This morning, we prepared early for our heli-hike up Fox Glacier. Thankfully, we had a good weather and clear skies. On days we do outdoor adventure, the most important thing we need is good weather!

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Using http://www.Bookme.co.nz, we managed to secure quite a few good deals for our adventure. The heli-hike was one of them. We gathered at the counter and met our guides. Once we collected our gears and had our briefing, we were ready to set off in a short while!

By the time it ended 4 hours later, it was time for lunch. Hubby and I decided to head back to the Lake Matheson Cafe for lunch and walks. We were there earlier for breakfast and it was super chilly. We had no choice but to hide inside the cafe for a light breakfast and hot drink. But by afternoon, it was less cold so we decided to take the outdoor seats! It was such a nice and relaxing place!

The cafe was named after the lake. Therefore, we decided to take a short walk to see the lake which is known for nice reflections especially in early morning or evenings when there is less wind and the water is still. But like I mentioned, it was too cold that morning! So we are only going there after lunch. The view and photos still turned out great!

We took a drive further down the cobbled road and found a memorial. The memorial faces the glacier (we could actually catch a glimpse of it) and we understood why. It was built for some hikers who died on the glacier. At that moment, I felt really thankful to have completed the hike and back safely. We sat at the benches near the memorial for awhile before heading back to town.

There was only 1 small store selling groceries and daily necessities. As we were getting bored eating out (I know it’s only day 3!), we decided to buy some ready-to-eat food and instant rice!!

We woke up early to prepare for our drive this morning. We grabbed a quick breakfast from a nearby neighbourhood store and headed for the West Coast Road towards Shantytown at Greymouth. According to Google Maps, the drive was 3.5hrs long. It was windy and steep at some parts. We also went past Castle Hill and Lake Pearson which were beautiful. We were also right to follow our gut feeling and stop at places where we see many other cars parked there. Because this always means that there is a nice viewpoint nearby, something we learnt in NZ! At that moment, I was so glad we ditched the idea of taking the Tranzalpine train from Christchurch to Greymouth for self-drive!

With the stops along the way, we took longer than expected to arrive at Shantytown. It’s a not-too-big attraction that showed the history of gold miners in the town. All entrance tickets includes a ride on the steam train. We boarded the train with commentaries along the way and arrived at our destination 1.5km away. We definitely had to take some photos with the train. We also tried our hands at mining gold and brought back with us 2 small bottles of water with traces of gold haha! There were also some exhibits of the old hospitals and shops in the old town.

Although Shantytown was opened till 5pm, we had to rush off for our destination at Fox Glacier, another 2.5hrs drive away. I took the drive for this part of the journey since hubby drove here. As we headed further west, we could see the beautiful sun setting, although it was quite blinding at some times.

Here, I probably had the scariest part of the drive. Sky was turning dark real quick and we were running out of petrol. We went past a few smalls towns and tried to find their petrol stations which turned out to be closed. Hubby told me to drive on and appeared confident that the petrol could last us till town. I was so afraid the car would die on me and leave us stranded in the dark and cold!

Thankfully, we managed to drag ourselves to Franz Josef Glacier where there was a large petrol station that was still opened. We finally got to refuel the car and ourselves with some snacks. At last, I could drive the remaining hour in peace.

Thankfully for the good weather, we reached an open field where some other companies had already arrived and started to set up their baskets and balloons. This is really so weather-dependent. I’m so thankful for the good weather and good wind today!

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While waiting for ours to be ready, we could already feel the heat from the fire! As other balloons started to set off beside ours, we took photos of one another. The ride was amazingly calm. We went into the clouds and then saw the sun from above the clouds. It was a really amazing sight! It felt like we flew as high as an aeroplane! The air was calm and quiet apart from the sound of the fire above us. We could also see the mini bus following us from below so that it could pick us up from wherever we landed!

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After the exhilarating ride, we went back to our cottage to pick up our luggage and drove an hour back to the airport for our flight home! And with that, we concluded our Sydney and Melbourne trip which was the first self-drive experience for my parents. Thanks to their spontaneity, hubby and I also got to concur some other firsts, such as the hot air balloon ride!

Today is a day dedicated to exploring the Melbourne city! After breakfast, we decided to take a 20min walk to the Prahran Market. Yes, we don’t mind walking, neither do my parents, especially in such cool weather! The temperature today was at 13 degs! Wind was chilly the moment we opened the glass door to our balcony.

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We also visited the DFO Essendon, not too far away from city. It was a 1-storey mall with many different retail shops. Though it looked small from the outside, I was surprised we spent longer than expected there!

We then returned to Chinatown for late lunch. Here’s where we chanced upon the famous Hawker Chan! Look at the posters all over the shop. The queue was never ending. However, it was difficult finding a parking lot in that area. We first drove into a Wilson carpark. However, we found out that it costs AUD$6 for just 1 hour. After parking there for 20mins, hubby decided to take the car out and find some other lots!

Since we were already at the town, we decided to explore the town a little. We saw the city trams, libraries and museums along the way. After awhile, we could felt the aches in our legs. We decided to head back to rest before going out again.

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Many tourists would think of going to the Phillip Island when they want to see penguins in Melbourne. However, I was informed by my friend that there was a better alternative, cheaper and nearer than Phillip Island, the St Kilda Pier. To be exact, it was free! Just need to remember to head there before dusk. By the time we reached and walked out to the pier, a crowd had already gathered there. Because it was not regulated and managed by volunteers, there were chances we might not see even 1 penguin. We didn’t know if the penguins have returned and that we have missed them. But lucky for us, we heard sounds and started to spot them between the breakwaters.

It was super windy and chilly at the pier. Actually, I could not wait to leave after spotting a few penguins. With no particular destination in mind, we ended up at a McDonalds with the Crown Melbourne casino just across the street. So, we visited both before heading back to our apartment for the final night. Crown Melbourne feels slightly smaller than The Star casino though!

As the sun rose, we finally got a nice view of our surroundings. It was exactly the reason why I chose this cottage. Peaceful, quiet and tranquil with a chance of spotting wild koalas on trees. Unfortunately, we did not have the time to relax at the cottage as we had to continue on our journey. The host, who lived just behind us, was out last night so she was unable to turn on the lights for us yesterday. This morning, she came early to meet us. Since she was there, we asked her for breakfast recommendation and she told us about the Apollo Bay Bakery which served yummy scallop pies! Not bad indeed.

It was a really windy day and we were right to keep our thickest sweaters specially for this day. We arrived at the Gibston Steps shortly before the Twelve Apostles. The steps were rather steep. It was also very windy. So my parents decided to take shelter while hubby and I decided to walk down to the beach. Photos turned out to be awesome!

Tip: Choose bright colour jackets for nice contrast in photos! Imagine wearing white jacket against a snowy backdrop, not a very good idea yah? As I wore red, you can easily spot me below!

Finally, we reached the most popular attraction along the Great Ocean Road: the Twelve Apostles. It was really crowded. There was a boardwalk along the cliff with many nice phototaking spots! And you might have heard too, there are only 7 left standing. That was also 1 of the reasons I chose to visit Melbourne before other places, before there is none left!

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We continued slightly further down to the Loch Ard Gorge before turning back for chocolates and some whiskey! With that, we concluded our Great Ocean Road self-drive.

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The drive back to Melbourne took us almost 3hours. I started to dread it when traffic started to slow. I knew we were near the city. Finally, we reached our apartment at South Yarra near Vogue Plaza. We took a short walk to the supermarket at Vogue Plaza and then bought ingredients for dinner! Tonight, I decided to make use of the fully equipped kitchen in the apartment to prepare dinner for my parents! It is also 1 of the things I wanted to introduce them to on our self-drive holiday.

This morning, we checked out early and headed for the airport for our flight to Melbourne. We returned our car near the International Airport and took a shuttle bus to the Domestic terminal. There, hubby and I had a fright of our trip.

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This is what happened…

We bought my parents’ tickets through SIA which included the domestic transfer to Melbourne while hubby and my tickets to Sydney were redeemed through miles. Hence, we had to buy our domestic transfer tickets to Melbourne separately. The night before, we were informed that our flight timing to Melbourne was changed. However, that notification was only for my parents’ tickets, not ours. We felt something was amiss since we were supposed to be on the same flight! It was during check in at the airport that we realised the airline had somehow ‘left out’ hubby’s and my tickets! We ran to the airline counter, trying to figure out what happened. There was no way I could let my parents take a separate flight from us given that this is their first time in Australia! Fortunately, after a huge scare and running to and fro the different counters, they managed to ‘squeeze out’ 2 premium seats for hubby and I. We took it although our seats were quite far apart. At least, we are all on the same flight!

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After about 1.5hrs, we landed at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport. We picked up our 2nd car for the remaining of our journey in Melbourne.

It was Autumn going Winter, only strawberries and apples were available for picking. We decided to go ahead with it nonetheless. Along the Bacchus Marsh Road, there were several fruit orchards. We randomly entered one and turned out shortly after we realised we had to pay for entrance fee even without picking any fruits. Eventually, we ended up at Naturipe Fruits which appeared rather crowded. Entrance was free and all we had to pay was for the fruits we picked. We had picked strawberries before. But it was our 1st time picking apples from the trees directly! It was so fun! And we had fruits for the rest of our self-drive!

We continued on to Angelsea beach. The drive was awesomely beautiful. Hubby took the drive while I enjoyed the view of the sea and the blue sky.

There were many view points along the road. One of the places worthy of a visit was the Aireys Inlet Lighthouse. There was a carpark nearby and many visitors can be seen walking towards the lighthouse. Interestingly, it was also here where were realised we all needed a visit to the toilet! Although there was a toilet sign near the lighthouse, we walked round and round and couldn’t find it! Unfortunately, the only cafe nearby was also closed for the day. We had to turn to a restaurant nearby to use the toilet.

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As we drove on, the sun was beginning to set. We finally reached Apollo Bay when sky turned dark. Our accommodation for the night was a Airbnb cottage which was not along the main road. Despite trying hard to follow the directions from the owner and trying to look out for landmarks, we missed it in the dark and followed our GPS to the wrong place. After a few missed turns, we finally found the dirt path which the owner described and reached the cottage which looked eerily deserted. The place was pitch dark. Now that it was not my first time to Australia, I knew such darkness was the norm. But I’m pretty sure my mom was not too comfortable with it. That’s why, we shone our headlights (our only source of light!) directly into the cottage, until we found the keys and turned on all the lights in the house.

Tip: Never go to a new accommodation when the sky has turned dark! Places always looks scarier in the dark! Time for a good rest before we cover the remainder of the Great Ocean Road tomorrow!

My next plan was to bring my parents to visit wildlife parks in Australia. So we decided on Featherdale Wildlife Park about an hour away from Sydney. Years ago when I first visited Perth, I really enjoyed seeing the kangaroos roaming freely in the wildlife park although I was really scared to go close to them or even feed them. But I knew my mom and hubby dared to. So, I gladly became the photographer for them.

There was another place we had to go in Sydney: Sydney Fish Market! I have to say, I got quite frustrated driving to the place because the GPS somehow does not lead us to the carpark. I thought it was just us. But I realised it wasn’t after I watched a travel programme and heard the host complaining about it too! So if you drive, be warned!

Once we alighted from the car, we smelt seafood. There were a few shops selling fresh seafood and you can choose the way you want it cooked. However, it’s on the pricey side. So we ordered some other seafood that was already cooked. Look at our spread! As the weather was good, we also chose to sit outdoors. But do beware of the seagulls looming nearby. They are quick and sharp!

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After a satisfying lunch, we headed to the Birkenhead Point Outlet mall for shopping! My parents were once again very happy to be able to find things back for their grandkids at home! As for me, I was happy to look at bags and more bags!

It was our last night at Sydney. Hubby and I made a trip to Luna Park Sydney for a photo with the iconic entrance although we knew it was closed that day. Now, I am happy and ready for Melbourne!

Today, we started our self-drive proper! By that, I meant we finally drove out of the city to the Blue Mountain about 1.5hr drive away! Blue Mountain got it’s name because of the water vapour from the eucalyptus trees. We arrived at Scenic World and eagerly bought our tickets to the various rides: Scenic Railway, Scenic Skyway, Scenic Cableway and Scenic Walkway.

Scenic Skyway

First, we queued for the skyway to see the Three Sisters. There was a short queue to the ride. The cabin has a glass bottom and we could get a very good 360 deg view of the mountain, minus the people in the cabin! Once we were at the other side of the mountain, we took a short walk to get a better view of the Three Sisters. Because of me and my 2 older sisters, I thought my parents had to take a photo with them (us!). Interestingly, they looked like a dinosaur, gorilla and frog respectively!!

Scenic Cableway

Scenic Walkway

The bottom station of the cableway leads to the Scenic Walkway. There were different routes, some longer and some shorter. We randomly picked one and saw art displays along the well-paved road and boardwalk!

Scenic Railway

At the other end of the walk, we finally arrived at the most exciting ride of all, the railway! It’s the world’s steepest passenger railway with adjustable seats. We could choose to tilt the seat to 2 different angles to our preference! Just nice, the 4 of us occupied the same row, so we could adjust the angle! We made it steeper so that it as more thrilling! Luckily, there were handle bars above us so that we could steady ourselves as it zoomed down! It was so fun, we took it a few times. We took it up, and down and up again since there was only a short queue!

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Since hubby took the drive to the mountains, I decided to drive back. By the time we were back at the city, it was already evening. We decided to park our car at The Rocks which was opposite the Sydney Opera House to take a stroll along the Quay to the Opera House.

It was a really nice and relaxing stroll with hubby and my parents. The sun was setting which made it a nice backdrop with the Sydney Harbour Bridge behind us. Oh and did I mention, I drove across that bridge on the way back! It was a pity we didn’t get to climb the bridge. We couldn’t leave them alone right?!

There were many restaurants along the quay. Too many and we did not know which to choose. So dad suggested we head back to our hotel and find some food nearby. But before that, we decided to make 1 more stop to the Royal Botanic Gardens to visit the Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. As the sky had already turned dark, I was expecting the place to be eerily quiet. Surprisingly, we saw staff who appeared to be setting up the place for some event. There was also a crowd at the Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, some with their tripods set up. The spot actually gives a very nice view of the Sydney Opera House against the Harbour Bridge! Despite the dark sky, there were very nice photos taken!

Finally, we were back at our hotel. We had a quick dinner at a cafe beside our hotel which served Singaporean/Malaysian delicacies. Surprisingly, it was good. I think it was owned by Malaysians. That’s why the food tasted very authentic. And we all laughed at my dad that he needed his rice fix shortly by Day 2!

After dinner, we took another 20min stroll to The Star Casino once again. Guess casinos are a good way for people like us who don’t like to return to hotel to sleep early. As we walked past Darling Harbour, I bought a jacket from the Hard Rock shop to replace the jacket I bought form Hard Rock Hong Kong 10 years ago.

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