Melbourne! Day 3, Part 2: Ballarat - Mount Buninyong and Dinner

It was to Ballarat after Naturipe and about 1 hour's drive. In that drive, Nana finished half the box of cherries. 

We drove directly to the campervan park to check-in, to avoid any chances of missing the reception hours and be denied entry to the park. 

We were staying in the Big 4 NRMA for 2 nights.

We got ourselves the ensuite power suite and had 2 back to back lots. 

Then, we set off for lunch and grocery shopping. We had pies for lunch, just like the Aussies. Warm and nice pies. 

Oooo.. I missed the pies in Aussieland. The other Lim Family took some getting used to, eating pies as lunch. We were the only youngsters in the cafe. Next time when we retire, we should do this tea thing too. Everyday. Hoho. 

I like grocery shopping. Hohoho. It is like the other kind of holiday. 

The groceries were fully loaded into the campervan and we went on our final destination for the day - Mount Buninyong. It is an extinct volcano and the plan was to do a 3ish km hike to the top. There are several trails. According to the Internet, there is a small parking area for 6 cars at the end of the Blackberry lane, which is near to the starting point of the hike. 

It turns out that Blackberry Lane is a dirt track. We saw bunnies hopping and crossing as we drove on, so cute. So fluffy! Before we reached the "carpark", Daddy Lim declared that our campervan cannot take the inclination and we had to turn back. I is sad. Daddy Lim found a different route and offered to drive us. Ok lor. 

It turned out that he had driven us straight to the summit. There was a lookout tower. 

Daddy Lim was secretly pleased that we had already reached the summit and thus there was no need to climb. Zzzz.. On the way down, he saw Blackberry Lane and jokingly asked if we should attempt a 2nd time. Right then, I saw this small carpark. Maybe it is The Carpark and we approached it from a different route? Daddy Lim dismissed me quickly. Obviously, he didn't want to do any hike. Zzzz...

We headed back to the campervan park to prepare for the night. The initial setting up always take a while, trying to figure out how to plug in, set up the bed, etc. Daddy Lim found 2 camp chairs and set them up but it was damned cold. He only sat in them for seconds and then left them out in the cold. Haha. 

The kids went happily to jump on the bouncing pillow. 

Then came the highlight of our campervan trip - the cooking. Zaky was very enthusiastic while Nana tried mostly to be invisible. Cooking is not her thing. 

We bought the all important chicken salt seasoning. I don't think it is healthy but chicken salt everything!

Dinner all done!

We had pasta, vegetables and roasted chicken. Very balanced dinner. 

The sky was still bright when dinner was done. It was 7ish but the sun doesn't set until about 8pm. Then suddenly, the sky turned dark. 

The beds were set up in upper and lower deck. We had trouble setting up the upper deck, watching Youtube, trying out in the other campervan, only to realise that the rollers were stuck. Fortunately, we managed to yank out the upper deck by brute force eventually or somebody had to sleep out in the cold.. or the ensuite toilet. Hoho.

It got colder and colder as the day progressed. So cold that we were all clothed in long pants and jackets in the campervan. Nana and I went to bed in jackets. Even Zaky wore his top when he usually sleeps in the least possible clothing. Hoho. 

I got to sleep in the upper deck with Zaky, who fell asleep while I was taking a work call. For once (since he grew big) that I truly enjoyed cuddling up to him. He was so warm. Hoho. 

It took me a while to fall asleep. It was super cold and I was half imagining that we would die to hypothermia in the night. 

Daddy Lim and Nana took the lower deck.

Good night world.

Mummy Lim

Melbourne! Day 3, Part 1: Campervan, Naturipe

Day 3 was the start of our campervan journey. For the next 5 days, we would be in a campervan. This is our 3rd campervan experience. Daddy Lim was tempted to rent a car but still stay in a campervan park. However, the kids are still excited over a campervan holiday and it would also be an experience for the other Lim Family. Thus, campervan it shall be. 

I woke up early to use the gym. This time, at least there was a fellow gym-er. 

The morning was cold. I was just thinking to myself "what if my card didn't work and I get stuck out in the cold?". The next moment, it happened. Zzzz. I had to run back to the hotel to get the key sorted out but all good. I didn't die in the cold. 

We had arranged to meet and set off at 8.15am. The campervan collection was at 9am. We had bfast on our own and I finally remembered to take pictures. Yay! It was simple bread, ham and cheese but happiness on a cold morning. Hoho.

Then, it was to rush everybody, stuff the last bit of things into the bag and leave. 

We googled and needed to walk 10 mins to the bus stop for bus 220. 大包小包 . 

Along the way, we saw more graffiti, or put nicely, street art. 

So many artists in Australia meh?

It took us about 10 mins to get to the bus stop. For a while, I wonder if bus 220 would really turned up. Until now, we barely figured out the public transport system and were so glad that we were going to have our own transport for the rest of the holidays. 

We had just enough $$ on our Myki card for the bus ride and still not sure what to do with the balance. 

The bus was empty, maybe bcos we were traveling away from the city and it was a work day. At one point, we were the only passengers. 

