Jun 27
Day 8 Great Ocean Road
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One of the most popular tourist attractions in Victoria, we reserve the Great Ocean Road (GOR) trip for the last day. Most of the day is spent inside the bus but thankfully AATKing’s driver-cum-guide Tony (a.k.a. Collin’s Dad) is very amusing.


The first stop Torquay - a small weekend town approx 10km outside GOR. We have morning tea at a corner café where they serve Scones and Devonshire Tea/Coffee. There’s nothing much there as the shops are still closed.

12 minutes from Torquay town is a place call Bell’s Beach. It’s a good place for surfing, & from the cliffs, we can see a lot of surfers waiting for the wave to come. For the next 2 hours, we have a couple of 5-minute photo-stops to stretch our legs. That’s one of the problems about travelling in groups; you covered a lot of grounds, but limited time on each stop.

Had our lunch at Apollo Bay Hotel. This place serves normal western lunch – Fish ’n’ Chips & Salads. Despite lunch is on our own expense, we have an option to eat in or have takeaways. Getting back on the road, we snoozed until Tony woke us up when we reached Otway National Park. On both sides of the road, we can clearly see Koalas hanging from the trees in their natural wild habitat. The numbers are more compared to those in the sanctuary.

Before we reached the 12 apostles, Tony played us a VCD explaining the highlight of the tour. But when we reach, we’re rather disappointed to see only 7 ½ left. It’s cold and windy, but being there when the sun’s shining from the side – amazing.

The bus took us back a few kilometers to a place call Loch Ard Gorge. Historically, this is the place of shipwreck in June 1st, 1878. 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 19 years of age. 131 years later, both of us wrecked our camera while shooting under the strong winds.

We went back to Port Campbell for a short afternoon tea before visiting our final stop – London Bridge. That’s like the last stop we have before we have a 3-hour journey back to Melbourne. Remember the nursery rhyme “London Bridge is falling down, falling down…” I think it’s a miracle that people c.1744 knows about the collapse that happens 246 years later.

On the trip back, Tony played a movie of “The man on the Snowy River”. It’s just the movie we need if we want to get to sleep fast. Tony narrates interesting information about the GOR 80% of the trip, and it’s good for us to understand this memorial for those who sacrificed during the First World War.

After having a simple dinner at Hungry Jacks (again) near Southern Cross Station, we board the Sky Bus to the airport. It’s been a really short trip to Melbourne & Tasmania. Thanks to our guides Irene & Sherlyn, we have a thrill~! Looking forward to our next group outing. – Bali 2009.

Jun 25

Puffing Billy
A forest reserve approximately 35km east of Melbourne, Dandenong Range is blessed with tall Mountain Ash. Commonly known as Mountain Ash, Swamp Gum, and Tasmanian Oak, these trees are “the tallest form of vegetation known”.

Fortunately for us, Collins was leading a ½ day Puffing Billy Tour there as well. While waiting for the driver to prepare our morning tea, Collins gave us some bird seeds to feed the parrots. The parrots are so accustomed to us that they flew in once they feel we’re not a threat. We then warm ourselves with nice Devonshire Tea & layered cakes before continue our journey. Read the rest of this entry »

Jun 24

As Malaysians prefer to stay up late, Australians prefer to wake up early. By 7am, Collins from AATKings already picked us up near our hostel to Federation Square. Coincidentally that Sunday is Mother’s Day. In Melbourne, they’re having a annual fun run/walk for breast cancer. There are over thousands of people dressed in Pink to run for the cause. Everyone’s there and roads are blocked for the run.
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Jun 22
Day 5 Hobart/Melbourne
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Like any other town, parking in Hobart is very expensive. Lucky for us, the evenings are free. As we checked out early, we spend some time looking at Franlin Square, St.David’s Anglican Church & street arts at the back alley between Collins & Argyle.
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Jun 22


