Melbourne! Day 6: Adventure Park

I was hoping that the weather forecast would be correct bcos we needed warmer weather. It was a day to Adventure Park, which is a water theme park with some dry land rides and we needed the sun. 

We woke up to cloudy sky and it was still very cold.... never mind, fill the tummy 1st. With double power, Auntie S and I whipped up a sumptuous bfast. 

With bigger stove and sink, cooking and cleaning were alot easier and faster. I really dislike cooking (particularly eggs) using the campervan's pan. It sticks like anything and trying to wash up using the ensuite's little sink is one level up. Daddy Lim kept reminding the kids that we have way enough campervan experience and can absolutely skip that for future trips. Haha. 

Adventure Park opens from 10am to 5pm. We arrived at 10ish and only spotted 1 other car. We were not sure who else would be as crazy as us to attempt a water theme park on such a cold day. 

Look at the clouds.

Apparently there were crazy Australians and many of them were already hitting the water slides. We were all still huddling in our jackets and long pants. Maybe they tolerate the cold better than Singaporeans, who only experienced summer year round. 

Of course we attempted the land rides 1st. I love the swinging chairs bcos the kids can go on them forever. Lol.

They did. 

Ferris wheels. How does this ride end? We had to wave to the attendant when we had enough and wanted to get off. Yes, the park was that empty. Hoho. We didn't mind. 

Water Bee. This was hard work, like leg day. Lol. Nana chose a life vest with a spider on it and had a spider running across her face. Surprise!

The sun finally came out, signaling that it was time for the water rides. We had to do just that to make our tickets worth. There were also more visitors, including school kids who came in bus loads. 

We attempted the 2 major water slides. The moment we stepped into the water to sit on the float, chill shot through. The sun hadn't got time to heat up the water. 

The slides were great. I was screaming throughout but more from seeing and knowing that we were going to be splashed by the cold water than the thrill from the ride. Trying to climb onto the platform for the next ride in our wet swimming gear was another adventure on its own. When the wind blew, I think my soul left too. Lol. 

Our kids were a lot braver than we were. They went for 2 more water slides than we did. For the very last ones, Zaky had to plead with Nana to go with him as they were min 2 pax rides; T & C have not enough fats to insulate them from the cold and gave up already. 

We stopped for lunch. We tabaoed from "home" and made our own sandwiches, adding on hot fries and hot drinks. It was good so long as we were away from the cold water and we all agreed that we had enough of the water slides. 

We got changed and warm again before we went for the mini golf. That kept us entertained for a good hour. 

Daddy Lim and the kids were really competitive in this game. The 2 mummies were competing for the most stokes to complete a hole. Lol. 

It was about 4pm when we decided to leave. 

Bye to Adventure Park. We would have loved you more if it had been much hotter. 

Auntie S and I agreed that we had enough of cooking and washing. We ate out and even MacD tasted good when the cooking and washing were taken out of the equation. 

It got a lot warmer and we were discussing about hitting the heated pool in the campervan park, which unfortunately was closed by the time we were back. The kids did a little jumping on the pillow though. This pillow is smaller but still a lot of fun. 

It was again laundry day. This time, Daddy Lim didn't have an Australian Uncle to talk to, only the Singaporean Auntie. Lol. We chatted as we waited in the cold laundry room for the dryer to do its work. The dryer wasn't as powerful as the previous ones. The clothes were not 100% dry but 随便 lah. This was the last laundry day for the trip and we needed to ensure enough clothes to last us for the remaining 4 days. 

Mummy Lim

Melbourne! Day 5: Geelong Eastern Reserve, Amazing Mill, Barwon River Holiday Park

There was another bird calling early in the morning. Nana insisted that it was the same irritating bird but she couldn't make out what it was saying this time. Lol.

It was checkout of NRMA park day. Before that, another run! This time, I had company. 

Daddy Lim was with us too. Just somewhere further, further behind. Hoho. Bcos unity is strength, we went out further this time without worrying about getting kidnapped. 

Another 5km done. 

I was sure it was colder (than the previous morning) bcos we had dragon breath as we started off. It was again a "no sweat" jog. I thought it is easier to jog in Australia than in Singapore. Maybe it is the dry weather or maybe bcos it was just the cold. It was just more enjoyable regardless. 

I ran past the bouncing pillow and was surprised to see that it was deflated. Did our kids jumped too much on it and deflated it? I was later told by Zaky that the bouncing pillow is automatically deflated S temperature drops and then inflated as the weather heats up - hot air expands theory. Hmmm... I wasn't quite convinced. He went on to tell me that it was already deflating when they were jumping on it late last evening and it felt like mashy marshmallow. 

