did have a nice time talking.
Upon return to the sailboat, we were all pretty thirsty. Now, we were asked for our names before going on board in the morning (one of the times I'm glad I've got an English name, you should have seen how difficult it was when it got to SL) cos they had drinks (eg coke, sprite etc) and you could always get drinks and charge it to your tab. We didn't drink anything yet as we knew it would cost quite a bit. But we couldn't resist the fruity cocktail that they concocted which was so refreshing.
We went for our daily grocery shopping and then to the usual fish and chips store to grab dinner. While waiting for the food to be done, we realised we forgot to get the batteries for the Wii controller. So SL and I walked back to the grocery store, much to the disagreement of GT, as he couldn't understand how we could just take a walk. To SL and I, that distance was really nothing. But I guess to GT who has been driving all the time, it was silly to walk. Anyway, so we left GT to wait for our food. We waited outside the store after we are done and quite a while later, GT came in the buggy, bursting with an interesting tale to tell and he couldn't stop laughing and grinning.
He couldn't even make it back to our apartment to say the story. We just stopped by the carpark at the marina barely 200m down. Or so it went, as we left our bags of groceries in the buggy, some cockatoos got to them and pecked at our cereal box. He only realised it when he came out with our dinner and saw some angmohs laughing and watching the show. At first he didn't even realise it was our stuff they were pecking on. But when he finally did, he just found the whole situation hilarious and utterly comical. Quickly chasing the birds away, he picked up the box, repacked the groceries and sped off to find us. SL and I definitely missed a good show but we all had a great laugh. After we got back to our apartment, we examined the cereal box in detail and realised that if GT was one minute late, we would have lost not only the box, but also the cereal.
Then we set off for One Tree Hill, the spot for seeing sunset. Turned out we were pretty early and so we just sat at the pavilion munching nuts we bought on the first day, which were still very fresh. Took quite a few photos when the sunset finally came. The other side of the island had a streak of pink sky which was just as pretty really. This guy who was sitting on a rock and staring into the scenery alone asked us to help take a photo and after that, we quickly took the chance to ask him to take photos for us too. It was just very difficult to take group photos actually.
Then we decided to take another route back to our apartment, and discovered a lake with ducks. Spotting any type of animal was just fascinating to us as they are all wildlife. Later we passed by this place where it was so noisy from cockatoos returning to their trees in the evening. It was quite cool as you could see the trees dotted with white birds and it was such a din. Best part was that we saw bats flying back inland later on, and we just stopped the buggy to look at all these, and wondered if we were the only people interested in such things.
Dinner was settled faster this time round, as we all knew the way round the kitchen much better and we knew what each of us could / could not do. In no time at all, we had spaghetti with sliced button mushrooms, broccoli, carrots and cocktail hotdogs.
Some time after dinner, GT tried to set up the telescope that we found in his room, and at that point I just wished El was around, cos it looked pretty much the same as what she has. But no matter how he tried he just couldn't get it to work. Gave up in the end.
I sprawled in my usual seat slacking away for the night. Then GT took out the Sara Lee rocky road ice cream which he claimed is really good (and he didn't lie), but it was really hard and he had trouble scooping the ice cream. I was too much of a lazy bum to get up to scoop ice cream for myself and wanted him to do it for me. I did get my ice cream in the end after much whining, but it came with a bent spoon as he bent all the spoons he used while scooping. The scene was just so hilarious really. But I was told to bend the spoon back myself later, which I totally failed in.
GT and SL wanted to wash some of their clothes after going to snorkel and all. Btw this GT irons his clothes everyday. Anyway, I wasn't going to wash my clothes with a foreign washing machine, since Mum doesn't even allow me to wash clothes in hall myself. I ended up handwashing my clothes. With much meddling, they finally got the washing machine to work.
Soon after, GT retreated to his room, while SL and I played Wii sports. There was only one controller, so we could only play single player sports. Halfway through, I started to do commentary for SL's games and it got really comical. The two of us laughed so hard while the guy just slept away, complete with lights and TV on and his specs still on him.
When SL took out the clothes to hang dry while I was bathing, she realised all the white-based clothes and towels had turned grey. It had to be one of GT's clothes that caused it as all of SL's stuff had been washed many times over. So I helped her with hanging, and also finding places to hang, when we realised there were not enough hangers in our room. So we tip-toed into his room to remove the hangers. As expected, he didn't even stir, even though SL dropped one of the hangers and created a tiny din in the room. It was quite funny how we were acting like thieves lol.
18062013 (Tue)
Went off to the marina to board the ferry to Airlie Beach which is on mainland. But as we waited ferry after ferry, it started to get strange that we never heard the announcement for ours. GT went to the counter and the person told us that our ferry has left and announcements had been made. Frankly, I don't think so, as all three of us didn't hear anything, and there was another group of people who missed the same ferry. Well we could only wait for the next ferry to come, which was still an hour plus later.
We were quite lost as to what to do, so we just drove our buggy and decided to go to the main beach of the island: Catseye Beach. It's amazing as the beaches we go to actually have different habitats and therefore different wildlife. Ecology comes alive here. We also asked about the kayaking which was free as long as we showed our room key. In fact you could use all the water equipment for free. Was contemplating doing a short kayaking next morning before we flew off since it's free anyway.
We then headed back to the marina where we made sure we boarded the ferry. Sat at the top deck where the sun shone down pretty mercilessly, but when we went out to sea, the winds were even stronger. Had to lend SL my jacket as she was facing the winds head-on sitting in the first row. Enjoyed the sea view as we went.
When we finally reached Airlie Beach, we realised we couldn't go down to the beach itself as it was a big marina and just a broadwalk with limited things to look at. We essentially walked to the end of the broadwalk, walked back, went to the toilet, popped by a breakfast eatery and then sat to wait for the ferry again. Pretty glad we missed the ferry in the morning actually, since this proved to be so boring.
Hopped on the ferry to Daydream Island. We were in dire need of food, and were kinda undecided as to which end of the island we should walk to. Just turned right and started walking. Saw a touch pool with huge stingrays, baby sharks, sea stars and all. SL and I were pretty tempted in the packages that they offered, where we could go into the pool itself to touch the animals, including the stingray which had its sting removed. But it was pretty obvious that GT wasn't all that keen. By the time we realised we walked to the wrong side, we had to backtrek all the way to the other end (i.e. it's far) to get lunch. But it was a pretty nice walk as it was a coastal broadwalk. Their waters are simply beautiful.
And lunch was simply sandwich. Had so much trouble with their bread name as they were all so long. Why don't you just call it bread?? And we couldn't see the display from the cashier, so I had to lean to read off the display name. I think I just looked pretty stupid then. And the cashier ran out of change, but we didn't have change either, so it was getting pretty messy in the shop, with only two people manning the place. Frankly, I couldn't care less at that point as I was just too hungry.
When we finally had our food, we went outside to sit down and literally, daydream. GT said he did the same when he was here the last time. We just looked out to the sea (or whatever was left for us to see after being blocked by a big screen), and looked at the bird which was strutting around us, and we stoned. It was a relaxing time when nothing was on my mind and I was simply stoning. It's been a long time since I could do that.
Then we started strolling back, where we spotted this huge chess board on the floor with huge chess pieces. GT suggested we play chess but we girls don't know how to. So GT and SL ended up playing checkers. It was an intense game as GT took it so seriously. Both of them were really contemplating their every move. And what did I do? Camwhore. With my camera, SL's camera and GT's phone. In the end, GT won.
