Canberra, Australia Trip (Day 8)

23rd Feb 2019, Saturday

Last day of holidays....my dad gave us a morning call today and got us up for breakfast. By the time my sis and mi went down for breakfast (included in hotel stay), my dad and step mum were already downstairs eating. So we took our time to have our breakfast there. After breakfast, we went back to the room to watch TV first as it was still early to leave. We checked out the hotel around 9.30 am and my dad decided to head down to the airport (but the flight was around 1 plus) in case there was heavy traffic. Luckily, the car's GPS was able to route us correctly to the airport this time, so we did arrived at the airport earlier than expected. So we parked the car in the allocated lot and went to the rental car office to return the car (Finally off-work as navigator).

Hot Chocolate & Mee

After that, we went ahead to check-in our flight and luggage. Then there was nothing for us to do except to wait in the airport. We waited for around half an hour before we went in to the boarding gates. There was only one shop and three restaurants around, my dad said he was hungry and wanted to eat Thai food there. So we ordered some dishes to share while waiting for boarding. It was quite boring wait there, so i went ahead playing my pokemon go game (need to park pokemons in gyms). We boarded the plane to fly to Melbourne and it was about a hour plus journey.

Once we touched down at Melbourne airport, we had to run to the international airport and we had to pass the customs and security checks. My dad kept on chasing us to walk quickly, if not, the plane would fly off. We did managed to reach the gate without having the leisure time to shop around. But we did managed to grab two big bags of Nougats as the shop was just beside our boarding gate. There was a slight delay in boarding the plane and there were quite a lot of empty seats around. So mi and my sister went ahead to sit at those empty seats after the plane took off. We landed back Singapore safe and sound....and our family adventures ended with some good memories...^_^

Places visited:
Canberra Airport

Hotel Stayed:
The Canberra Rex Hotel
(Car park free)

Canberra, Australia Trip (Day 7)

22nd Feb 2019, Friday

Today we had to leave Kangaroo Valley and headed to Canberra, the capital of Australia. We got ready and said bye-bye to the cottage, goats, kangaroos and the pig. But we still drove to the town to buy the southern pies for the last time before we really leave the town. We drove to Nowra, another town which was about 30 mins away from Kangaroo Valley town. When we reached there, we headed to Hopper's Society cafe for breakfast. I don't like the one i ordered as it was having an ingredient (which was having a funny and spicy taste) inside. But luckily the hot chocolate was still normal.

After breakfast, we drove down to Stockland Shopping Centre which was a short distance away. So we split out to shop and buy our own stuffs. Mi and my sister went ahead to Woolworth and bought the snacks (to bring back to Singapore). After that, we shopped around the different shops till it was time to leave. As it would be a long journey drive, i bought sushi in case we were hungry in the car.
Then we drove out to our next destination, it was about 2hrs plus drive from our current location. As usual, we had to overwrite the car's GPS route (if not, will ended up longer duration and may even get lost). The drive was long and we were not able to see any rest point until 2 hrs later. We finally managed to get a toilet break and my dad was able to stretch his legs for a while.

TV room

Bedroom

Basin Area

We took some time to locate the hotel when we reached Canberra city but we finally reached the hotel around 3.30 pm. After which, i went ahead to do our check-in and we went up to our rooms. I was surprised by the room. There was a mini living room and a separate bedroom. Plus there was a lot of space for the toilet and bathroom. It looked like a mini suite...but too bad, we only had one night stay here.

Naval Ship Bridge

Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall Entrance

After we rested for a while, we headed out to Australia War Memorial Hall which was nearby. It was quite empty when we reached there. So we took our time to take photos on the armoury displays. Then we walked to the memorial hall where there was a memorial ceremony conducting 10 mins later to honour one of the many soldiers who had lost their lives during war times.  So we went into the gift shop to shop before the memorial ceremony started. After that, we waited for the memorial ceremony to start. There were a lot of people gathered around the hall and offering flowers. There was a officer introducing the life of one honoured soldier who had lost his life during world war I.

