mrsjono

Cape Palliser with Singaporeans once again

July 07, 2015

Welcome to Wellington!

July 05, 2015

I left work earlier to meet my family at the airport; their Qantas flight was scheduled to arrive in the afternoon. We waited a long time at the arrival hall and they were one of the last few to exit because my sister’s baggage didn't turn up and had gone missing. I had arranged for them to stay at Brentwood Hotel as there was free airport shuttle and it was near the places I had scheduled for them to visit in the city the next day. After checking in to their rooms, we hanged around while they settled down and took a rest after a long flight. They were all in good spirits and filling me in with how the flights went, showing me what they brought, asking me what they should wear, what’s the plan for tomorrow, etc. It was very lively and chaotic, a familiar atmosphere I haven’t experienced for a very long time.

We walked over to a Chinese place for dinner which both of us had tried before and tasted alright but the dishes that night were quite poor; my father unabashedly exclaimed to the staff the food was too salty after he took a bite and the rest complained the ingredients in each dish were no different from the other and there was too much broccoli. Now they understand the kind of lousy food we both get here! Lol. Took them grocery shopping at Pak n Save after dinner and let them rest for the night. Left one car at the hotel and both of us went home in the other.

Rui very kindly agreed to use his leave since he had enough of his job and took my family around town the next day. He dropped me off at work and brought them to Chocolate Fish for breakfast and photos around Shelly Bay. While my sisters and Jeffrey were at the Weta Workshop, Rui took the old folks for a walk at Centennial Reserve. He said they like the fresh air lol. Lucky the weather was kind to them on their first day.

I met up with them for yum cha at Regal and went back to work while Rui took them to Te Papa and grocery shopping at New World. I left work as early as I could to avoid the peak hour traffic; Rui & I drove back home to pick up our own baggage, food, rice cooker, condiments, etc while the rest wandered around the house. They were fascinated with the big lemon tree and kept complaining the house was colder than a freezer lol. I was tailgated by a vehicle when going over the winding Rimutaka Hill at night. After checking in to our bach in Martinborough, we quickly prepared dinner and I received a phone call saying a courier man will be on his way to deliver my sister's lost luggage to us. Hooray!

I think they were more satisfied with our home cooked dinner than previous night's salty meal :)

new zealand

Winter Roadie around Central North Island New Zealand

June 13, 2015

melbourne

3D2N The Great Ocean Road: Melbourne to Port Campbell

April 26, 2015

Anzac long weekend in Melbourne. Visited an ex colleague from Singapore who now lives in Melbourne. As she is now a resident there we asked for travel and food recommendations. We told her we were going to start The Great Ocean Road the following day. Her advice was don’t expect too much. Knowing that we had been living in New Zealand for awhile as she did before she moved to Melbourne, she explained that The Great Ocean Road was nothing like New Zealand’s amazing coastal landscapes.

She was right.

After checking out of the Space Hotel, we picked up our vehicle from East Coast Car Rentals and fiddled a long time with the 2013 Toyota Corolla as we couldn’t find the switch for the rear window wiper and realised there wasn’t any for a sedan lol. It was also a luxury to be driving such a new car given we have been on 1994-5s. The road was easy to drive (not as narrow or winding in NZ) with plenty of signs to remind visitors to keep left.

There are several lookouts along the way. They look the same after awhile and we might have given a few a miss due to the rain that day. I remember on the way to the Split Point Lighthouse, we passed a group of people gathering at the beach for a wedding ceremony and saw two porcupines at the top. Stayed in Lorne for the night. We were thrilled to be the only ones in a 6 bed dorm. Dinner was Malaysian food at Lorne Country Club where kangaroos roam free.

Bells Beach

Point Addis

A porcupine?!

Split Point Lighthouse

Great Ocean Road Cottages

It continued to rain the next day. First stop was Cape Patton, again similar to yesterday’s lookouts. We woke up abit at Marriners lookout in Apollo Bay. Finally something different and abit of a walk to somewhere quiet though the view was similar to Mt Maunganui. I added in Otway National Park for some variety and change in landscape but was disappointed the Triplet Falls was partially blocked by the bush and had no power or height. We felt the 1 hour walk and detour was not worth our time. We did see a few koalas sleeping on the trees on the way out. By the time we reached Port Campbell the sun was setting and we went to catch a glimpse of the famous 12 Apostles before dark in case the weather was crap again tomorrow. Packed fish and chips from a shop called Frying Nemo for dinner and ate them in Port Campbell Hostel. Wifi only available in the lounge area.

Early start to the 12 Apostles as we had a three hours drive back to Melbourne on the last day. Finally the sun was out! Very cold and windy difficult to take photos. Watching the waves crashing on the rocks and thinking the millions of years it took to wash them away. Some parts of the beach are accessible to visitors if you wish to take a closer look at the limestone stacks.