We finally got to our destination without hiccup. Britz was just opposite the bus stop.

Yes, we are renting from Britz again. We googled and read and there are generally moasly bad reviews on campervan (any brand/ kind/ company) than good reviews. We chose to stick with Britz, where I can at least find some good reviews. This time, we opted for the 4 berth with no toilet. I hope it would be easier to drive, not that I would be driving. 

Unlike the last experience where we had to wait for over an hour for our campervan, the center was almost empty. Collected!

All ready to go. I originally didn't want to pick this model of campervan bcos the passengers had to be seated at the end of the campervan but it is the only 4 berth model available and of course, the teenagers were all plugged in on any car rides. No need to worry at all.

The next stop was Naturipe for fruits picking. We drove for about 30 mins. The kids were happy to be left alone. I was happy to be co-pilot, enjoying the scenery and enjoying the drive. The vast greenery, nothingness was zen and peacefulness. I think I can live with this for a good while. 

Welcome to Naturipe!

Strawberry and cherry picking are in season. 

While Zaky is not a fan of strawberry, he likes the picking. 

Zaky was so funny. While he was picking, there were bees flying around and he went "beeee careful... hahahaha" to himself. 

We had to pay for what we picked, at AUD13 per kg. The strawberries were OK sweet (my POV). Daddy Lim and Nana said that they were quite sweet. While there is no entry fees to pick strawberries, a fee is payable for the cherries. Maybe bcos cherries are more delicate and the farm wanted to restrict to serious pickers? Only Daddy Lim and Nana did the honor while I got the role to clean up Zaky's shoes. He stepped (and sunk!) into mud. Oh, the shoes stink so much. These were already the semi-cleaned state.

I have never eaten fresh cherries. I hated those preserved cherries and thought all cherries tasted like that, like cough syrup. Daddy Lim and Nana came back with a box of cherries. I didn't know cherries grow on trees and in bunches. The dark ones are the really sweet ones but unfortunately grow together with the not so sweet ones. 

I finally got to eat my very 1st cherry and realised that they taste like grapes! Yum! Not at all any inkling to cough syrup.

While waiting for Daddy Lim and Nana, Zaky needed to use the toilet urgently. How?

菊花茶 Zzzzz... regardless of how old he is. 

Mummy Lim

Melbourne! Day 2, Part 2: St Kilda's Beach

St Kilda's Beach was originally in the itinerary but removed for other things. Now that we had a free slot in the calendar, we thought maybe it would be a good idea. 

Google map says that tram 3/3a/16 would bring us right from our hotel to the St Kilda's beach. Then, the same thing happened. These tram numbers were missing from the station's electronic board. I get a sense of deju vu. We waited for a good 5 mins and realised that we needed to check and ask. 

We were told that there was some tram maintenance work and a number of trams were replaced by buses for x period of time. Then came the unclear instructions, take any tram into the city (duno where) and change to a bus. What bus? 

We walked into the free tram area, thinking that it was where to get the bus. Tram 67 came and we asked again. This time, the tram driver told us to board and to get off subsequently to change for The Bus. He told us that he would tell us when it was time to alight for The Bus. 

At The Stop, everybody needed to alight for The Bus. Apparently, what happened is that a section of the road was closed to some of the trams, thus we had to take the tram, bus, tram combination. At a particular stop, we were told to get off The Bus and now to finally take the tram 3a for our last leg to St Kilda's beach. 

Then, right when we alighted, came the passing shower. Zzzzz. The wind was howling and it was so super cold. Only the boys brought their swim gear, thinking that they would be brave enuff to swim.

Obviously, we thought wrongly. The kids simply had their feet in the sea and were shrieking. Freaking cold! Zaky said that his feet were numb in minutes. 

We barely survive on the beach. With the sea wind, it was freaking cold that we had to do the coconut tree dance. Hoho.

We decided to walk to the other part, away from the sea. We saw a playground and the kids decided to play, old or not, never mind.

On the way, we saw Optimus Prime. So fierce. 

Then, the Luna Park. This is one of Victoria's oldest theme parks. I didn't want to pay bcos the rides are more catered for the younger kids. 

It was too cold to do anything much. In our familty, we had the 2 males without jackets and the 2 females in shorts. Nana was whinning so much about the cold that she earned herself a new sweat pants. We ended up in search of dinner and found fish & chips. 

Then it was the same tram, bus, tram combination back to the hotel. Daddy Lim was hoping to do some shopping after sending the kids back (to the hotel), only to realise that the shops close early on Sunday. Nana still got to eat her crepe though. 

She said that she had been craving for it. 

It was our 1st laundry day. We luckily got a washer but had to wait a little for the dryer but all sorted out. On the way and in the laundry room, there were many single sock. Lol. So funny. Just back in the room, Auntie S sent us picture of Nana's single sock in her pile. 

In our pile, we found another single sock only to realise that it probably belong to somebody who used the washer/ dryer before us. Yikes!

End of day 2! Time, pls move slowly!

Mummy Lim