Juices

Dinner

After that, we stayed around the place for photo taking as the memorial hall was closing soon. We decided to go have dinner in the hotel itself, rather than to drive the car around the city (cos my dad had a long drive today). So we drove back to the hotel and went up to level 6 where there was a pub called "The Howling Moon". The pub had a scenic view of the city and mountains and we were able to get the sunset there too. My dad was busy on the phone (dealing customers' complaints), so we ordered our dinner first. We ordered a salad, beef steak and roasted pork belly dish with some juices. There were other diners having fingers food with alcoholic drinks and it was only around 6 plus.

The food took some time to arrive and the presentations looked yummy. But my dad was still busy on the phone, so we started while waiting for him to come back to the table. The food was nice, especially the roasted meat and were not salty. After dinner, we went back to our rooms to pack our luggage as going to fly back tomorrow.... :(

Places visited:
Stockland Shopping Centre (Nowra)
Australia War Memorial Hall (Canberra)

Hotel Stayed:
The Canberra Rex Hotel
(Car park free)

Fitzroy Falls, Australia Trip (Day 6)

21st Feb 2019, Thursday

Woke up late today and step mum was already preparing breakfast outside. We had breakfast and got ready for our adventure today. We decided to go visit Fitzroy Falls which was nearer to our cottage. So we headed out and it was really foggy when we reached the park entrance. It was raining slightly too and the ground was wet. The car park fee costs AUD$4 for the whole day and we headed into the park. Luckily the fall lookout was 200 metres away from the visitor centre and we walked out to see the falls. It was cold outside but we were not able to see anything, even the falls cos it was too foggy. We only managed to catch a glimpse of the falls at the corner from the lookout.

Giant Spider in the visitor centre

Fitzroy Falls (too foggy)

Giant tree

2nd Breakfast

After that, we walked back to the cafe and bought some food for snacks. We also wanted to wait and see if the fog will clear away. We decided to walk back to the lookout when we saw the fog clearing abit. But it was still not totally clear and we were just able to see the falls abit more. So we left the park and headed to Kangaroo Valley Fudge House for ice-cream.

Gelato

Lunch

We reached back kangaroo valley town around 2 plus and we went to the gelato shop. I got the mango flavor which was very nice. But my dad was on the phone (work issues).  After the nice gelato, we just walked down the street. We went in to one of the cafes to have lunch as my dad was complaining hungry. We ordered fish &chips plus salads, i went playing pokemon go while waiting for the food. We tabao the leftover food back as we were unable to finish them all. My step mum also bought southern pies back for dinner. So after that, we went back to the cottage for a rest.

After the nap, my dad drove us to Bendeela Recreation Area to find the wild wombats. It was a short drive away from our cottage. Along the way, my dad and step mum shouted when a wild kangaroo jumped onto our drive path. We saw a group of kangaroos on the greens when we approached the campsite. We alighted and tried to take photos of the kangaroos but they jumped away when they sensed someone walking near them. There were a lot of poos on the grass too, so we carefully avoided the poos when we walked on the grass. After that, we drove further into the campsite. I went to toilet first and when i came out of the toilet, my dad they all were taking photos near a parked van. So i headed towards them and found they were taking photos of a huge and fat wombat. And, the wombat did not bother with our presence and kept on looking for food. I tried to touch the wombat and it felt warm. The old couple (of the van) told us the wombat came sneaking on their van last night, looking for food too.

Southern pies

Birthday cake

After that, we walked into the campsite and managed to see some more kangaroos and wombats. They were all so carefree there. We stayed around for photo taking and left the site around 6 plus. When we reached the cottage, we started to prepare our dinner. My sister brought out a cake slide and my dad said it was for my birthday (that they forget to buy on the actual day). After that, we showered and got ready for bed as we will be leaving for Canberra tomorrow.

Places visited:
Fitzroy Falls National Park
Bendeela Recreation Area

Hotel Stayed:
The Heavens Mountains Escape (Elysium Cottage)

Kangaroo Valley, Australia Trip (Day 5)

20th Feb 2019, Wednesday

Goat outside the cottage

I was woken up by my sister and dad this morning, also found my dad was sleeping on the sofa last night. So we took turns to shower and got ready for our day. It was raining drizzling this morning and we went out to meet the goats after light breakfast. My dad got excited when he saw some wild kangaroos boxing some distance away from the cottage (in the greens). We also went out to feed the goats with wild grasses...hohohoo...

