12.12.12

Dear Maqeel,

It's your 2nd birthday today. I could still remember the day I went to the hospital.. thinking that you'd be out in a jiff.. how i was wrong.. but Alhamdulillah.. all good now. May Allah protect you all the time.. so you grow to be a good Muslim, a true khalifa of the world, a dear son, continue to be a loving brother that you're already is and loved by many. Stay humble and true to yourself..

Love you always,
Mommy

World of Oz

Yup.. blog yang bersarang tebuan.. shud be ready for harvesting now :P

Just so you know.. I am a mother of three now! yup.. I can't myself digest that very fact just yet.. so pardon my so many excuses of not updating the blog.

Last raya, we went back to Malaysia.. and yes.. it was a very tricky and tiring journey with the 3 kiddos. Myra is an angel - Maqeel on the other hand.. hmmmm pffff kne banyak sabor ajela. Sampai Mr.Ai said.. that's it.. our next vacation will only happen in 3 years time! yikes.. 

Talking about vacation, during our last stay in Malaysia, we managed to steal time to escape to Oz.. not that Dorothy-red-shoes-world-of-Oz.. it's AUSSIE mate! I 'accidentally' booked the flight like a year ago.. so with no choice.. hafta drag my poor hubby and 2 kiddos along with the crazy adventure.. ahaks. Mishel (that's my latest daughter) being left in Malaysia with the nanny and my lovely MIL. But I still blame it on Airasia.. not gonna fall for their promo trick anymore! :P

And best part is, another fren and her family also being hasuted to follow.. siap tolong plankan itinerary lagi :D (I use the same-above-mentioned-excuse of having 3 kiddos-and-no-spare-time.. so slamat takyah plan this time around hik hik)

So here goes the story of our vacation..


The other family (capt's) flew in to Melbourne a day earlier, so they fetch us from the airport.. Mmg plan yg sangat cantik. We rented a motorhome - yup! another motorhome adventure :) for a week, they have the motorhome for a day before we came, and we have the motorhome a day after they left and shared the other 6 days we were together venturing Melbourne-Sydney and back.



Picture courtesy of Capt's - i so love this pics.. :)











24Aug- After being fetched from the airport.. Mr Herol directly brought us all to Lake mountain resort, which is only 2 hours away to play some snow! Yup.. the still tired-and-restless-and-smelly-us juz follow the flow. No time to waste! hehe.(And in case you are wondering.. Oz takde snow ke? nape nak kne gi mountain resort? yup.. check your fact before planning your holiday, if you are after a snow fun adventure, know that even the country is in winter season.. with freezing cold-temperature, it doesn't necessarily have snow. You just have to go up the mountain, and yess.. the road is not that bad and scary, our motorhome were fit enough to climb us there safe n sound. Before entering the resort, there's a ticket booth to pay, and a-must-by-law tire chain to be rented (just in case we are stuck with heavy-snow, which is not in our case because end of August is already towards the end of winter in Oz- so less snow). Fyyyuohhh 

Snow overalls, boots and tobbagon are also available for rent.
Despite the cold and windy surrounding, the kids enjoyed their time playing snow and tobbagon for a bit. Yup.. like in any European country, shops and in this case snow resort are closed at 4, so off we go to our first campsite Marysville Caravan park, which is not far from the resort.


25Aug - The crazy long adventure begins. We traveled to Sydney! A 9 hours journey to be exact. Stayed and relax at Lane Cove River Tourist park
The next following day, taking our sweet time exploring the Opera House, Wildlife Sydney & Aquarium (Which I don't really recommend, as there is no fun watching animals from behind the glass) But then again.. kids still enjoy their time. We then take the infamous harbour cruise, which lucky for us, got a major saving ticket pack for parents and kids on Saturday.
A short but worthy of our travel time to Sydney.. coz come to think of it.. bile lagi nak sampai Sydney kan?
After the free and easy experienced, we head back to Lane Cove River Tourist park for overnight. Next morning, a quick stop at Sydney town for a shop and dine at Mamak, Chinatown. We had great time watching roti canai terbang (flying paratha) show there. 3 canaiteer- specially imported from Penang, Malaysia just to make roti canai in Sydney, how cool is that, huh?! 

Supposedly, we were meant to stop by another campsite, but because of the unsatisfying experience we had with the Wildlife Sydney. One thing, they don't even have Kangaroo! (Kangaroo section was closed for renovation) and another.. it's like seeing the animals in the zoo- no direct contact with the animal like we'd imagined. Mr.Ai and Mr.Herol decided to stay awake and take the 16hours drive to Phillip Island Wildlife Park. During which, we accidentally came to a Bull Point lookout point, having the most amazing view from the hill down towards the ocean.


Phillip Island was crazy fun.. it's worth every second of Mr.Ai and Mr.Herol's sacrificed time staying awake. Kids love it.. and we love it too. The Wallabies and Kangaroo run free.. we can touch and feed them with no fear at all. At first they look a bit intimidating, especially during our first encounter with the hungry Kangaroo- she literary hopped towards us and snatch the brown-paper-bag from my hand! But the kangaroo is actually harmless.. and very tame. Even Maqeel found it very easy to adjust and tease the Wallabies and Kangaroos.   

After the park, we dropped by A-Maze-N-Thing which have may amazing stuff that one can't think is possible! It sure challenged one's mind ;)

After the long unshowered journey, we head back to Melbourne city, overnight at Ashley Garden Parks. which is conveniently located near to the city, and easy access to the airport too. Oh.. not forgetting our quick stop at K-Mart along our way to Melbourne... buying silicone molds! Thanks to Capt's.. terguda jugak aku beli.. because they're not just cute, but cheap too! 2dollar, 5 dollar, and max 10 dollars top, for a cake carrier! mane tak borong.. huhu

The next morning, is our turn to send Capt and Family to the airport.. Since we have the motorhome until the next evening, we have decided to venture to The Great Ocean Road.. going to see the amazing 12 Apostle.

It was the right decision to make, the 12 Apostle was great.. a no-money-can-buy and no-word-can-desribed sight.

We overnight at the nearest campsite. Then head back to Melbourne the next morning. Returned the motorhome safe and sound.. checked in to Formule 1 hotel (located at the heart of Melbourne city), browsing through Melbourne city.. was unfortunate as the Queen Victoria Market was already closed, even before 3pm. But fortunate enough to have other stores opened till 8pm (they usually closed as early as 5 if not for weekend night). Early next morning took the shuttle van-taxi to the airport- for our flight home to Malaysia.

Aussie.. thanks for the wonderful experienced.. we love cha :)