And of course, how could we miss the beach? Went down and collected more corals. Then we realised it was time to head back as we had a long distance to cover, and we had a ferry to catch. Had to walk back really quickly as we couldn't afford to miss the ferry. But, on the way back, we spotted roos! They were pretty near us and I couldn't help but stop for a second to take photos. They were just standing and grazing on the grass. Roos are really cute creatures.
Uneventful trip back to Hamilton, as we girls were so tired we just slept, except that we spotted a 130+ yo ship cruising alongside us for a while. It was what, nearly 4, when we hit the shore again, and we decided to kayak till 5pm before it closed, so that we don't have a mad rush the next morning before our flight. SL didn't trust herself with directions in a kayak, so we took a double kayak while GT took a single one. I haven't kayaked in years, but I guess some stuff you just remember. Took the back seat where I had to back-paddle almost all the time to steer us in the correct direction. The water was really clear, though we couldn't spot much under the waters. The sea grasses were really obvious though. I back-paddled so hard that half of myself was wet with the water I splashed on my lower body. Of course, with my lack of exercise, my arms felt a little tired after a while. But we had to paddle back by 5pm anyhow. Were the last to get back to shore as we kayaked all the way to the border of the boundary.
Went back to our apartment with our wet butts and legs. At least changed our bottoms, put a towel on the buggy seat and we were off again to grab dinner. Yes, same fish and chips place. But this time round we got the half chicken to try. Before heading back to our apartment for our meal, we went to see the sunset again, but at a different place this time round. I was really cold in my T-shirt and shorts, and the worst part was that I left my phone and camera in the apartment as I thought we were really only going to go out to grab dinner. How wrong was I. In the end the two camwhored in that beautiful sunset with the silhouettes of the trees while I could only watch on in the cold.
After that, we went to see the cockatoos and bats for the last time. This time, GT tried to attract the birds to come to us by using the half chicken that we just bought. It didn't work of course, as the food was too far away, and we concluded that the birds just want to rest after a long day. I think we were still pretty fascinated by the bats and the rate at which we could hear bat pooping around us and on top of our buggy.
Then we headed back to cook our last dinner at Hamilton. As usual, I just did the skinning of the carrots. But I also cut the bread and spread tuna on them. In no time, we had our dinner, which was spaghetti with remaining broccoli and carrots, with half chicken and tuna toasted bread.
Spent the rest of the night packing up and in front of the TV. Just wanted to chill the day away after our pretty hectic days.
19062013 (Wed)
Morning was quite a mad rush for me to check out, as I was the last to wake up (as usual) there was so much to eat for breakfast and I had to gobble everything down, including the cold milk. Had to clear the entire apartment including all the food that we had left over. We ended up stealing the plastic container which was storing our cereal as we couldn't finish it and since the cockatoos attacked the pack, we had to pour everything into the container.
Finally, we could check out and drove ourselves back to where we first picked up our buggy. Was glad to hear that we could continue having our buggy before our flight, which was in the afternoon. We didn't really know where to go so we just drove our buggy to unknown places. Went to this end of the island where the go kart and rifle range were, but we weren't exactly interested in them as the rates were pretty high. The funny part was that we punctured our tyre somewhere and so we had to drive around with a flat tyre, as we couldn't be bothered to get another buggy at this point. Besides, we didn't know if they would charge us for the puncture. On the return trip back to the other end of the island, the ever observant GT spotted many dead flattened toads on the ground. He kept asking us to pick them up to keep, but of course SL and I refused to store a toad carcass in our bags.
Our next destination? What else but a beach? We accidentally discovered Coral Bay, and immediately went down to explore it. I wasn't exactly in the right attire as I was in jeans and shoes, ready for the flight, so I had to trot around more carefully. My jeans still got wet and I had to wipe my shoes on the plane later but the beach was too interesting for me to care. The best part had to be when I dropped my camera into the wet sand despite leaving my bag behind in the buggy. I was just telling SL about how I dropped my old camera into snow in Japan, and now this one dropped into sand. Had to remove grains of sand before it got stuck between the lenses. Thank goodness it was okay and functioning. The things I use seem to be pretty hardy, like me!
Anyway, Coral Bay was probably what you would call sandy shore and mudflats, and the most interesting organisms is probably this particular crab. GT signaled to us to walk over quietly. He was just squatting on the ground. We walked over as gently as we could and squatted beside him, while he just pointed at the sand and asked us to wait. Soon after, tens of crabs that were under the sand emerged and started scrambling across the sand. It was such a cute sight really. When someone walked by in a distance, all of them would bury themselves in the sand again instantly. Of course GT wouldn't miss the opportunity of grabbing the crab again. It was a really cute scene to see before we had to fly.
Had to chase GT to get off the beach as we had to catch our flight. We had no lunch, and no lunch on the Virgin flight either, so we popped by our usual fish and chips shop to grab chips. Poor SL had to dig out our matches and batteries from her luggage as they were not allowed on the flight. The airport is really small, with only three gates. You could see the airport from end to end in one glance. We had some time to eat at the small cafeteria within the airport. Soon after, we boarded and I felt really quite sad that we had to leave Hamilton.
Before long, we landed in Brisbane and realised we needed to lug our luggage across the road via the overhead bridge to where the rented cars are. We were in a rush as we needed to drive down to Gold Coast and find our accommodation for the next two nights, and many hotel receptions close at 5pm. Quickly went to pick up our car keys, and asked for directions to Gold Coast right after turning out of the airport. Frankly I was getting a little stressed over this navigating job as I'm not good at it. I get lost even in SG and my instincts don't work when it comes to the roads. True that I spent many hours over many days to check out every route we are going to take, changing and rechecking everything every time we made changes to the itinerary, printed all the maps out and packed them into clear folders according to days, I was still not confident of navigating either, and I didn't do a fantastic job on the first day either.
After listening to what the reception had to say, we went off to collect our Commodore. GT did tell us about the car we would drive when he booked them, but nothing quite compared to when we saw the real deal. All three of us were amazed when we saw the huge blue car. The boot was incredibly large, which could accommodate all our luggage comfortably and still had space for our handcarrys if we wanted. Upon getting into the car, we all started to fiddle around. Told GT repeatedly to adjust his seat and note all the essential controls such as signals, windscreen wipers, headlights etc, remembering the mess on the first day in the RAV4. But we were all so fascinated with everything in the car GT was meddling with everything and gave a little excited squeal each time he discovered something. The interior was so big that I could actually straighten my legs. Temperature on either side could be separately controlled, and loads of information on the touchscreen available, and we couldn't understand half of it. You had to see and feel the car to know how amazing it felt to be in it.
After all the meddling, it was about 4+pm and we had better set off. Gold Coast was about 100km away and we had to hunt for our accommodation. As with all the rest of the longer drives for the rest of the days, it was difficult to keep awake after a while. GT either asked for water or food (like his favourite Starburst), or I would try to nudge him awake. There were times when he really fell asleep behind the wheel and the car veered off course and we had to scream and whack him awake. And there were of course times when I fell asleep myself, and he would wake me up. He told us several times that the one in the front passenger seat must not fall asleep, or else he would also. And it did happen a few times.