Once we were all ready, we drove out to Kangaroo Valley town but we stopped by Berry Kitchen (some distance before the town). But the restaurant was not opened, it was opened for coffee and there were a couple of people waiting for their coffee. So my dad bought two cups of coffee to try out. We saw the cottage owner there too, she told us the coffee was nice and we should try it. After the coffee, we drove down to the town. It was a small town with a few shops around and 2 of their popular restaurants were closed on Wednesday and Thursday.

Coffee from Berry Kitchen

Southern Pie

Hampden Bridge

So we went to try out the southern pies (it was having good reviews online). It was a small cafe with no customers inside....@_@...But we still bought the pies to eat...it was quite tasty, i just find it too salty for us. After that, mi and my sister went to the post office, which was a couple of shops away. We walled around the town and took photos around Hampden Bridge (which was one of their attractions). Then we went on to see kangaroo valley pioneer museum (entrance fee AUD$10 per adult).

Milk cart

Horse workshop

Old sherd

Dinning room

The stuffs kept in the museum were from the 70/80s and during the war times. The stuffs were collected a lot of dust and were on low maintenance. The museum was actually founded by a lady named Doris Good and there were a lot of stuffs for you to explore. We took some time to explore the different houses which had different items inside. My dad and step mum were sitting near the entrance and was chatting with the old grandpa who sold us the tickets. My dad later told me that the grandpa told them there was a camp site nearby where we could see wild kangaroos and wombats.

After the visit, we were thinking where to have lunch as the restaurants in the town seems to be closed today. So we drove to the visitors information car park and had a look on the information on the nearby towns. We decided to drive up to mountain ridge winery to try our luck. However, we stopped at a town named Berry town along the way as it was already past 2 plus. The town had more shops compared to Kangaroo Valley town. I decided to head to Berry Sourdough Cafe around the corner but it was also closed on Wednesday (Bad luck...). So we settled in The Emporium Food Co. for lunch. They were selling meats and sandwiches.

We bought sandwiches, which was quite nice and not salty. After lunch, we went to the supermarket to get some food for our dinner and tomorrow's breakfast. There was also a sausages shop which we bought some back for dinner. My dad and step mum wanted to go back but i still want to explore the town. So mi and my sister stayed in the town for another hour while my dad and step mum went back. There were more shops to explore here but the price was higher than Kangaroo Valley town. But i did not have enough time to explore more in the town, there was actually a chocolate factory there (the chocolate bought in this town was nice too).

Lunch Place

Bacon Sandwich

Sandwich

 

Sausages Shop

Berry Museum

Afternoon cakes

We left the town around 4pm as my dad wanted to go to the camp site and see the wild wombats. But he wasn't sure on the location and we were not able to find the campsite near our cottage. So we headed back to the cottage as it was starting to rain lightly. It was boring with no interesting TV programs. So I walked around the cottage and up the road to pass time while they napped. When my dad saw mi getting bored, he asked if want to go see the wild wombats. But we did not know the location, so we tried to find on the map and we managed to find the name of the campsite (Bendeela Recreation Area). But my step mum commented it was getting late and to go tomorrow instead.

Don't know what my sis bought (Not nice..haha)

My dad's master piece

So my step mum prepared dinner with leftover food (from yesterday's dinner) and some of the food we bought today. My dad even cooked scrambled eggs and bacon (anyhow mixed together) for us..hahaha....After dinner, we just took turns to shower and rested after a long day.

Places visited:
Kangaroo Valley town
Berry town

Hotel Stayed:
The Heavens Mountains Escape (Elysium Cottage)

Featherdale Wildlife Park, Australia Trip (Day 4)

19th Feb 2019, Tuesday

Today, we are leaving Sydney and moving to Kangaroo Valley. But first, we will head to Featherdale Wildlife Park (To bring my dad to see live jumping kangaroos..hohoho). We got up early and got ready. I went down to get a hot chocolate when the others packed the luggage. After that, we checked out from the lovely apartment and headed down to Featherdale Wildlife Park.

