Hebitch Down Under

Sunday, December 21, 2008

A big THANK YOU.

Thanks guys, for opening your homes and your lives to me.
I will never forget the times we shared.
I know it was short but it had been truly unforgetable.

Thanks again for being great hosts. But more importantly, great friends (not just to me, but to each other).

Let bygones be bygones and only remember the good times you shared.
I understand its going to be tough saying goodbye but remember, your friendship will crumble not because of the distance seperating you or the lack of time you spend with each other, it will crumble only if you let it crumble. And I believe you guys won't.

Stay happy and stay in touch.

The GREAT Ocean Road: Part 2

So back to the helicopter ride.

The first of the 12 Apostles:

And here are the rest:

The 12 Apostles (Actually if you can count from this picture, there are only 8 left! The 9th collapsed in 3rd July 2005):

I dunno but one of those gorges is the Loch Ard Gorge:

See that seahorse-shaped 'island'?:

The 12 Apostles: Originally the site was called the Sow and Piglets. Muttonbird Island near Loch And Gorge was the ‘Sow’ and the smaller rock stacks the ‘Piglets.’ The name was changed in the 1950s to the more majestic "The Twelve Apostles".*

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Apostles,_Victoria

I wanna do that again!

Equally stunning on land:

It was so amazing!:

To learn more about the Loch Ard history (click on the pictures below to enlarge):

The gorge is named after the clipper ship Loch Ard, which ran aground on nearby Muttonbir Island on 1 June 1878 approaching the end of a three-month journey from England to Melbourne.

All but two of the fifty-one passengers and crew perished - Tom Pearce, a ship's apprentice and Eva Carmichael, an Irishwoman immigrating with her family, both of whom were 18 years of age. According to memorials at the site, Pearce was washed ashore, and rescued Carmichael from the water after hearing her cries for help. Pearce then proceeded to climb out of the gorge to raise the alarm to local pastoralists who immediately set into plan a rescue attempt.*

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ard_Gorge

Well, according to legend, they were supposed to get married after falling in love; but the lovers had to be seperated when she went back to Ireland and he back to Melbourne.

The Lord Ard Gorge, 10 minutes drive west from the 12 Apostles:

Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!

Limestone stack:

A cave at the gorge:

Close-up of the cave:

London Bridge (before the collapse; people could even drive their cars on top!):

And now after the collapse:

Click image for more information:

The bridge broke off in 1990. And there happened to be two people on that unbroken part who had to be heli-evacuated!

So that's it folks, drove back the inland way (not along the coast):

The GREAT Ocean Road: Part 1

I went on the day-tour to the Great Ocean Road on my own the next day. Picked a really fantastic day! Blue skies, blue waters... perfect, just let the pictures speak for themselves.

There are many tours to the Great Ocean Road. So there are many activities you can do and places you can see, but remember to pick a sunny day though (that is the most important!).

The drive starts from Melbourne, then to Geelong, then Torquay, before you drive on the Great Ocean Road itself. See map.

We started early in the morning and the first pit stop was Bells Beach:

Told ya it was the perfect day (even the guide said so).

We had breakfast biscuits and tea on the beach:

One of the reasons why I went alone was cause no one wanted to go for the long drive. Its really long and winding! So if you get carsick easily, maybe you should reconsider BUT if you do go to Melbourne (or Victoria itself) you cannot miss this! Its f***ing B-E-A-Utiful!

Chances of seeing wild kangaroos, koalas and colourful parrots!

Next stop was this really beautiful lighthouse at Cape Otway:

It had a stunning view!:

I love the beaches!:

See the winding road?:

Quick stop:

Next it was to see wild koalas!:

And parrots:

*yawn*

"What do you want?"

*stretch*

"Okay I'm ready for my close-up. Come and get it, boys..."

CUTE!:

More pictures of the coastline:

Had lunch here on the beach in Apollo Bay... and also had time to cam-whore:

Next stop was the Mait's Rest Rainforest walk:

Huge-ass trees:

See the human scale?:

Then it was back to driving by the coastline:

And we reached Port Campbell National Park where the 12 Apostles are. And I had to take a helicopter ride over the 12 Apostles to really see them in all their glory:

It can be affordable if its subsidised in certain day-tour packages:

YAY!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

South Gate and the Shrine of Remembrance.

The next day was all bright and sunny! I miss the sun sometimes. I remember when I was in Alaska and when the sun was out (very rarely though), I would stand under the sun with my eyes closed and palms up, as if to soak in as much of the sunlight I can get. (But the same can't be said when I come back to Singapore... Shade please!)