When we finally reached Gold Coast, it was already all dark. GT just circled around the area and stopped anywhere where the sign in front of the motel / apartment read: vacancy. SL and I then hopped off the car to find the reception. We went down to find not less than 10 of such accommodations, but all of them were either closed, or we couldn't even find the reception. Now most of these places are home-owned, so I guess they really just stopped working by then. We were aiming for low-rise apartments, as those would definitely be cheaper, but since we were running out of choices, we had to go for the high-rise ones now.
Thankfully, reception was still open, and SL and I quickly asked if there was any room available for three. We thought it would be very expensive, but it turned out to be AUD $170 per night, which was even cheaper than the squeezy Sydney apartment we stayed in the first night. And this one had two bedrooms. Went back to tell GT and we decided to take the apartment. The three of us went in again and the kind lady told us that we could choose from two rooms. One from the 18th floor and the other on the 20/22nd (can't quite remember). Took both keys and we went up to look at both rooms.
We went on the 18th floor first, and seriously, we didn't expect to see what we saw. The apartment was huge, to say the least. And it was marine themed! The hall was so big it had three couches. Great for us since we could just take one each and lie down in whatever way we wanted. The best part had to be the view. We didn't realise we were so near the coast, so much so that we were right beside the beach. I don't know, we must be only like 200m away from the shoreline. The entire balcony faced the ocean upfront. It was simply magnificent for the price that we were paying and we couldn't stop squealing and exclaiming and gawking at the view right before us. Went up to the apartment on the higher floor but realised it was slightly smaller with some weird corners. So we decided to go for the 18th floor one, though the air-con in SL and my room was spoilt. Didn't matter really, it's so cold we didn't need one.
Went back to the lady at the reception to confirm our stay. She mentioned that there were many whales spotted yesterday as they were crossing to warmer waters and happen to be passing by Gold Coast now. Asked her for directions to Woolsworths and realised it was smack in town where we could grab dinner as well. We were absolutely famished by then. Our crazy idea was that we would takeout, so as to sit at the balcony (note: in the freezing winds since we're facing open waters) to look at that magnificent view, even though it's all dark and we can just see the white waves crashing onto the beach.
Found a parking lot by the roadside and walked to Woolsworths. It was cold as we were just by the coast. Not to mention we were all damn hungry. Did our routine daily grocery shopping and bought cheap leftover bread from a bakery. Bought fish and chips takeout (what's new), and couldn't help but eat some of the bread that we just bought, even though they were meant for breakfast.
When we were back, we promptly divided the dinner up, dragged chairs to the balcony in a row, and sat down in the cold for dinner. It was so cold our dinner instantly turned cold, but no regrets. It was such a crazy idea yet so nice. We decided to wake up early the next day to catch the sunrise, since we were facing the correct direction. That meant waking up at about 3am SG time. Oh well, anything for a great sunrise right?
20062013 (Thu)
It was difficult to wake up at 5am Aussie time, as it was just 3am SG time. But for a sunrise, anything goes. I barely had a few hours of sleep. Woke up to a black sky still, what more with many clouds. Kind of realised that we won't be able to see a proper sunrise, but still stayed awake nonetheless, trying to take photos in that darkness. Woke GT up as well, though he wasn't all that interested since he has seen so many sunrises and he also realised that there will be no proper sunrise, given the cloud cover. True enough, no proper round sun, but the skies were still beautiful. After the sky was fully lit, we went back to bed again for a couple of hours more sleep.
I was the last to wake up as usual, and we all went to the balcony to try spotting something in the ocean. Saw a very vague spray of water above the surface, reckoned it to be the blowhole of a whale. Er, I guess you could count that as whale watching? Couldn't stop oogling at how beautiful the scenery in front of us was. And also, parrots came to visit! It was those colourful rainbow ones. Frankly it was pretty fascinating to see different species of birds as we travelled down from Hamilton. The country is big enough and has enough nature to have different habitats to attract wild animals without having to go to some natural reserve to try to spot it in the distance. Ecology just kept coming to mind whenever I saw any interesting organism. GT tried to feed those parrots but they didn't want our cereal. We had no nuts to offer them, or else it would be quite a cute scene to see them eat right before us.
Then it was time to visit the Worlds! Drove out onto the main road and GT casually asked SL if she brought the tickets. That was when she exclaimed that she forgot to take them out of the luggage. Turned back (illegal u-turns, which was nothing new by the end of the trip) and it was quite difficult to make our way back, given the number of one-way streets and road works which cut off some roads. Made a big detour and made it back.
Then off we went to Paradise Country Aussie Farm, our first stop of the day. Overshot the entrance (my bad, sorry) and turned back to finally find the place. It was too new to be found in any map or GPS. Stepped in and we were greeted by many animals - sheep, llama, goats, etc. Realised that we could make it just about in time to watch all the shows we wanted to before heading over to Movie World which was just a little down the road. Joined in a tour group which was already there, and it got obvious really quickly that it was a tour group from SG. It was the Billy Tea show, nothing much really. Was more interested in the Stock Horse show that came after that, because we could touch the horse as it went by! Unlike usually when audience is seated some distance away, we could just stand by the fence and the horse came real close when it ran by. Horses are such handsome creatures.
We then proceeded to watch the whip cracking, boomberang throwing and sheepdog show. I think this was the first time on the trip that I felt like I was doing something really touristy. After that, we popped by the enclosures to see the roos, emus and of course the sleeping koalas. Never got to touch the koala, as it obviously cost money, but they looked so cute hugging the branch to sleep. We then went to the sheep shearing show, which was very entertaining really. So many different sheep, and a live sheep shearing. The sheep didn't even quite stir as it was being shaved. In fact it looked so at ease it was quite a funny sight. After that, we got to feel the wool that was left on stage, and could take photos with the different sheep while touching them! Very cute.
We then went off for SL and my gold mining, which was essentially paying for a bag of sand which had gemstones and minerals planted in them. So we went through the sieving to take out whatever we could find. Turned out that there were really quite a number of stones that looked really pretty! We then went over to GT's opal mining, where he was given a hammer and a pair of goggles, told to choose a number that was written on the wall, where one, or two or three pieces of opal will be hidden behind the sand. Obviously, planted as well. The guy took some time to choose his number, and the opal that he got really looked quite pretty too!
That ended our tour of Paradise Country Aussie Farm, and we proceeded to drive to Movie World. My first impression was that it was structured pretty much like our USS. Our first stop? Lunch takeout. Had a lamb flatbread and goodness, it was good. Of course it was expensive (like AUD $10), but it was huge with a generous serving of vegetables, so it was actually a pretty satisfying meal. It had to be a takeout as we were rushing for the Hollywood Stunt Driver show, which is good according to GT. The entire amphitheatre was packed with people and the show was really good and entertaining. We had good seats in the first few rows too. The next ride we went for was the Ice Age 4D ride. This was new to us as the one in USS is Shrek. Wasn't all that different though. After that we just went roaming around, entering shops that interest us like the Harry Potter shop.
The interesting thing was that we didn't go on ANY rollercoaster ride. None of us are fans of rollercoaster rides, so we went through the entire Movie World pretty fast, when people actually go there precisely for the rides. Fact is, we were actually rushing to go out of Movie World before the All Star Parade came on, as we all knew we would be stuck inside once it started, and it would last for pretty long. On hindsight, I think we spent only about two hours in Movie World.