Park Entrance

The ride was around 45 mins from Sydney to the park and it's located near Blacktown. Along the way, my dad saw a sign directed to a Blacktown Shopping Centre. So he said to go have a look later after the visit to the park. We reached the park and parked the car in the car park opposite the entrance. Then we walked to purchase the entrance tickets and went in the park. We also bought a cup of kangaroo snacks to feed the kangaroos in the park.

Kangaroo with baby kangaroo

Small kangaroos

Crane

Snake

Big kangaroo

There were a few kangaroos near the entrance, so my dad went ahead to feed them. Then we walked further in to see other animals such as ghost bats, bilby, kola bears, snakes, etc. After some time, my dad and step mum went to take a rest while mi and my sister went ahead to check out the park. We also waited for the feeding time for the only giant crocodile in the park. There was a park guide introducing the crocodile and she prepared the meat to feed to it. The crocodile was not really interested in the meat when the guide lowered the meat. But when the meat got the attention of the crocodile, it jumped up and swallowed the meat up. After that, we walked a little longer in the park and collected the cute stamps. Then we went to find my dad and step mum.

Ninja Turtle

Fish & Chips

Fried Rice

After that, we left the park and drove to Westpoint Shopping Centre in Blacktown (think my dad wants to go shopping). Once reached the mall, we headed to the food court and had our lunch there.  After lunch, we split out to go for our own shopping. So mi and my sister went ahead and checked out our own interests, toys and supermarkets..hohoho...We bought some tim sum biscuits and snacks.  After shopping, we headed out to kangaroo valley but the car's gps did not have the route to our booked cottage. So we set the navigation to the tourist office in Kangaroo Valley and decided to look for the cottage when we were near the area.

And as usual, the car's GPS was giving funny routes again, different from google map from the phone. So i decided to direct my dad to follow the route from my phone, just directing him not to turn or turn when the car's GPS directed in a different route. And, i got to learn that the car's GPS would change the route to the one from the phone eventually. It was a long ride, it took around 3 hours to reach in Kangaroo Valley's area and we encountered some roads which were foggy. And the cottage was some distance away from Kangaroo Valley town and the signboard was quite small (easier to miss it). So we did drive past the entrance of the cottage and had to uturn back. But we managed to reached the cottage, and we parked our car in front of the cottage.

Dinning Area

Living Area

Master bedroom

Common bedroom

Bathtub

We were wowed away by the surroundings, mountains and goats surrounding the cottage and the weather was cooler than Sydney. So we carried our luggage and went into the house...the house was soo cold inside. The house was big, there were 2 bedrooms, connected by the toilet (almost one room size)...and there was a dinning area and a living room. Plus, a space for light cooking. There was a distribution on the garbage too. There was a food waste collection which the owner requested the guests to distribute for her chickens and pig). After some time, Jan (the owner) drove by and introduced herself to us. We also checked with her if there were some eating places opened for dinner as it was around 6 plus. My step mum did not want to drive out as it was getting dark, so we ordered some frozen food items from the owner (Should have really tabao the roasted chicken earlier...).

After the owner left, we tried to settle down in the house and agreed to leave the toilet door open on both rooms (One door on one of the rooms can't be locked). After some time, the owner came back with the food items we ordered. Mi and my sister heated up the food and we had our dinner....After that, we took turns to shower. My step mum was bothered by the full length mirror reflecting on the beds, so she took the newspaper to cover it (Chinese superstitious)... ^_^.

I went to lie on the bed early (writing postcards) and was feeling hot even if the aircon was on. So i asked my sister if i was having a fever. She was scared that she ran off to my dad's bedroom and said dun wan to sleep with mi tonight...hahaa...So i got the whole bed to myself. But later that night, i heard my sister was on the phone in the other room, my dad was yelling over the phone (to his workers) and my step mum was still watching tv...hohoho...Looks like they were enjoying themselves....^_^

Places visited:
Featherdale Wildlife Park
Westpoint Shopping Centre

Hotel Stayed:
The Heavens Mountains Escape (Elysium Cottage)