Australia Once More (26 August ~ 10 September)

We planned for months and months, and in a jiffy, the holiday just whizzed by.  It is so true that time flies when having fun.

That said, the holiday did start on the wrong footing. First our backpack zipper came off just when the plane was about to leave Singapore for Melbourne, then I had a spat with a particular stewardess (our stars were probably off alignment).  Next, our connecting flight to Gold Coast got delayed by an hour, and to top it off Gold Coast decided to pour like mad while we were up in the air and the airport had to shut down causing the plane needing to divert to Brisbane instead.  The ordeal dragged on for another 4 hours due to the diversion - we waited around the Brisbane airport for more than an hour for a coach to bring everyone back to Gold Coast Airport, followed by a 2-hour coach ride.  The situation at Gold Coast airport was equally challenging with a beeline of stranded folks waiting for cabs to bring them home since they are not going to be able to catch their flight.  The journey extended by an extra 6 hours leaving everyone's spirit dampen, cold, tired and hungry.

Not sure if it is a blessing in disguise.  The heavy rain brought us a whole week of sunshine while we were in Gold Coast.  We were bracing ourselves for occasional showers based on the 7-day weather forecast.  It was certainly the best surprise to wake up the next morning to a bright blue sky and scorching sun.  It's as if the rain came in one fell swop the day before.  It was warm to the degree (pun intended!) that we were overdressed seeing the locals in tees, shorts and flip flops.  We weren't quite packed for such warm weather.  No complains though, because we could do our rounds through all the theme parks without worry that plans will be dampened.

Elaina and Matty were particularly fond of Seaworld that they requested for a second visit.  Since it was a holiday for them, the adults obliged.  I can't say the same about the factory outlet shopping that followed though.  They obviously think it was "boring".  But at least it meant that I could contain the amount of possible damage to my pocket.

To sum it up, Gold Coast was lots of good food (particularly Mario's that served up authentic italian without needing to break the piggy bank), lots of theme park, lots of popcorn, lots of sun and lots of fun.  Not forgetting the best rented ride of the entire trip and that the kids are getting more gutsy when it comes to trying new rides.

Hobart sent us into a different kind of weather - wind chills with drizzles that comes and go, and a different environment.   For a first time, the children got to experience a 1000 metre high mountain, nature reserves, hiking through a forest, rolling hills everywhere we go and running around a playground for hours without a single drop of sweat.  Unfortunately due to age, Elaina and Matty are still unable to appreciate the rich history that envelopes Hobart.  We pretty much ran out of things to do by the time we got to the last day in Hobart.  The rain didn't help with the situation.  One thing that never seem to bore the kids were the seafood.  They gladly rotated between fish, scallops and shrimps.

We headed back to Melbourne on 7 September and drove for 2 odd hours towards Philip Island.  The drive was definitely worthwhile.  Despite the cold, tiredness and hunger, catching the penguins do their nightly parade seemed to do justice to us being on the road since early morning.  And it was definitely wise choice that we decided to stay on the island for the night instead of rushing back to Melbourne after the parade.  I don't think the children will be able to survive the trip back to city without turning cranky.  Not only that, it gave us the chance to visit the Nobbies the next morning.  Didn't manage to sight any seals but the crashing waves and blowhole was an experience for a bunch of city dwellers like us.  On our way out, we stopped by this place known as Amaze'N Things.  It was pretty entertaining to go through the various bits that tricked the eyes and mind, creating false illusion - like the photo that had the adults looking much smaller than the children and a chair that slides "upwards" and defying gravity.

By the time we got back to Melbourne, it was also marked the fact that vacation was almost over.  And since we only had 1 day we could only pick and choose what would be the most interesting and requires the least traveling time.  I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the Melbourne Aquarium from the huge viewing area and how exhibits were logically grouped together and in an interesting way.  Scienceworks delivered science facts in a truly entertaining way.  Rather than just putting facts across in mere words, the visuals and simple explanations that made it digestible for children.  There was nothing like rocket science or on stuff there were too abstract for kids to understand.  It dwells on day-to-day technologies like how the dryer works, how the toilet bowl flushes and how we get sounds out from a radio.  Not sure if our own science centre here has evolved to be just as good.  If not, I would suggest that we send a team of people there to learn the tricks.

There's still so much to write, but like every holiday it is just not possible to jot every single detail down.  Which is just as well... gives us a reason to revisit these places in the not so distant future!