This post will be on my trip to Phillip Island. It was a memorable trip to me because I managed to visit quite a number of places in just one day. I went with the same tour to the Great Ocean Road, and I could say that by the end of the trip, my curiosity of the Island has been fulfilled.
My first stop at Phillip Island was Rhyll Trout and Bush Tucker Farm. The place was really huge. We were introduced to a lot of native plants there.
The name 'Bush Tucker' here refers to any food, native to Australia. In the past, these food was a source of sustenance to the indigenous people. Well, I did find the name of the farm weird at first, but now it became clearer after I got to know its meaning.
Examples of bush tucker products include macadamia nuts, lemon myrtle and wattle seed.
Lemon myrtle leaves has become my most favorite plant because of its fragrance. Just rub the leaves gently with your palms and you'll get a really refreshing smell. To me, this is natural aromatherapy, fresh and organic.
Those yellow berries - they do look really nice - but beware, they might be poisonous! And here's a strawberry gum leaf, food for the koalas. The leaf does carries a light hint of strawberry smell when rubbed together.
The best lunch in my Australian trip was salmon, cooked with lemon myrtle batter, and some chips. I had a really nice platter here because the salmon was very fresh. I can almost feel it melting in my mouth with every bite I took. I craved for more salmon at that time, even though I was full. It was that great.
So based on this experience alone, I could conclude that fresh food do not require much seasoning, because they are just naturally good on their own.
We visited the Koala Conservation Centre next. The koalas were in their natural habitat and we had to walk quietly so as not to disturb them. In this area, there were 20 koalas in total and I tried to spot every single one of them. Unfortunately, they were so high up on the trees and many looked like furry balls, all curled up. I couldn't get a good photo at all and I thought that this trip was going to be a disappointing one.
However, as luck would have it, I ended up encountering not one, but two koalas, really close up. They were just an arm's length away from me.
This was the first koala. It was so cute that I couldn't bear to walk away from it. Hmm.. did you just notice me, little one? What are you doing, scratching the tree? I could see that koalas have really sharp claws, so don't even think of touching any of them. Koalas are NOT domesticated animals. Besides the claws, the koalas may also carry a certain koala disease (not sure what disease it is), so it's better to keep an appropriate distance from them.
My second koala sighting. This one is sleeping very soundly.
Clear, open fields and small roads shaded by trees; these are what I like most about Australia. It is so spacious and green, with an abundance of natural wonders. I just love the simplicity of life.
Here is another place which I went to, where I get to sample a variety of cheese.
I would like to say that this was my cheesy affair... The cheese was so yummy especially when you spread it over a slice of french loaf. Appreciating something like this is so heart-warming.
And with tummy filled again, I climbed on-board the bus, with my fellow tour group, to get to The Nobbies Rock.
It was windy here, but I loved it. I felt good because the short walk cleared my mind. Whatever recesses of drudgery I felt back in Singapore was lifted up and I felt light.
A penguin burrow was seen in the midst of shrubs here. There were many of them, in Nobbies Rock. These were built for the penguins to return to in the evening.
As the evening approached, Jas and I were ready for the main attraction in Phillip Island - the penguins! Unfortunately, we're not allowed to take pictures of the penguins. It's to protect the penguins and I don't feel like violating the rule. I think we should respect the rules because they were definitely made for a reason.
So I took the photo of a miniature penguin in one of the exhibits.
Overall, this trip was a journey of discovery for me. I do hope to do more of this kind of trip in other places. This will be my last photo in this post. I was at the penguin viewing area, waiting for the sun to set and the penguins to emerge from the sea.
At the end of the day, I was really tired, but happy.
Well, that's all for now. Do tune in to my last post on Australia. Ciao.
Yahoo!!! Today is the eve of Hari Raya and I finally had a break from work. It has been a tiring, tiring week for me and my body is seriously aching with all the tension of meeting deadlines and putting long hours at work. So, here I am, breathing a sigh of relief at the number of hours I can spend on, enjoying a number of activities I had in mind.
In this post, I'll continue with my blogging on my trip to the Great Ocean Road.
Photo credit to http://www.lonelyplanet.com
I went on this trip with Go West Tours because it was the most convenient option. This was the route that I took from Melbourne. Geelong is the largest city after Melbourne in Victoria and Torquay is a surf town, where Quicksilver and Rip Curl originate. There's even a surfing museum in Torquay, which unfortunately had to be given a miss since I was following a tour.
This arch marks the start of the Great Ocean Road. I didn't really understand why we had to spend a few minutes at this site when the tour bus made a stop here, but afterwards it made sense. The information boards erected at the side of the road were very helpful and it immediately dawned on me that this was an important historical site.
The arch commemorates the Victorian soldiers who had served in the First World War. Not only that, the Great Ocean Road itself, which stretched to about 243km, was built by the returning soldiers from that war and they dedicated the road to their fallen comrades. It's kind of sad and moving; this road was the longest war memorial in the world.
A small sandy path that brings visitors down to the beach. The waves was pretty high, which was perfect for surfing. Even during winter, there were still people surfing!! I do envy surfers because to me, they are really hardy and robust athletes.
Waves rolled from afar and came crashing on the rocks. I appreciate a lot of the scenic sights along the road. However, there were quite a lot of bends and windings along the road so you can get nauseous. I just closed my eyes whenever I needed to and the nausea was gone, so it was not that bad, especially when it comes from someone who has motion sickness.
I'm not sure where this was but it must be at Lorne. A peaceful place where you can enjoy the view and have a picnic on the wooden tables and benches. We had some Lamington cakes and a hot cup of cocoa at this stop. But what I like the most is the weather - the air is so cool so you can sit here all day without breaking a sweat.
Another stop along the Otway Range and look what I've found. Two amazing Kookaburras!! These birds are native to Australia.
There were parrots, ducks and koalas too in this area. The parrots were the noisiest animal I could find here. There were so many of them and one landed on my head.
We have reached the Otway National Park, home to the tallest and biggest trees in the world. The trees here can grow up to 100 m high. Bush fire was also quite common here during summer when the air is very dry and hot. You could see the effects of the fire on this tree, where only the trunk is left standing.
I'm not kidding when I said that these trees were gigantic. You can walk through the trunk without bending your head.
This rainforest was home to many creatures and plants. Even though we had walked on the trail through the forest for about thirty minutes, I was truly enchanted by what I had seen. This was a great change from the concrete jungle which I am so used to.
We're here at the 12 Apostles, which consists of a collection of beautiful limestone stacks or rocks. These apostles were wonders of nature because they were able to survive despite the erosive force of the waves and other natural elements such as the rain and wind. Currently, there's only 8 Apostles left, the ninth had collapsed in 2005.
The warning sign showed how precarious the site can be. Safety comes first at all times and there were also other signs such as to be on alert for snakes.
Here were some of the beautiful apostles I had managed to capture. It was not the best time to snap photo because I was taking photos with the sun directly in the background, so many of my photos are dark.
There are many other seascapes at Port Campbell other than the Apostles.
There were a lot of walking and climbing in this tour, so putting on a pair of track shoes is the most recommended way to go.
I think this is my best photo of the lot.
I'm not sure whether this is a flower, but it is still a beautiful vegetation that grows in abundance along the Great Ocean Road.
That's all for now. Stay updated on my trip to Phillip Island. I've got to go now. Ciao.