Going back to the car, we realised that it was still pretty early, and GT suggested going to the factory outlets at Ashmore before heading to Harbourtown. Original plan was to visit the factory outlets the next day, but we all knew it would be a rush as we were leaving Gold Coast and driving to Port Macquarie. Problem was that I didn't have the maps to lead us to the factory outlets with me, as I only brought along maps relevant to that day's itinerary. What I did have with me everyday was the itinerary itself and the addresses and opening hours of all the places that we were going to visit. So at least we could input the address into the GPS and find our way there.
All went well and we reached the factory outlets after much uncertainty of whether we were on the right track. Had about an hour plus before they were due to close. Was actually pretty apprehensive about whether I was going to do any form of shopping here, since I never bought anything from OP, Roxy, Billabong or the likes of it before. But I was clearly mistaken. First shop and I bought 3 pairs of sandals as they were going at 3 for AUD $18. What a steal since I was in dire need of casual sandals. SL and I helped GT with his shopping in the first shop, thereafter we split up (as usual) to do our shopping. The area wasn't big, since it was just two rows of shophouses, so we reckoned we wouldn't lose each other along the way.
When time was almost up, SL and I went around looking for GT in every single shop, but couldn't spot him at all. Then I saw the condom shop that all three of us laughed over before we split up, and I joked that maybe he was in there. Eventually spotted him and left the place when everything was closing.
We then hurried down to Harbourtown. It was a Thursday, which was their late night shopping day in Aussie, but late night here refers to 7pm, as opposed to the usual 5 or 5.30pm. Harbourtown was a lot bigger than the factory outlets at Ashmore, with many more shops and variety. Also, even though SL and I were holding a map (okay maps don't do SL any good, but I was looking at the map), we were still not quite sure where we were walking. Frankly, there wasn't enough time to finish shopping, and we were already pretty quick and selective as to which shops to enter. We were pretty sad to see the shops close, knowing that we wouldn't have time to come back to shop again.
On our way back to our accommodation, GT saw a steakhouse on the opposite side of the road, and asked if we would like some steak for a change for dinner. We all didn't mind, and so he made a U-turn (one out of the million illegal ones he made throughout the trip), and we just parked and went in, not knowing what to expect really. We were all hungry and tired, and a good meal would indeed be appreciated.
What a sight greeted us when we were in there. A whole counter full of huge slabs of steak from different parts of the cow, fresh and ready for customers to pick and choose. GT ended up with a well done King Rump with mushroom sauce on his own, and SL and I shared a medium T-Bone with the same sauce. GT kept asking us if it would be enough but the steak was so big SL and I knew we wouldn't finish if we got our own, since it came along with sides as well. Apparently, Cav's Steakhouse has won several awards and if you looked around, it was the locals who were patronising the restaurant. So we reckoned it had to be pretty good.
And it was good. Fantastic. Best steak meal I had eaten in my life. And it wasn't only the steak that was good. The sides were great as well. The baked potato with real bacon bits (not the ones out of a bottle) made it really appetizing, and the very light salad without the usual heavy mayo or creamy sauce. Not to mention the least, the steak was really well-cooked and tender. The service was good too, with a waitress coming as and when to ask us if everything was okay.
I think the best part had to be when we went to foot the bill. It came up to AUD $64.40, which was a mere $20+ SGD per pax. I think we all know how expensive steaks can get back in town, so the meal coming up to such a cheap price came as a surprise to us. What a good way to end our last night in Gold Coast.
Went back to our accommodation and GT actually thought of going down to the beach to have a walk, as it was a pity to stay just by such a pretty beach but not walk on it. In the end we decided against it as it was just too cold. So we ended up packing. Was washing my stones all over again and airing them dry and sort of catergorised them before packing them. Squeezed our shopping and our stones into our luggage, as we were going to leave Gold Coast and head for Port Macquarie next.
21062013 (Fri)
Woke up last and ate breakfast at my usual half-asleep state. Again, GT was contemplating the idea of going down to the beach to have a walk before leaving. But as we were short of time, we didn't in the end. I think we might be the only people who went to Gold Coast but never visited the coast itself. Oops.
Checked out and we were off to Sea World. It was raining buckets and we reached slightly before opening time in fact. Stayed in the car for a while as we ate some yoghurt. But the rain wasn't dying down, and so we had to head out in the rain. We already knew it was going to rain, after watching the weather forecast back in Hamilton, and it had been raining for the past few days but they were mostly drizzles and we didn't use our umbrellas. So this marked the first day when we had to use ours, and since GT didn't bring his, he had to share with either SL or I for the next few days.
Saw a group of kids while queuing to enter and thought it was cool to have an excursion to an amusement park. Realised many of the rides were closed for the day due to the rain, so thank goodness we didn't go there for the rides, but rather, the animals. We wanted to see all the animals, and had to work around the timings of the animal shows as well. So that meant rushing around from enclosure to enclosure. All this in the rain.
We first headed to the Penguin Encounter. Oh I love penguins. They all looked so cute! An attendant was inside, spraying new ice for the penguins and they were just walking to and fro, to and fro. Even spotted one in a far corner that slipped on the ice and fell into the water again. So cute to see their white bellies from below the water surface too.
Next up was the Dinosaur Discovery Centre. This was one thing SL and I couldn't understand when we were researching on the Worlds prior to the trip. Why do you have something about dinosaurs in a place that is supposed to be for sea creatures?? GT couldn't understand it either, well but we still went walking through it. Nothing much in this one though. Wasn't that interested in it.
Then we rushed for the Fish Detectives Sea Lion Show, which was really quite entertaining. Have watched several animal shows in and out of SG, and somehow, people are still lured to watch them, don't you think?
We then headed to the Polar Bear Shores. It was fantastic as we got to see the bear lumbering along the shore, walking on a log, looking into the waters, before plunging in to play with a plastic container that was placed there by the attendants. It was just swimming past right before our eyes with its huge paws. And we saw on video a really small baby cub that was just born not long ago. Very cute.
Then we walked past the touch pool where we touched the sea stars etc. Didn't stay there for long as it was open air and yeah, we were still in the rain. Then we went to some fish aquarium where we stayed for pretty long. There were so many varieties of fishes, and all GT could think about was to go back to get his rod to fish. Many of the fishes just looked like food to us. Morbid us. As each fish swam past, GT would excitedly identify them. It was really quite amazing how he knows so many things.
Our last stop was the Imagine Dolphin Show right at the far end of Sea World.. Was slightly late for this one as we spent too much time at the aquarium. As always, dolphin shows are amazing and full of surprises. After it was over, it didn't make sense to walk all the way back, and so we took a monorail ride from the station nearby. Just before we left, we just had to take a touristy photo in front of the gate, along with the logo of Sea World. Yes, still in the rain, complete with the umbrella.
I think what made Sea World a lot better than what we see in the zoo back in town is that they always had an area which showed the underwater view, and another which showed the aerial view, so you could see both their activities on land and in water. And their animals were always moving, unlike ours which were almost always motionless. And I think thankfully due to the rain, there was less crowd and we could actually stick ourselves close to the glass walls to observe the animals (or just stand over the kids), instead of trying to spot something over a human wall.
A little tweak to our itinerary again, which was to drop by the factory outlets again to do more shopping. I originally thought I wouldn't buy anymore, but of course, who could resist shopping. But we couldn't stay for long there, as we had our longest drive before us, from Gold Coast to Port Macquarie, which is a distance of about 500km. Even though we had already booked our accommodation at Port Macquarie, we still had to reach there at a decent timing.
At least in the day, SL and I could entertain ourselves with taking photographs of the scenery outside, with cows (what's new now) and stuff, though it was difficult to take the photos as we were literally speeding. Poor GT could only concentrate on the roads. Halfway through we all heard a loud noise. Only GT knew where it came from. It was a crack on the windscreen. A stone of sorts must have fallen onto the windscreen and cracked it. Didn't expect it to be that loud though. At least it was just a surface crack.
At 4+pm, we couldn't take it anymore and turned to Hungry Jacks for lunch. According to GT, it's pretty good for a fast food joint. And how right was he. Angus beef burger okay. And it's big. Huge patty. We intended to eat it on the go, but when we opened the box and realised how big it was, it became quite apparent that it would be impossible for GT to eat it while he drove. So we ended up eating in the car before driving off.
Think I probably dozed later on in the car. Didn't help that Aussie's nightfall is really quick, at about 5+? But the moon was really bright as it was nearing the lunar 15th. When we finally reached our accommodation at Port Macquarie in one piece (which wasn't easy given how dark the road is and it was just a one storey building by the side of the road), we were tired and famished. Had our own parking lot in front of our room, and asked the reception for recommendations for dinner and direction to a supermarket, which happened to be Coles this time round. The dinner + supermarket bit had become routine questioning already.
We were recommended this restaurant called Scampis, which supposedly had good seafood. Wanted to have dinner there, but it was packed. Waited for a while for a table and looked at the menu, and realised that takeouts were significantly cheaper. We quickly switched to ordering for our takeouts instead. Didn't need to pay that extra though the ambiance of the place was pretty good. We were too hungry and tired to bother really.
At Coles was when SL and I discovered one of the best things ever: instant soup in a microwavable container. So all you had to do was to remove the seal on top, cap the plastic cap back on, and leave it in the microwave. We decided to buy one each to try, since we had a microwave back in our room. It turned out to be fantastic. Lovely addition to our great seafood dinner of seafood platter with chips and cheesy oysters. The oysters were fresh and didn't even need any lemon on top. We've been eating nothing but seafood so far and none of the meals had failed us in terms of taste and freshness. I was really impressed.
22062013 (Sat)
We were due to reach Port Stephens by today and we didn't book any accommodation there. This was more tricky than the Gold Coast one as Port Stephens is a much smaller and more rural area than Gold Coast. So we could really end up sleeping in the car if all else fails (though we joked about it several times before the trip).
After we checked out, we popped by Town Beach first, which was a lovely sunny beach which you could easily take great panorama shots of. Didn't quite manage to comb the beach as much as we wanted, just took many photos of the place with the great sunshine, as we needed time to travel down to Dunbogan to rent a boat out to fish.
At least, that was the plan. Somehow, I don't know what happened, but GT was very quiet the entire morning, and I was wondering what the matter was. He went around the little roads without asking for directions whatsoever, hitting dead ends half the time and just turning back in silence. I wasn't sure what he was up to, but didn't dare ask either.
We knew he was trying to find the chocolate factory which sold the fudge he remembered, but we were also going along random roads and looking at weekend flea markets...? I mean random isn't new to us, but everything in silence just made things very strange. Chose a soft toy for Jack, tried to make things a little less awkward, but it just seemed like GT preferred to keep to himself that day.
In the end we did get to the chocolate factory. Fudge was expensive there, and I ended up just getting underweight fudge bars, as the proper ones were really too expensive to me. But the fudge there was really good as we got some flavours to try at the cashier. When we stepped out, saw a little lamb at the meadow behind a fence just beside. It was oh so cute we all wanted to take a photo with it. But I realised my camera wasn't in my bag, or hanging by the carabena outside it, as it always would be. A small panic on my part there, which resulted in me not having any photo taken of or with the lamb, while the other two did. Eventually realised I left the camera in the car. How stupid.
We eventually hit the major highway, still in silence, but I wasn't looking at the map. Fatal fatal mistake. Somehow I stupidly thought he was going to navigate us? On hindsight it was such a stupid thought as I was the only one who looked at the route. In the end, I missed the exit entirely, until we were really quite a distance off. I was panicking, really, and I wasn't quite prepared to just forgo the plan to fish. But GT was as cool as a cucumber, still using his tweezers as usual, though in silence still. When he showed no signs of turning back, I got even more panicky as he didn't tell me what he was thinking, or what he planned to do then. In the end, I could sense his frustration when he told me to look for another river of sorts down south so we could just fish at another spot.
Sounds simple enough? You're dead wrong. We didn't have a map that was zoomed in enough for me to check any of the rivers we were passing by, and we obviously wouldn't be able to tell if there were any boats for rental. Along the way we drove to so many dead ends, were turned back numerous times either because there were no boats for hire or all the boats were already hired. I don't know, but my mood just plunged further and further with each rejection. I apologized to the group for the mistake as I felt truly bad for it, and both didn't respond because there wasn't anything they could say anyway. Throughout the way when we were hunting for a boat rental, I just couldn't stop myself from tearing. I just felt so bad for letting the group down. I mean I already know I'm not the best at navigation, but to miss an expressway exit that badly was pretty much unforgivable to myself. Yet I didn't want anyone to know I was crying, so I tried as best to keep the tears within my eye sockets. But after many failed attempts there were just too many tears for my eyes to contain, but I still tried to wipe them away inconspicuously. Frankly, I don't know even till now, if GT noticed me crying. I wouldn't be surprised either way, and I don't think I would want to clarify that now. Anyhow, I'm glad that he didn't expose me then, or else I might have just cried more.
Finally finally, we found a tackle shop at Forster that had boats for hire. Another species of bird spotted: pelicans. GT deliberately stopped the car so we could take photos. I don't think I ever saw pelicans so upclose before. The rental fees were definitely pricer, and there was no tackle for hire. But I was just glad we didn't have to chuck the plan. We ended up buying frozen prawns for bait, and a reel of line, so I could still do some 手钓, or hand-line fishing, while GT could just use his foldable rod he brought.
But before we could do any fishing, GT needed to be taught how to power the boat and steer. Had to trust him with that huh lol. But he can read maps very well even in waters so we could trust him not to go into areas we were told not to. It wasn't all that difficult to steer, but what's tough was that the waters was very shallow and we needed to get to deeper waters without hitting the riverbed. But because GT was at the back steering, he couldn't see where we were heading and so SL and I had to help him watch out. Nonetheless we still hit the riverbed and got stuck. So SL and I had to take the oars and literally push ourselves out.
Saw many oyster farms around, and the sun was out nicely, so the scenery out at sea (er, river) was very pretty. We were trying to get ourselves near a oyster farm to anchor there as the anchor was so light even I could lift it easily (frankly everyone was shocked I could lift and drop the anchor). Just then we spotted something leap out slightly above the water surface just maybe 50m away from us. It was a wild dolphin!! Never quite expected to see one as this was just a shallow river, but it was pretty apparently hunting for fish as it kept leaping out of the water surface. We were so thrilled to see a wild dolphin!
When we finally anchored ourselves by tying our boat to a wooden pole near a house (the anchor was useless as it was too light and the currents were too strong). Due to the currents, it wasn't ideal for fishing but we were still hopeful for fish. GT felt nibbles at his bait, so he was certain there were fishes around. I was new at hand-line fishing so was clumsy with the line, which eventually got so tangled I had to cut quite a bit off. When I finally settled to fish, it was more difficult than with the rod as I had to feel for nibbles yet yank at the correct time so that the fish won't escape. With the rod, it is easier to reel quickly. When I finally felt nibbles, GT had already caught a fish! Best part was that the rod snapped the moment the fish was hooked. So he had to hold the broken rod while reeling in the fish real quick. It was a really funny sight which all of us laughed at. It was a pretty big sea bream! No wonder the rod snapped as GT wasn't expecting fish of that size, and that rod was a very old one already.
Threw the fish into the pail as usual, and I was pretty determined to catch one myself. GT continued getting fish on his broken rod, but they were small so he would just reel it up and unhook to release them. He just kept getting the fish almost non-stop and he couldn't stop grinning. I kept feeling nibbles but couldn't get the fish to hook. And when I finally did, the feeling was exhilarating. We released it in the end as it was too small. Couldn't get any fish to hook again, so I went on to teach SL how to do it. There wasn't much time left and she didn't manage to get any fish before we had to go. GT told me to hide the fish in his backpack in case we were not allowed to take any fish away with us. It was meant for our supper! Quite comical really.
Really glad that the fishing cracked us up and we still enjoyed ourselves despite my huge blunder. Now that we were running behind schedule, we had to rush down to Port Stephens to find a place to stay, before settling our hungry stomachs. We almost literally just found any apartment and settled for it, as long as it could house three people, as it was cold and raining and we just wanted to eat.
Luck had it that this was our only accommodation with no kitchen facilities at all. The only thing we had, thankfully, was a microwave. And we had to clean, degut and cook a fish in those circumstance. We even had to ask reception for plates, forks and spoons. The only thing GT could do was to degut the fish in the sink in the toilet, i.e. the same one we were going to use for brushing our teeth and washing our faces. When he asked me to step in to help wash the fish and remove the fins, it was almost like a murder scene. The fish head was in the toilet bowl (looked like attempted effort to destroy evidence), blood and fish scales were on the sink top and some landed on the floor, the sink was choked with remnants of guts (which was disposed of in the same manner as the head), and of course the whole toilet stank. While we were in the toilet, SL was researching on how to cook a fish with a microwave. We had some condiments which we brought from home, though not many, so we were left with few options. No ginger, no soy sauce, we had to find some way to remove the fishy smell. Well, we had pepper and salt from Macs breakfast (shhh), but we decided against salt as the fish would have its natural saltiness already. In the end we thought we should research somemore while we went to eat. Kept the fish in the fridge for the moment.
It was still raining by the time we reached the place which reception told us we could grab a bite. Not many choices left as it was late already (by Aussie standards). Went to a pizza shop which claimed that it still made and cooked pizzas the traditional way, saw how huge the pizza could be, and decided to share. Had garlic turkish bread and a seafood pizza. Decided to try the seafood pizza as we were near the coast, so seafood should be pretty fresh. Gobbled up the bread in no time as it was delicious. And you know how usual seafood pizzas have their seafood dry and hard due to the baking? I don't know how they do it, but the one we had had succulent pieces of seafood. Yes I used the word succulent. So it was beyond fantastic, especially for our hungry souls.
After a standard grocery shopping trip, we headed back to cook our fish for supper. SL put pepper over the insides of the stomach of the fish, and placed it in a microwavable bag that we just bought before chucking it in the microwave. The bag swelled and we were kinda worried that it would burst inside and we would have a whole lot of cleanup to do. But our worries were unfounded as we had fish with nice sweet tender meat for supper later. What an adventure.
23062013 (Sun)
Woke up pretty early as we had a packed itinerary and had to rush down from place to place. And we had to get something new for breakfast. Went down to Red Neds pies in the rain. According to GT, it has the best pies he's ever eaten, with so many different flavours we'd be spoilt for choice, including the lobster pie. But they don't have all flavours everyday, and some might just be sold out, so it's really by chance.
We spent some time in the shop as there was really a whole array of pies to choose from, though there was no lobster pie that day. We all got different pies to try, for both breakfast and tea (or maybe lunch??), and GT was right about the pies being good. Had the prawn and scallop pie and my gosh, again, succulent whole prawns and whole scallops. How to keep seafood succulent in a pie?? No idea.
We navigated to the gathering point for the quad bikes but we were early and the gates were still padlocked. So since we already knew how to get there, GT thought it might be a good idea to drop by Medowie Macadamias (though still early and not open yet as well), just to navigate and look around so we could save time later. It wasn't too far away anyway.
As Medowie Macadamias is family-owned, they have their own trees and factory and they live there actually. Before we even got off the car, we saw a dog in a distance barking away fiercely at us. When we got off the car, it started coming towards us and another dog appeared behind it. GT hurriedly told us to get back to the car. The dogs held their ground and kept barking. Soon after, the owner came out and he calmed them down after knowing our intention. In fact, GT and I squatted down to pat the dog and it got so friendly it leapt up to me and licked me on my face. GT and SL just laughed at me while I squealed. The dog then lay on its back and GT gave it a nice belly rub.
Enough of the doggies, so we finally went into the shop together with the owner to buy macadamia nuts. It wasn't due to open yet, but the owner kindly opened the shop early for us. So we didn't have to come here again after quad biking. There were so many different types of macadamia nuts we almost took all the flavours I think. GT asked the owner about a dog he saw when he came a few years back when he was still studying, but turned out that it had passed away already. After a nice and friendly chat with the owner, we realised we had to go for our quad bike as it was running a little late.
Best thing was that we went back to the quad biking gathering point and realised the gate was still locked. GT asked if we did get the right place and SL and I were certain. So GT rang up the person-in-charge and they said they could find his name in the system but there was no one who booked a tour at that time. Great. Both SL and I did the booking together and none of us realised that there was no date no timing?? My gosh. Thankfully the people were really kind and told us to wait for a while so that they can set up the place for us and get a guide to get us there. So we went driving around for a while to get our bearings of the area so that we won't get lost later.
Frankly, I didn't expect what was going to happen later. I went on an ATV back in Korea last time, and didn't think this would be much different from that. But we were told to get our helmet (they had different sizes), cap, raincoat and to hop on the back of a van. So, er where were we going? Wasn't quite sure really, and we saw a trail of quad bikes behind the van. It was quite a long journey and we were seriously wondering where we were going. Turned out that there's this huge area near the beach where it's all sand dunes and minimal grasses and oases where we were going to do our quad biking. Had our safety briefing and all, took photos and off we went. Needed to go in a straight line, with one guide in front and another behind. I ended up first, followed by SL, then GT. The wind just got to me and I drove so fast, pressing the accelerator with my thumb so much and almost never releasing it. It was such a carefree feeling, I guess I can understand why people like to speed on motorcycles. Was told to stop a little while later, and the guide told SL and GT to switch places, as SL was driving too slowly. I guess it's because she's the only non-driver and wasn't used to it. Would have loved to take photos of the view along the way, especially as we were the first group around, the sand and all was untouched (no tracks!!) and no one would photobomb us. The view of the ocean and sand dunes was fantastic really.