Took a train to Flinder's Street to have lunch with Ruzi. But first we dropped by the Melbourne Visitors' Centre in Federation Square to check out the promotional pamphlets on tours to the Great Ocean Road.

Beside Ruzi's workplace; nice fine-dining area:

Melbourne's General Post Office (GPO). Its actually a really swanky shopping centre!

Pictures of nearby streets, Elizabeth Street:

Once again, Bourke Street:

Flinder's Station clock tower:

SouthGate Shopping Mall at the Southbank (across the Yarra River):

Pedestrian bridge across the Yarra River:

Eureka Skydeck 88 (the highest viewing deck in the Southern Hemisphere; and has the world's first and only Edge Experience)

Glimpse of Melbourne Central from Yarra River:

You can see Flinder's on the left and St Paul's Cathedral on the right:

This is the Arts Centre:

Continuing southeast along St Kilda road:

Is it just me or in this picture, she bears some resemblance to Victoria Beckham? I think its just me:

The Shrine of Remembrance:

Built in 1934 in remembrance of the 114,000 men and women of Victoria who served and those who died in the Great War of 1914-1918, the inspiration for the external outline came from one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - the mausoleum at Harlicarnassus to Mausolus, King of Caria in South West Asia Minor.*
*http://www.shrine.org.au/content.asp?Document_ID=1

They were lowering the Australian flag (they were closed by the time we hiked up to the shrine... sheesh, just our luck...).

I like visiting memorial shrines and mausoleums. There is always some air of sombreness derived not only from the architectural designs and (most often) classical ornaments, but also from the monumentality of the urban planning (Washington DC is a perfect example of monumental urban planning for shrines and other governmental buildings).

But of course, there will always be people who are insensitive to the reverence and sensitivity of a place like this. The first guy in the foreground took his top off to pose for a picture, and the three guys behind him (thinking it would be hilarious to 'crash' the guy's picture) did likewise...

The three topless guys did more climbing on the columns to pose for more pictures later before they were reprimanded by the guard there... Like seriously, fooling around in a war memorial? Have you no respect?

The ornaments on the side buttresses:

A tribute statue:

So... we met up with Ruzi after her work, and Miin too. And we later had dinner at this really awesome Italian place along St Kilda Road...

That's it for now!

Docklands.

Melbourne Docklands is a unique waterfront development in the heart of Melbourne comprising 200 hectares of land and water and seven kilometres of waterfront*.

*http://www.docklands.com/cs/Satellite?pagename=Docklands

Zaha Hadid, by the way, will be contributing to the architecture there with her 'green' building in a few years' time.

But here are pictures of the existing architecture; interesting place (too bad about the weather):

Luxurious waterfront condos:

And lots of places to shop too! This is the newly opened HarbourTown (full of Outlet stores...) with the Southern Star (Ferris Wheel) behind:

Selamat Hari Raye Aidiladha!

The day after we got back was Hari Raya Haji. So after the early morning prayers at the nearby stadium, we went to the market to buy groceries! (The mosque was too small to house such a large congregation; it was surprisingly a 'family' thing, unlike the majority-male muslims praying in Singaporean mosques for both Hari Raye prayers).

Grocery shopping...

Maknye (the 'mother'):

Bapaknye (the 'father'):

Clayton (check out that yellow building! Its ClubX! lol):

Can sing, can cook. Anyone interested? Anyone? Anyone?

Cutting onions. Real men don't cry:

Ruzi came later to help us with the 'sayur lodeh' for our lontong. Rowds made chicken rendang and chilli prawns, with the help of Abang 'Brahim'.

After cooking and rest, we all got dressed up in our best baju kurungs (maybe just the girls...):

Our Hari Raye feast, from top left to foreground: lontong, chilli prawns and chilli paste, rendang (and not forgetting the sayur lodeh, not in the picture):

'Perempuan Melayu terakhir' (meaning: last Malay lady) trying to take a jump shot... (Perempuan Melayu terakhir konon... meaning: Yeah rite...):

Dzul and Miin:

Yummy!:

We joked that each of us had a really traditional (and not to mention outdated) Malay names; from left: Abang Ramli, Pe'ah, Petom, Tipah, Jenab and Abang Selamat:

And we later had a really wet and slippery time after the dinner (of course we changed out from the nice clothes...). We played games (wrestling especially!) on plastic tabletop covers made slippery with soap and detergent and eggs and water...

It was helluva time! Promise to upload the pictures once I get my hands on them!

Back to Melbourne!

We took an early flight the next morning back to Melbourne. Miin picked us up from the airport and then we later drove her to her workplace in Melbourne's Luna Park somwhere at St Kilda: