Wow! It has been an exciting /fun-filled/ interesting 1 mth trip to Austrialia in Dec 2007 for me. For those who wanna know where I went, read on!
27 Nov 2007:
took a Qantas 5hr flight to Melbourne. Reached there on 28th Nov morning. Group of 6 singaporeans and 2 japanese on this trip. =)
28 Nov - 1 Dec:
Drove ourselves on 2 rented cars to a Strawberry Farm, where for A$8, we could pluck strawberries to fill half a box. Drove to Philip Island to see their famous 30 cm penguins come home from the sea. It was so cold on the island! Spent one day driving (and getting lost) to the Great Ocean Road, to see the Twelve Apostles rocks. Luckily we got there at sunset (9pm!). But the drive home was both scary and tiring. Kudos to Mr Singh for his superb skills! Last day in Melbourne was spent at Queen Victoria market for shopping. Cheap buys there!
Twelve Apostles
2 - 4 Dec: Our cycle of "eating, sleeping in the car, taking photos" continues as we drove to Adelaide. Visited the Adelaide Hills' Mount Lofty summit, Hahndorf german town, and a choc factory. Took our cars onboard a ferry to Kangaroo Island, where we saw plenty of seals, 3 koalas on top of trees, the Remarkable Rocks, and some wallabies on the scenic roads. Continued on our Hungry Jacks / fish n chips meal routine.. hahaa. Free soft drinks anyone??
5 - 7 Dec: Took a Virgin Blue flight to Tasmania where we stayed at Brunswick Hotel. One entire day was wasted drving up Cradle mountain only to find that it was covered with fog! Haiiz. Could only make do with a few postcards of Cradle mountain for memory. Almost got car-sick on the journey. Next day was spent at Tasmania Devil Conservation Park, where we saw the Devils being fed, the laughing Kookaburra, and various native birds of Australia. We also hand-fed the kangaroos!! So exciting! They are such tame and cute animals. Last item was Port Arthur, a place where convicts used to be held. Had much fun trying to take group photos with many poses wahahaa..
8 - 14 Dec: Took a Jetstar flight to Sydney, where we also visited Blue Mountains nearby. There were the most breathtaking views on Blue Mountains (eg. at Mount Piddington, Pulpit Rock, Evans lookout). Remembered the night when i was forced to lose 3 mins of my paid internet time because Steven wanted us to walk 2 km to see the THree Sisters rocks by 10.30 pm. We could have droven there! Haiiz. But i managed to learn some japanese from Otousan while walking to the Three Sisters. Visited Bonde beach, Bondi beach (voted no. 1 by aussies), and Camp Cove beach in Sydney. Also went to Sydney Opera house, Harbour Bridge, Observatory (astronomy), Chinatown, Paddy's market, Observatory tower (at 300 m high) and Sydney Aquarium. Tried my luck at the jackpot machines at a casino, and lost A$22. =(
15 - 18 Dec: Bye bye to Johnny, Kiat and gang as they return to Sgp! The 3 of us flew to Gold Coast airport via Jetstar. By now, I was getting used to taking domestic flights! Had to lug our heavy luggages to take the buses/trains cos we had no more rented cars..sob sob. Visited the Cararra Market, Harbour Town (shopping), MovieWorld (lots of Disney stuff/rides!), Superbee HoneyWorld, Caville malls (shopping), and Surfers Paradise beach.
19 - 20 Dec: Took a train to Brisbane city. Next day was spent on Moreton Island, trying their 4 wheel drive, sand-boarding, picnic by the beach. Too bad we didn't have our swimsuits for the Blue Lagoon.. But we met 2 nice Taiwanese girls there!
21 - 25 Dec: Took our last domestic flight to Cairns. Signed up for a Frankland Island (within Great Barrier Reef) tour the next day.. on the advice of the 2 TW gals. Finally tried snorkelling (could touch the corals and fishes below me!) there. We also sat in a Glass-bottomed Boat to see the corals. It was an experience I will never forget. =) Spent our remaining days at the Cairn's Esplanade (large, free, outdoor pool just next to the sea!), Night Market, Kuranda Skyrail / Railway (to see rainforest), and doing hot-air ballooning! We had to wake up at 4.30am, catch the bus ride to the balloons, and take a 1/2 hr balloon ride. What was most exciting was the balloon's landing! We bounced a few times before the entire basket of 10+ ppl landed sideways on the sand.
25 Dec:
Took Jetstar back to Singapore. It was surprising they served meals on Jetstar. Maybe cos it was a long flight. We stopped over at Darwin before continuing on back home. Let me see.. I took a total of 7 flights (international/domestic) in a month!
I think i'll not be visiting Aussie in the near future.. Planning for my next dream vacation..... to Japan! =)
Wow! It has been an exciting /fun-filled/ interesting 1 mth trip to Austrialia in Dec 2007 for me. For those who wanna know where I went, read on!
27 Nov 2007:
took a Qantas 5hr flight to Melbourne. Reached there on 28th Nov morning. Group of 6 singaporeans and 2 japanese on this trip. =)
28 Nov - 1 Dec:
Drove ourselves on 2 rented cars to a Strawberry Farm, where for A$8, we could pluck strawberries to fill half a box. Drove to Philip Island to see their famous 30 cm penguins come home from the sea. It was so cold on the island! Spent one day driving (and getting lost) to the Great Ocean Road, to see the Twelve Apostles rocks. Luckily we got there at sunset (9pm!). But the drive home was both scary and tiring. Kudos to Mr Singh for his superb skills! Last day in Melbourne was spent at Queen Victoria market for shopping. Cheap buys there!
Twelve Apostles
2 - 4 Dec: Our cycle of "eating, sleeping in the car, taking photos" continues as we drove to Adelaide. Visited the Adelaide Hills' Mount Lofty summit, Hahndorf german town, and a choc factory. Took our cars onboard a ferry to Kangaroo Island, where we saw plenty of seals, 3 koalas on top of trees, the Remarkable Rocks, and some wallabies on the scenic roads. Continued on our Hungry Jacks / fish n chips meal routine.. hahaa. Free soft drinks anyone??
5 - 7 Dec: Took a Virgin Blue flight to Tasmania where we stayed at Brunswick Hotel. One entire day was wasted drving up Cradle mountain only to find that it was covered with fog! Haiiz. Could only make do with a few postcards of Cradle mountain for memory. Almost got car-sick on the journey. Next day was spent at Tasmania Devil Conservation Park, where we saw the Devils being fed, the laughing Kookaburra, and various native birds of Australia. We also hand-fed the kangaroos!! So exciting! They are such tame and cute animals. Last item was Port Arthur, a place where convicts used to be held. Had much fun trying to take group photos with many poses wahahaa..
8 - 14 Dec: Took a Jetstar flight to Sydney, where we also visited Blue Mountains nearby. There were the most breathtaking views on Blue Mountains (eg. at Mount Piddington, Pulpit Rock, Evans lookout). Remembered the night when i was forced to lose 3 mins of my paid internet time because Steven wanted us to walk 2 km to see the THree Sisters rocks by 10.30 pm. We could have droven there! Haiiz. But i managed to learn some japanese from Otousan while walking to the Three Sisters. Visited Bonde beach, Bondi beach (voted no. 1 by aussies), and Camp Cove beach in Sydney. Also went to Sydney Opera house, Harbour Bridge, Observatory (astronomy), Chinatown, Paddy's market, Observatory tower (at 300 m high) and Sydney Aquarium. Tried my luck at the jackpot machines at a casino, and lost A$22. =(
15 - 18 Dec: Bye bye to Johnny, Kiat and gang as they return to Sgp! The 3 of us flew to Gold Coast airport via Jetstar. By now, I was getting used to taking domestic flights! Had to lug our heavy luggages to take the buses/trains cos we had no more rented cars..sob sob. Visited the Cararra Market, Harbour Town (shopping), MovieWorld (lots of Disney stuff/rides!), Superbee HoneyWorld, Caville malls (shopping), and Surfers Paradise beach.
19 - 20 Dec: Took a train to Brisbane city. Next day was spent on Moreton Island, trying their 4 wheel drive, sand-boarding, picnic by the beach. Too bad we didn't have our swimsuits for the Blue Lagoon.. But we met 2 nice Taiwanese girls there!
21 - 25 Dec: Took our last domestic flight to Cairns. Signed up for a Frankland Island (within Great Barrier Reef) tour the next day.. on the advice of the 2 TW gals. Finally tried snorkelling (could touch the corals and fishes below me!) there. We also sat in a Glass-bottomed Boat to see the corals. It was an experience I will never forget. =) Spent our remaining days at the Cairn's Esplanade (large, free, outdoor pool just next to the sea!), Night Market, Kuranda Skyrail / Railway (to see rainforest), and doing hot-air ballooning! We had to wake up at 4.30am, catch the bus ride to the balloons, and take a 1/2 hr balloon ride. What was most exciting was the balloon's landing! We bounced a few times before the entire basket of 10+ ppl landed sideways on the sand.
25 Dec:
Took Jetstar back to Singapore. It was surprising they served meals on Jetstar. Maybe cos it was a long flight. We stopped over at Darwin before continuing on back home. Let me see.. I took a total of 7 flights (international/domestic) in a month!
I think i'll not be visiting Aussie in the near future.. Planning for my next dream vacation..... to Japan! =)
Aussie 2007 trip!
Twelve Apostles