Just when we were all enjoying ourselves and I was still going at a crazily high speed (while feeling unstable really), I literally felt myself lift off the bike and flew off it. I couldn't really tell what I was seeing, I just knew I was in air and the next moment I hit the ground on my left side and on the head too. There wasn't much pain, just a lot of impact. I couldn't quite check for wounds with all that clothing on me, but I was pretty sure there wouldn't be any blood as the sand was very fine. Was very thankful that I made sure my helmet was tight enough before setting off and that the bike didn't flip to land on me or anything like that. Of course my left side felt a little sore, but that was it. It wasn't till the next day before my entire neck felt so sore, and it was only then that I realised my neck took much impact, so luckily I didn't break it or anything. Naturally everyone stopped, and I think GT was in shock and he was the only one who saw the entire accident, as SL was too far back. He probably didn't dare move me or help me up in case I had any fractures of sorts, and neither did the guide. I just got up myself and the guide asked jokingly if I was going to fly above the hill which was why I fell off. After establishing that I felt okay, we continued the journey to the shipwreck by the beach.
By the time we reached the shipwreck, my thumb was so bloody aching already. I had problems pressing down the accelerator actually. Was glad that we had that break in between so that I could rest my thumb, to listen to the story behind the shipwreck. It was quite a pretty shipwreck I must say, which got ashore due to bad weather at sea long ago. The wind was really strong, and we took lots of photos.
Then it was time to head back. The thought of having to press on the accelerator continuously was bugging me actually. One hour of pressing on the accelerator is no joke. This time round, we went on a different route back. Much more maneuvering to do, which meant flexible control on the accelerator was important. Couldn't do it properly and I could feel like I was holding back GT and SL. I think I just wanted to make it back in one piece then. Ended up using the muscle below the thumb to do the job, as I realised if I tried to press my right thumb manually using my left hand, my steering went haywire. I just had to have both hands on both handles.
We eventually did reach back in one piece, and we concluded that it was really a lot of fun. Money well-spent. While going back we realised more people who were coming, and were relieved that we did our round before the rest. To have all the sand dunes to ourselves was a great feeling. On the van on the way back, I started to examine my body in greater detail, to see if I sprained anything slightly. I knew there had to be no serious sprain or twist or else I would be in pain then. Just felt that my left wrist was in a slightly strange position when I twisted it around myself, but all was good. Frankly, I'm still pretty amused at myself. Obviously mum mustn't know any of this.
While returning the gear, the guide noticed a snake near the grasses and we gathered around to look at it. It was a red-bellied snake and it was out of hibernation to warm its body. Think it's the first time I've seen a wild snake up close.
Was really hungry by then, and we gobbled up our remaining pies. This time I had a chicken and avocado pie. Best part was that even though it had been left the whole morning, the pie wasn't even the slightest soggy, even though the inside was all creamy. Still have no idea how they make their pies so well.
Had to rush down to Hunter Valley so that we could try enough wines to choose to buy. Was contemplating the possibility of going back to Blue Mountains to look at Wentworth Falls, but after looking at our map and calculating the distance, we knew there was no chance. We had to come out of Hunter Valley before sundown or it might be quite dangerous. Besides, we had to travel down to Sydney that night. Time wasn't on our side with our packed itinerary.
Hunter Valley was a totally different world, with many vineyards on either side of us, we were spoilt for choice. GT wanted to find one particular vineyard, but just couldn't remember the name as it was a few years back when he visited it. But he couldn't forget the taste of the wine. We just went into any vineyard that caught our eye.
As this was an area with more grasses than trees, we could see roos almost everywhere. It's very interesting to see them roaming around freely, and to see road signs around indicating presence of them and to be careful if they cross the roads.
Now, SL and I were careful with how we were drinking, taking little sips and flushing the alcohol down with lots of water. I knew my limits and I know overdrinking will lead to effects I don't think they want to see. Especially when we were drinking on empty stomachs without food. We weren't drinking a lot in each vineyard but we had so many wines to try we had to be careful. But GT was downing alcohol in gulps and hardly drank enough water. Both SL and I were chiding him for it, as he needed to stay sober to drive! Not long after, GT admitted that he was seeing double and told us to watch his speed when he was going to drive. His speech started changing and he couldn't walk very straight anymore. It got so bad I was screaming almost all the time in the car as I was the one steering more than he was, as he was more interested in what he was seeing in the grasses beside the roads. I even had to tell him verbally to step on his brakes when he just kept accelerating (while not looking at the roads). Frankly, I wasn't truly afraid that we were going to crash because I knew we won't. It was half amusing seeing GT like that really, but screaming is my second nature, so I couldn't quite help it.
In the end, we couldn't take it and went to grab ice-cream, not because we actually wanted to eat ice-cream, but we just needed something in our stomachs other than wine, so that we can down more wine. GT hadn't found his wine yet, and so we knew we had more wine tasting to go. And if we didn't intervene, I might really have to end up behind the wheel. GT started seeing dark clouds forming, and said that if they were hail clouds, we would have to leave the area as soon as possible or we'll be trapped. But they turned out to be normal rain clouds, though they really looked menacing. Ironically enough, we didn't experience hail in Aussie, but we had hail back in SG. In the end, we finally found the correct vineyard, GT had his little talk with the owner's daughter about his visit the last time, and he got his wine.
So that meant it was time to head down to Sydney. It was evening and we better get going. By then GT was more sober already. In a few hours we hit Sydney, and it was raining. GT knew we wanted to take photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, as normal first time tourists to Sydney, so he swung by and stopped by the roadside for us to take photos, as we just could not take any good ones in the car in that darkness in the rain. SL and I hopped out of the car and ran in the rain to take some shots, as GT was stopping illegally.
Trust me, we were famished already, and so we rushed to our accommodation, which was where GT stayed in last time, and thankfully he can navigate Sydney himself, so my job was done and we could get from place to place relatively fast. Checked in, just chucked our luggage in the living room and immediately headed out again for dinner. GT suggested going to a Chinese restaurant where he used to eat very often as a student. That would become our first and only meal with rice in this trip. Of course, many things were different from what he remembered them as already, but some things remained. We were the last customers in the shop, since it was already 9+pm by that time. Gobbled up the food which was really pretty good.
We then headed back to our accommodation, satisfied but tired. Finally had time to look at the apartment proper. Stayed on the top floors, so the view was great. There were designer stuff everywhere actually, and GT was taking photos earnestly, probably ideas for his new place. The only downside of the apartment probably is the inconvenient parking. We had to find roadside parking somehow and it wasn't always easy. We had to park a few streets down at times and given the rain, it could get inconvenient.
24062013 (Mon)
Had about a 3h nap before I was due to wake up as we were going to Sydney Fish Market for the tour where we had to reach at about 6.30am Aussie time, which is 4.30am SG time. Wanted to die really. Think I was zombified. Plus it was super cold out there early in the morning.
Was a pity we couldn't take photos on the auction floor, but it was quite an eye-opener for me. The amount of seafood that was being auctioned off, and how the auction was being carried out, with those clock dials which I guess I will never understand even though the guide tried her best to explain them. Could go down and walk through all the rows of seafood to look at them. Of course GT looked like he was where he belonged, identifying fish after fish.
Best part about going to the Fish Market had to be the sashimi breakfast we had. Bought really quite a bit at prices that are considered cheap. I now understood why GT raved about the sashimi over there. Because it was so fresh. Among what we had, we ate oysters and sea urchin. Now I didn't have many chances of eating raw oysters back in SG, but whenever I did, I couldn't eat many either as it tasted pretty fishy. But eating at the Fish Market made me realise what freshness meant. I could eat those oysters non-stop, without squeezing any lemon on them. The sea urchin was fantastic too. Slurped everything up and savoured the taste. Yums.