We made bfast - anything that didn't need the fire. We microwaved the corn beef and the ham. All good, all good. All in control. 

I am never good with one of these but we got this one done good this time. 

Then, it was checking out and driving all the way to Geelong. It was meant to be a beach day. Weather forecast said that the weather was better (and hotter) than the day before. I was not sure. It was very cloudy. 

Windmills! Probably very windy too. Lol.

Finally! We can see water!

We walked to the lagoon and that was the intended swimming spot. It was seriously way too cold. 

We only saw a lady swimming with her dog. She went into the water and swam for a very short while. Her dog was very hestiant. Lol. 

At the far end of the lagoon, there are diving platforms. There would have been so fun (for the kids) if the weather had been a lot warmer. 

Zaky asked if there are sharks and jellyfish. I confidently assured him not. Then, near the diving platforms, we saw these bobbing up and down. 

Not 1, but 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.. and counting. Hohoho. Even if the water would have been warmer, nobody is now keen to go anywhere near the water. Hoho. 

There is a waddling pool but only the seagulls were using it. 

We ended up playing at the playground. Never too old.

Then, walking along the beach, photographing these famous Geelong Beach bollards. 

For a moment, we decided to leave the beach in search of another activity. Then Mr Sun had mercy on us and peeked from behind the clouds. Out came the picnic mat from the campervan and snacks. 

We goof around for a good hour before in search of lunch. I know, we kept eating. Not only did we have lunch, we found an ice cream place after that and it was impossible to resist. 

The 2nd activity of the day was to this Amazing Mill. It is a huge warehouse of... strange stuff. 

There are rows and rows, shelf and shelf of weird and interesting things. 

Look at these antiques. 

I remembered ah yee had one of these!

Zaky got bored after a while. He only got excited when he sighted a claw machine and one that was not to hard to play. His loots! With only AUD4!

We left and headed to the Barwon River Holiday Park, our home for the next 2 nights. Instead of sleeping in the campervan, we would be sleeping in a cabin, with proper beds. Yay!

The cabin comes with a huge living area and 3 bedrooms. The kids were excited to sleep together in the 4 bunk room.

The moment we checked into the cabin, everybody was on their phone. Zzzz. 

We decided to do the grocery shopping without the kids. They were not at all keen anyway. 

Then it was double power dinner preparation. 

Dinner was done up quickly. 

All washed up. 

It was already 8pm but the sky was still high up in the sky. This was definitely one of the things that I enjoyed about their summer. It is like we gained extra hours everyday. 

Mummy Lim

Melbourne! Day 4, Part 2: Heated Pool, Dinner

We hit the supermarket to top up the needed for dinner. We also made a booking for the indoor heated spa for 1 hour and the heated water was so much desired. It was too much cold for summer. 

We had to take turns to shower. Auntie S and I left 1st. She was one step faster than I was and the moment I got out, I saw her running. I did too soon after bcos it was so cold. The best part? I hadn't got my orientation and had no idea where the campervan was parked. It didn't matter. Just run and gain distant 1st, then figure out the direction. Lol. 

We then collected the people one by one and all of them did the same. Lol. While waiting for people to shower, it was my turn to savor the remaining cherries. 

We waited until all were done before we started cooking dinner. The original plan was beef burger but it didn't turn out as planned bcos the LPG tank ran out of gas. I think the campervan staff didn't top up the tank for us. We had to loan "fire" from Auntie S and disturb their cooking, delaying their dinner plans. 

Instead of beef patties, we had minced beef (for faster cooking). Everything else was microwaved. 

It was still an enjoyable dinner nevertheless. We had fried chicken fillet and exchanged part of it for Auntie S' fresh roasted chicken.

It was laundry night. I remembered that the last Brisbane holiday, we similarly did laundry at a campervan park but the clothes didn't turn out 100% dry after using the dryer. I was thinking if we needed to hang them on the drying lines this time. Daddy Lim helped with the laundry and we met an Australian who then started chit chatting with Daddy Lim for the whole 20 mins while the clothes were in the dryer. I was back washing the dishes and was so amused. Daddy Lim came back with very dry and toasty clothes and told me that he now know the Australian's life story, including his Thai's wife and him going to retire in Thailand soon. Hohoho. What an encounter.

For the 2nd night, we switched the sleeping configuration bcos Nana wanted the warmer upper deck. Daddy Lim and Zaky took the lower deck bcos we were worried that the upper deck cannot take Daddy Lim's weight. Hohoho. 

Mummy Lim