When we were here yesterday, Irene was joking with me, “Great Oyster Bay, do they have oysters here?” So we started the day off with a trip back to Freycinet Marine Farm, where they sell fresh Oyster. You can have your Oysters in a few ways - Fresh, Baked, or with a little wasabi on top. We got a dozen of fresh regular oyster and man, these clamshells are much better than those served in 5* hotels back where I came from. When it went into my mouth, I can feel like the oyster is snorkelling above my tongue. Read the rest of this entry »

Jun 21
Day 3: Bicheno & Freycinet
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It’s not easy to wake up after having the grapes fermented in my stomach. On top of that, we have to pack up our bags and head towards the next town. But before we return the keys, after 3 days of travelling, we finally have the chance to sit down and enjoy the most important meal of the day – Breakfast. They serve a variety of Sausages, Bacon & Potatoes. As for drinks, there’s a selection of fruit juice to choose from. We particularly like Tomato Juice with a few drops of Tabasco sauce. Read the rest of this entry »

May 26
Day #2 MEL-LST
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Before we can get into REM state, we forced ourselves up and prepare for another short flight to Tasmania. Now, for the benefit of those who don’t know, TAZ is an island south of Melbourne which is 233 times the size of Penang / ½ the size of Peninsular Malaysia. The flight took around 1 hour from MEL to Launceston (LST)  airport.

Once we got our car, the first place we visited is Bridestowe Lavender Farm. As far as we know, Tasmania is one of the 3 places that plants Lavender, the other 2 is in Provence, France & Hokkaido, Japan. Unfortunately for us, it’s already near winter and the flowers aren’t blooming. But with a few clicks on Photoshop, I’m able to blend some lavender into our photo album. A “how-to” can be prepared if any of you are interested. Just leave me a comment/ email me.
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May 23
Day 1: PEN-KUL-MEL
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Having traveled every couple of months, I could consider myself a regular passenger of AirAsia. Even though this was not my virgin flight overseas with AirAsia, it’s one of the biggest aircraft that I’ve sat on. They put 9 chairs in a row instead of asking us to pay extra for comfort and in flight entertainment.

It’s an 8-hour long flight you must be wondering how we kill time without a movie marathon. Well, I was going through this book called MindMap by Tony Buzan  . This is an interesting book that makes me realized why I’m not scoring good results in school. Instead of doing line notes, the book teaches us how to break through language barrier and draw notes like how our brain works.


When you’re travelling on such a long flight, a good rest is very important. For RM20 extra, you’ll be getting a comfort set. What’s inside is a mask, a pillow as well as a long blanket to keep you warm. And if you’re ambitious to save passengers from Snake on the Plane (2006) you could put it as a cape.

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Usually aircrafts will not serve good food. But all we need up there is something to warm up our body and is filling. And to have your meal hot up in the sky, well, that’s amazing. And mineral water is only RM4/bottle. Hey, if you think that I’m shouting for no good reason, read this “Everything’s Amazing, Nobody’s Happy
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After the 8-hour long journey, we arrived at Melbourne Airport almost midnight, cold and a bit lost. Brad came and picked us up from the airport and he’s quite a nice guy. Besides being a driver Brad checked us into the Caravan Village, which is a nice place btw. Its 7 minutes drive from the airport and the cabin is really cozy. It has shot shower, a toilet, a full kitchen and 2 bedrooms. It was so cold that night that we need to wear thick socks and cover our face to sleep.

Tomorrow we’ll be flying again. Next up: Tasmania

May 19

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What about Transportation? Well, you can either take a local tour or hire a vehicle. There are a few options available (Avis, Budget, Europcar…), but we went for Europcar. You can check your preference from Vroom3. Rest assure, the cars you get overseas are much better than the Kancil or Saga that we use to commune to work.

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May 19

Now let’s talk about places to stay. Accommodation doesn’t mean a place you stayed for the night, but how much you can accommodate for a cheaper price.

Just think bout it, you’ll only be staying there for the evening, take a bath and store all your souvenirs. I’m not telling you to sleep on the streets, but you don’t need a 5 star hotel with a swimming pool, spa and gym right?

Well, if you agree with me, it’s easy for you to find a decent youth hostel from the Youth Hostel Association (YHA).

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