We then contemplated walking to Star City Casino, but it was just too cold, so we walked back to the car at the carpark instead. As we woke up so early, we were all tired and it felt good to just nap in the car for a while before we set off, since our schedule today wasn't quite planned or packed. Stupid GT startled us awake with a loud shout. Both SL and I jumped from our sleep. Time to set off, and I think it was a day where we walked quite a bit as we had to park pretty far off each time we stopped. Parking in Sydney is more or less daylight robbery.
Was stopped to check our IDs at the casino. It was pretty empty, I guess due to the timing we were there. GT taught us how to play with the slot machine and how it worked. So he ended up spending some money there. We all weren't fans of gambling anyway, so it was more of a visit to walk around. We then went off to Chinatown, where we bought food (finally) to bring back to SG (usual stuff like nougats). Queued up for custard puffs while GT went back to the car with all our shopping. It's the famous tiny puffs which people rave about. And we enjoyed it. Like what GT said, you can't stop eating after popping one.
Then it was time to visit beaches again. GT gave us a choice of Bondi Beach or La Perouse. La Perouse is a beach which is much less well-known (probably only locals know it) and is a place he visited pretty often when he was studying there. We chose the latter as we preferred a quieter option than tourist-packed Bondi, though we know Bondi's view is fantastic too. Can tell that GT was happy with our option as he is really not interested in Bondi as it is too commercialised for him.
Turned out to be a good choice. It was really damn nice and serene. Serene is the word I tell you. It was so quiet and out-of-town, it would be a great place to sit and chill and, stone? Just to look out into the waters. It actually calms you down and lifts your spirits. Walked across the bridge and went under it to spot organisms like sea snails, rock oysters etc. Of course it was low tide again. Sadly we didn't have any sharp object with us, or we could just pry off the rock oysters and eat them straight away - fresher than what we had in the morning! Had fun with a flock of geese we saw at the bank too. Then we went to another bay nearby, which GT doesn't even know the name of. Totally different feel, where you see people fishing on the rock bank and others surfing on the strong waves. We were jumping around as the waves came crashing in, and we were a little afraid that we would be trapped. This was where we picked up sea urchins too.
Then we went back to our apartment to rest for a while. Looked out for the view, spotted GT's uni as well. We then washed the sea urchins, which proved to be tough, smelly and totally messy. Had to dig and wash out everything inside them, obviously that meant the innards, and had to pluck off all its spikes and brushed them nicely. It just choked up the entire sink badly. Halfway through, we spotted a rainbow so SL and I went to take photos of it.
It was time to head out again in the late afternoon as we were going to visit Madame Tussauds in Darling Harbour. It was raining pretty badly then, but we still had to park quite far away as parking which is nearby is just too damn expensive. Had fun posing with all the statues. We spent quite a bit of time there goofing around, and we had to read the descriptions of many of them as they were people who were well-known in Aussie, but not quite to us.
Then it was time for our last dinner at Aussie. Hurricane's was our first meal here, and ended off with it as well. This was the third reservation we had made, and we finally made it to the restaurant. First time we booked was back in SG under GT's name, but we realised timing had to be pushed back as we worked out our itinerary. But it wasn't possible to amend the reservation unless we called. So we decided to ignore that reservation and made a second booking under SL's name. But we missed that reservation as we came down from Blue Mountains too late and just couldn't make it in time to Sydney on Day 1. So in Hamilton Island when we got our internet connections, we made a third reservation under my name. We chose to book under different names, afraid that the one(s) before us will be blacklisted for not turning up. We finally made it to the restaurant this time round. Wore our bibs and started eating. In the end we concluded that ribs is still the best thing to order at Hurricane's.
We then headed back to our apartment in the rain, and had to do our packing. It was really very late by the time I packed, and I still had to eat up the Magnum Pink champagne ice-cream and yoghurt we bought even though it was near 2am Aussie time. But I have to say the Magnum Pink was superb. The "fine taste" GT was talking about, we know now. I felt like I was going drunk on Magnum. Of course GT and SL were already asleep. And I still had my packing to do. Felt quite bad for SL as I woke her up in the midst of my packing due to the plastic bags and she just sat up to sleep while hugging her pillow and supporting her head with it. So that was what she meant when she said she could sleep sitting up. Had barely a few hours of nap again before I had to wake up.
25062013 (Tue)
Still raining as we struggled to check out and get our huge-ass heavy luggage to the car. Drove through Centennial Park but didn't get down the car. I now know what it meant to be a big park. With so many exits and roads that actually go through the park, we got a little lost inside there. Pity that it rained, would have been nice to go down for a walk, though we still saw locals who visited the park, even with their baby prams. What a different culture.
We then headed to Westfield in Bondi Junction for some last minute shopping at Coles and to get LJ's wine. Also went looking in a pet shop to find something for Jack but didn't manage to see anything. Packed again to accommodate the extra shopping, and it was time to head home. Though frankly, I really didn't want to. It had to be one of the times when I didn't want to go back to SG the most.
One thing I realised is that our meals are pretty standard throughout all the days. We would have our breakfast which consists of milk and cereal which we bought the day before. Lunch was usually just on-the-way-by-the-way-if-we-have-time kind of thing. Because we were either usually in the middle of a long drive, or in between whatever programme we had planned. So it would either be a very late lunch (at 4pm or so), or we forgo it altogether. More often than not it would be just fast food. Dinner was usually the better meal, either at a restaurant, or takeouts from a fish and chips store. Even though we had fish and chips almost every day, it was all good because the fish and seafood were all very fresh. Nothing like the dry and frozen fillet we have back here.
The other thing about Aussie that intrigued me was how close to nature they were. By virtue of how big the country is, we spotted so many different species of birds as we drove south along the east coast, not to mention the bats, roos, wallabies, and the dear wombat and dolphin! And they are wild and very much fascinating to us, who only get to see crows and pigeons back at home.
Another interesting thing to note is that I think I took naps in every accommodation which had a hall with sofa, except the one in Sydney on the first day. In those apartments, there would be two bathrooms, and whenever both GT and SL go bathe, I would end up dozing off while waiting for the bathroom. And I can really doze for quite long. It was very difficult for me to keep awake throughout the long drives, as I am accustomed to sleeping through the long drives since young. Usually the last to sleep, I slept very little and I just tire out easily. As a result, I never ate any oranges or even saw any of them though we bought them from Paddy's on the first day. Realised that they always ate the fruits after they bathe, which was when I was napping. It became almost routine, that I would nap before waking up at some late hour, bathe while handwashing some clothes, eat my share of the yoghurt or dessert, before going to bed.
Throughout the trip, GT would tell us the make and model of the cars he's seeing on the roads, spot sights and animals along to tell us about etc. Strangely wasn't bored by the car talk. He would also show us his university, UNSW, whenever possible, and told us where and what he ate, stayed, walked, did, drove, when he was still studying there. Even showed us where the SG university guy was murdered in his apartment. It was like a walk down his memory lane. At times he turned pensive, like he was looking at his student days replay in front of him. And at these times, we leave him to be in his own world for a while.
This has taken me forever to write, in fact months, which explains the lateness of this post. But this was a really memorable free-and-easy trip which we met up extensively within office and out of office for, and discussed for months about. And I have to say this is a trip which I was involved in the most during the planning stage. Not to mention it was my first long road trip where I was the navigator (albeit quite a failed one). No doubt I will remember this trip for a long time to come, and I just want to pen down the details, just so that I can look back at it years later and reminisce about it. Till our next trip :)