Brisbane Day 3: Britz, Bellingham Maze, Opals Down Under, Sunshine Coast

We made arrangement to collect the Britz campervan at 8am. After tons of consideration, we eventually selected Britz despite it being more pricey. We are familiar with Britz having driven one the last trip and wanted a toilet for emergency.

Bfast was simple with the grocery bought last night. The accommodation came with a much desired mircowave.

We self-checked out on time for the Britz pickup. The check in and out were all self service and super easy.

We got an uber to Britz and that started a long 2.5 hrs' wait. This was so inefficient as compared to the Perth's experience.

Luckily they had free wifi. Maybe that is the reason why they had free wifi. Towards the end, our patience was running so thin and fortunately the campervan was ready before I pulled somebody's hair. That was when I realised that the campervan was newly washed up. Then why agreed to take our appointment at 8am??? We could have slept in. Haiz.

The staff made a quick run through on how to operate the campervan before we finally started our campervan adventure. The 1st stop was the Bellingham Maze in Sunshine Coast that was about 45 mins' ride away.

We booked and paid for a 4 pax campervan but were given a 6 pax one.

Daddy Lim said that the last campervan was easier to drive. This one also rattles a lot more and the passenger seats get really noisy on bumpy roads. Nevertheless, we were all excited.

We took turns to sit in front.

There is no road trip that gadgets cannot handle. These are much desired when the parents need some quiet and peace.

Our 1st stop!

The most important thing was to find lunch. All the place had were pies and scones but hot ones and were good enough to satisfy our tummies.

The magical coin to enter the maze.

The 1st one - parents vs kids. Of course the parents won. Hoho.

The maze came with some quizzes and we restart the maze in search of the dwarves to answer the quiz.

There were other mazes and games as well.

Daddy Lim's new gf.

Lil Shauna's new home.

We ended the maze with catching at the timber maze. That was a lot of fun and super tiring. With that, we headed off for grocery shopping or risked having no dinner for the night.

The 2nd and final stop of the day was the Opals Down Under. Nope, we are not interested in expensive jewellery but read that the place provides gem fossicking for kids. For AUD8, the kids got a little tub to dig and collect gems.

Lil Shauna went crazy; she always like such shiny little things. The stones were indeed very pretty.

If we didnt rush Lil Shauna, she would spend hours digging, picking and choosing the right stones. Even the parents had to help towards the end so that we can make it to the campervan site before light's out.

We would be spending the next 4 nights at the Alex Beach Cabins and Tourist Park. I chose this site bcos the powered sites come with ensuite. We dont mind sleeping in the campervan but the camp site public toilet is always a pain.

It took us a long time to set up, figuring out how to connect to the electrical points and the table for dinner. Daddy Lim was the masterchef for the night and cooked us pasta for dinner. I was the assistant.

Though dinner was simple, it was delicious.

We finished every single penne for the night. Nice. 

It took us an even longer time to wash up. They should have provided us with non-stick pans and pots. Zzzzz. Then, we fumbled to get the beds set up. Daddy Lim and Lil Shauna fitted in the "bed" on top of the driver seat while Zaky and I squeezed onto the passenger converted bed. It was a terrible choice for us bcos I couldnt really fit into the "bed". The campervan was parked in such a way that it was slanted slightly to one side. The whole night, my legs ached from the inability to extend fully and Zaky kept sliding and pushing me off the bed. Zzzzzz..

Mummy Lim

Brisbane Day 2: Tangalooma Moreton Island 2

We said that we had wanted to wake up and start early. The alarm rang but nobody wanted to wake up. Chey. When I finally did, it took me a while to realise where I was. For a moment, I thought I was in Bintan. Ya, very expensive and faraway Bintan.

Hello from our balcony.

Unfortunately we didnt have time to admire the views. We had to check out and leave our luggage at the door by 10am. We rush for bfast.

The weather was gorgeous. Nothing like the gloomy sky the day before.

On the way to bfast, we spotted this spidey that Lil Shauna insisted that we had to snap a picture. Something about its abdominal bearing some sunglasses lookalike. Bo leh.

We saw that there is a bushwalk and wanted to attempt that.

It started with a walk along the beach. I can totally do that in the fantastic weather. Along the way, we saw some tourists taking the helicopter. It was freaking expensive at AUD65 per pax for 6 mins. We were happy taking picture of the landing helicopter from near. When it was landing, a huge gush of wind was created. Lil Shauna said that it was just like the movies.

The beach walk was definitely the easiest part.

We didnt know how long we walked before we finally saw stairs in the bushes, signifying the start of the hike.

Up, up and away!

The hike led us to the same "desert" where we did the sand sliding.

The kids were excitedly running down the sand slope. The parents opted to stay on top to eye power. Tiring leh.

We hadnt really actually started on the real bushwalk. The sun was starting to work really hard. It didnt at all feel like winter. The kids chose to nuah on the beach instead of the bush walk. I was with them; only Daddy Lim was enthusiastic about the bush walk. Hoho.

The sun was scorching hot on our way back. I regretted not bringing along the sunblock for the walk.

The island is activities filled but most of them came with a price tag. The kids were allowed to choose 1 activity and they opted for a 30 mins segway tour on the beach. That cost us AUD120. Ka-ching.

We were just in time for the session at 1pm. The kids were happily playing on the beach while waiting. Thankfully, the sports center provided free flow sunblock and I generously slapped thick layers of sunblock on everybody.

The segway tour was fun! We learnt some easy tricks too.

We had finger food for lunch.

This little fella was waiting for crumbs.

The kids spent the remaining time on the beach. They wanted to dig a grave for "Mr Stick" and ended up with a big hole on the beach, which they covered up before we left.

This is Mr Stick - some random sturdy and smooth bark stick that they found.

Well, so long as the kids had fun.

Our ferry was at 4pm. Zaky declared that he was tired and started snoozing soon after we boarded. I soon joined him in lala land. Daddy Lim and Lil Shauna braved the winds.

It was nearing 5.30pm when we finally arrived. Hello egg yolk.

We got an uber to the budgeted hotel for the night. Soon after we settled down, we took a 15 mins' walk to the nearby supermarket and for dinner. We needed some water and snacks in prep of the campervan adventure the next day.

Dinner was pizza.

At the restaurant, there was a homeless guy who wasnt exactly asking for food. Somebody offered him a can of soda but rejected his request for pizza. I was sliently wondering what we should do if he approaches us, which he didnt. I was thinking of offering him some food since there were probably too much for our family. Ended up, Daddy Lim had the same thought. We eventually gave him the garlic bread that was new as we had already started on the pizza.

With that, we retreated to our comfy room for the night. It had 2 huge double beds and a single bed. Good night!

Mummy Lim