This is a journal of our trip to the state of Victoria in Australia. It is a truly awe inspiring place, one in which you can witness the wonders of God's creations. Thank you for following us on this little journey. We hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did.

DAY 1 - 24 Oct 2005 (Mon)

Touched down at Melbourne's Tullamarine International Airport at 8:55am. I could kiss the ground! While we parked at our gate, Phillip noted with excitement that he had worked on the Qantas Boeing 767 parked next to us, VH-OGU. He works in the aviation industry and has worked on many Qantas aircraft at his company in Singapore.

Yours truly had declared traditional medicine (Poh Chai Pills - like I would travel without them!) and had to undergo third degree interrogation at the Customs Counter. Our backpacks were sniffed at by a cute sniffer beagle whilst we were waiting for our big checked baggage to make its grand entrance at the Luggage Claim Belt.

Having made it through, we went to AVIS to get the car - XBZ 024. It's a Holden Commodore, a red one at that! We wanted to load the luggage into the boot when we realised that we didn't know how to get it opened! Found out that you had to use the remote control as there was no key or keyhole!

Ok, we loaded up and moved out! First to Torquay. I managed to get elected as navigator and had to find the correct route to Torquay. The roads are quite easy to navigate as the road signs are clear. Passed by Hoppers Crossing, saw a shell-like sculpture along Princes Highway but couldn't get the camera out in time.

Got so excited when I saw a loaded timber truck for the first time. Three carriages full of raw timber. My head filled with images of furniture, utensils and cosy wood burning stoves. Enroute, we also passed by the city of Geelong. We took some photographs but didn't stop because we wanted to get to the Great Ocean Road as soon as possible.

We arrived in Torquay at 10:30am and were a tad disappointed. The beach was deserted and very quiet. We had lunch at a fish & chips shop. The chips were thick cut and the fish was very fresh.

Torquay was also the site of the first of my very numerous visits to the public washrooms. Very clean. I didn't want to go to the beach so we drove off. A short distance further (after Anglesea), we hit Point Roadknight. We went to the beach and there I started to get into the photography groove. Got some seagulls resting on the sands.

The flies went after Phillip and I had to spray insect repellent on him. Next stop, Lorne. Very disappointing as it was a very small town. Skipped it and went on to Apollo Bay. The road to Apollo Bay was a very tedious and winding one, made even more so by the speed limit and slow vehicles. It took us abt an hour and we finally arrived.

Apollo Bay!! What a stop! We parked by a park (pun not intended) and proceeded to walk the main and happening road. We stopped by a souvenir shop and got a T-shirt and a couple of magnets. Got waylaid by the Bakery and bought a Beef Pie, Veggie Pie, Apple Turnover (with short crust) and Caramel Slice (choc frosting, caramelly thingy in the middle and a digestive cracker base which proved slightly tricky to eat). I also checked out the herb plants for sale. Too bad I can't bring them back to Singapore.

Ate the pies after leaving Apollo Bay. The very delicious mince meat pie made a mess by the filling oozing out of the pastry case. Saved the Caramel Slice as a treat that night.

We stopped on top of a hill outside Apollo Bay to take a few shots of the hills. Gorgeous!! Trees, grazing animals, hills overlooking the Bay. Sigh. This was when I split some mince meat filling on myself.

After that was more flatland with grazing cattle and sheep. Otway National Park is huge and beautiful! Took us more than an hour to clear the park due to the winding roads.

We went straight to the 12 Apostles. It was FREEZING!!! We arrived at 5:30pm and decided to wait for sunset. I took lots of shots while waiting. I finished the first roll of film. Did I mention it was freezing? My fingers were stiff.

Staggered back to the car and drove to Port Campbell. Called Jan, our friend in Warrnambool, to say that we couldn't make it to Warrnambool that day and made a lunch appointment for the next day. We arrived at Port Campbell after dark. We were really tired, exhausted in fact. Had dinner at Waves. Rooms start at A$180 so that was really out of the question. Poor Phillip went to look for rooms before the food arrived. He was shivering when he returned. All rooms were taken.

After dinner, we decided to drive to Peterborough to try our luck. ARGH! Dead town. We struggled to Warrnambool from there. We kept talking to keep ourselves awake. Don't forget we had a very busy and tiring time before we left for Melbourne, couldn't sleep much on the plane and then hit the ground running once we landed. We had to get to Warrnambool fast. Driving at night when you're fatigued is dangerous.

We finally arrived at 10:20pm and managed to get a room at the Best Western All Seasons Motor Inn. A young man, Justin, attended to us and gave us a room with a single and a Queen's size bed for just A$95. The price was for a small room but he gave us the free upgrade. We took it as we were so tired and freezing.

While bringing the luggage to our room, I noticed that the plants outside our rooms were similar to lavender. Upon checking, I found that they were lavender! Whee!! It was too dark and late to do anything about it so I went in to settle in for the night.

DAY 2 - 25 Oct 2005 (Tues)

Woke up and I waited for our neighbours to more or less vacate before I went out to take photos and a bunch of lavender. I called the front desk and a nice lady said that I could.

I was really glad that we made it to Warrnambool and chose this motel! We went to the front desk to check out and found Justin at the front desk at 9:15am! Discovered that the motel was independently owned and managed so we guessed Justin's family owns it.

We went to walk around a bit. Went to Coles Supermarket to get some drinking water and some snacks for the road. Popped into a thrift shop where I got a cookbook, 4 dressmaking patterns by Simplicity and one Chupa Chup piggy bank. We also took shots of St Joseph's Church. We decided to explore Warrnambool a bit and drove to Flagstaff and Lake Pertobe. Lots of beautiful flowers there on Cannon Hill.

Thanks to Phillip, we managed to find Jan's house! Met her very active dog and a pretty friendly cat. Jan drove us back to the city and we had lunch at The Whalers Inn along Liebig Street. Had a great chat. Went to her house and we checked out her herbs garden - vietnamese mint, peppermint, thyme, oregano (same type but one was dark green and the other was light green), sage, parsley and chinese chives. She also has a lemon tree!

Had to say goodbye at 3pm. Went to Mt Gambier straightaway to be early to get a room to avoid last night's headache. Got one at Grand Central Motel at A$69. Not too bad. I kept looking out for lavender bushes at this one but had to make do with the plastic plants in a pot outside our room. We wanted to go to the mountain but found out there's no actual mountain in Mt Gambier! Right...

Went for dinner at KFC. Asked one staff where the supermarket was and she wasn't too sure. We walked around a bit and found Coles Supermarket, Fresh Fruits and Veggies and a Noodle House just around the corner from our motel!

DAY 3 - 26 Oct 2005 (Wed)

Got up early to walk a bit before leaving Mt Gambier. Popped into the OK Pie Shop and got a meat pie and a cornish pastie. Ordered a Hot Chocolate with yellow and green mini marshmallows (A$3).

Drove to nearby Blue Lake, the main attraction in Mt Gambier. It's an ancient volcano and the water is really blue. It's now the main source of water supply for Mt Gambier.

Off to the Grampians!

On the way to Halls Gap, we passed by the towns of Casterton and Coleraine. Casterton has a giant Scouts symbol carved into the hillside and it lights up at night. Too bad we were just passing through. At Coleraine, there was a hilltop lookout which looked into the valley, full of farms and grazing animals. Beautiful!!

Near Hamilton, we visited two waterfalls, Wannon Falls and Nigretta Falls. Impressive. We had to drive along some farms to get to those falls and on the way out, we met some cows sitting near the road and they kept staring at us. Crazy cows.

Soon after, we found the Dunkeld Visitor Information Centre. Dunkeld is the southern entrance into the Grampians. We had told the staff there that we wanted to climb Mt Abrupt but she advised against it as it was going to rain. I also picked up a brochure for a sheep diary farm, Grampians Pure. It was in the nearby town of Glenthompson and we set out for it.

When we arrived, I rang the bell once (with clapper) and waited. Nobody came out. Was abt to drive off when I decided to give them a call. Turns out that Elisabeth, the owner, was in the house and I had to ring the bell many times. We tried the plain, lemon, coconut and vanilla yogurt, the Feta, Pecorino and grated Parmesan. Bought the last two. The pecorino was good, the parmesan was biting although Phillip likes it.

After getting the cheeses, we made our way to Mt Abrupt. On the way there, I made 3 shaved honey ham and beef sandwiches with parmesan and we shared them. We arrived at Mt Abrupt and proceeded to climb it. Took 1 hour and 8 mins to reach the summit. It was sunny when we started out but soon the rain clouds came by. It was raining when we got to the top. The rain obscured the fantastic view. Was wondering whether to stay until the rain stopped but the wind and rain changed our minds. We had no raincoats and opening the brolly was not an option.

Made it down safely. We went off to Halls Gap to find accommodation. We were told that the Visitor Information Centre could help in that department. Arrived at 4:50pm and found it closed. And found out there's no photo developing service here either.

Managed to find accomodations at the Grand Canyon Motel. A lots of shops were closed except for the grocers (very expensive veggies) and a chips shop. Bought a roast chicken there. We also bought instant noodles and a can of Irish Stew at the grocers. I also bought a little exercise book to journal our journey. At the room, Phillip noted that we don't have a can opener. Duh!! So dinner was instant noodles with the roast chicken. It tasted horrible! Wanted to give the shop owner the recipe for my Bondage Chicken.

DAY 4 - 27 Oct 2005 (Thu)

Got up at 8am and headed to the Boroka Lookout, Reids Lookout and the Balconies. The views are fantastic! You just cannot believe the views unless you are there personally. But did I mention that it was freezing COLD?

Walked to the Balconies from Reids Lookout. It was about a kilometre away. Along the way, we had a nice view of Lake Wartook in the distance.

Was a little disappointed at the Balconies because we couldn't go down to the lower ledge unlike in the official promo pics which showed a guy standing there. We met a nice Australian couple Dorothy and hubby (didn't catch his name). Dorothy found a little pathway leading to the top ledge of the Balconies and we made our way there. Our hubbies were surprised but took some pics of us. Dorothy's hubby came over to join us and Phillip took the photo. Later, Phillip did a solo and said I took quite nice shots.

Made our way back to the car (1 km away) and went for lunch at the Quarry Restaurant in Halls Gap. Also posted a postcard to Jan. Had Kangaroo Steak (medium rare - recommended) that still had blood in it. In fact, I've never eaten anything that bled so much before. It's slightly off-putting but hey, no difference from having rare beef. Phillip had barramundi coated with sesame and poppy seeds.

We bought some ice cream. Mine was Stairway to Heaven - white chocolate with dark chocolate flakes and caramel streaks and Phillip had Chocolate Obsession, 'nuff said. The waffle cone is freshly made and tasty.

We set off for Mt William, the tallest mountain in the Grampians, and got there at 1:30pm. It's a 1.8km hike up from the carpark. The first 200 metres was at a gradient of under 20° but it felt like 30°! Met a couple who told us it was great! And that there was someone else up there. They went behind the tower and it was really picturesque. They also said that it was still a long ways up. We thanked them and continued our climb. I was hoping to see a Peregrine Falcon. Not sure if I did or was it a large crow. Heave ho, heave ho. '(",)

We finally made it to the top at around 3pm where we took lots of shots. Phillip found the summit marker and we basically froze even more when taking timer shots. Our fingers froze and became numb. We left at 4pm and took more shots as we descended. Dang the electrical poles which spoiled those otherwise great looking shots. I took my first shots of the flora and had one plant poke me thoroughly. Ouch!

Several other lovely shots were taken during the descent. Can't wait to see the shots! We headed back to town and I went to the Ice Creamery to get some munchies while Phillip filled up the tanks. Got a Cheesy Dog with BBQ sauce. Yummy! After that, we rushed to McKenzie Falls but found that it was a 1.3km trek from the visitor centre so we settled for a 100m hike to the toilet and a 190m hike to the Broken Falls.

We rushed through the phototaking in order to return to Reids Lookout to do some sunset shots. We arrived at 6:20pm and did some daylight shots while waiting for the sun to set. Met a Middle Eastern guy who asked when sunset would occur. Phillip said 15 minutes. He smiled and said "Good! If it was half an hour, I don't want to stay!".

15 minutes later, the sun seemed to be in the same spot! We were a bit worried that the man would be angry that we had given him wrong info. But I guess he was not, because the whole family was chatting and singing! The sun finally set 25-30 minutes later and we were clicking away! It was definitely worth the cold and the wait!!

Frozen but happy, we went for dinner at The Kookaburra's. It was a slightly uppity place where you have to make reservations (oops) and everyone gave us a weird look.

Made it back to the hotel room at 8:10pm and began packing for the next day. Phil started to load the pictures into the laptop and I continued this diary. We slept at abt 10ish as we had to up by 6am to leave early for Melbourne. Zzzz...

DAY 5 - 28 Oct 2005 (Fri)

Got up at 6am (grumble grumble), packed and left at 7am. Wrote a nice note to the lady at the reception. I'm gonna miss the Ice Creamery and the Stairway to Heaven.

Drove by Pomonal and Moyston, both winery towns near Halls Gap. Had breakfast at a McDonald's at Ararat and proceed thereafter to Ballarat. I was really looking forward to it, but once there we decided it was too big and we didn't have the time to explore it. So we made our way to Melbourne. The drive was the usual countryside fields with grazing livestock.

As we neared Melbourne, we could see the city skyline - kinda like the movies where you see the skyline through some mist/fog. We got excited! Rosebud, here we come!

Traffic got more congested as we approached the city centre and after driving through the nice green scenery of the country side, it was not a pleasant drive, I can tell you! We drove along Flinders Street trying to find a right turn to Punts Road or St Kila Road to get on the Nepean Highway. In the end, we have to drive out of the city along Wellington Parade before we managed to get on Punts Road and thereafter the Nepean Highway.

It certainly took a while before we finally hit Rosebud. We couldn't find the Nepean Country Club in the town and then we found out that our map has the location and it isn't in the town centre. Surprise, surprise! By then it was about 1:30pm and we stopped at Rye to get some food for lunch and dinner. We also dropped off two rolls of film for developing at a pharmacy.

Made our way to the Country Club. We're too early at check-in but our rooms (59A/B) were ready so they gave it to us. It was a huge apartment with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and even a jacuzzi in the bedroom! We quickly settled in (bed is heated, yay!) and had lunch.

After lunch, we had a rest. A good rest after hitting the ground running 5 days ago. I took a nap and hubby went out to check out the heated pool. The pool wasn't very big and he returned after a short swim. He also walked around the resort to take some shots of the ducks and seagulls around the lake.

Logged on to the internet at the country club's only computer so we had to share. It was A$11 an hour!! Goodness! But we had to log on to say hello and we were suffering from IWS - Internet Withdrawal Syndrome. It was really good to say hello again!

We then went to Port Phillip Plaza and got half a ton of groceries. I had to get brownie ingredients and food for meals for the next few days. Once we got back to the resort, I realised that I forgot the cocoa! You won't believe the look hubby gave me when I told him about it.

Reheated the meat pies and boiled some corn cobs for dinner and watched "Save the Last Dance" on TV before going to bed. And before that, we watched a live vasectomy!

DAY 6 - 29 Oct 2005 (Sat)

Woke up a little late today and left at 11.20am for the Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm. Bought 2 containers to pick the strawberries, some freeze-dried ones and a chocolate dip. The strawberries were sourish. We decided to leave them alone for a couple of days to sweeten them up. Hope it works.

Went to the Red Hill Cheesery next. Was thinking of Bukit Merah (meaning Red Hill in Malay). Had a tasting and selected a couple - Portsea Picnic and Bushranger Gold.

Made our way to Arthur's Seat where we sat on the Chairlift ride. Very interesting! Saw an Echidna in the forest below. It was very windy and cold but hey, after you've frozen yourself numb taking pictures at the Twelve Apostles and the Grampians, what's a little wind?

We proceeded to Rye to pick up the 2 rolls of film. Most were disappointing except for the flowers. Phillip said it was probably due to the age of the film since he hasn't used his film camera for more than a year. The film naturally degraded. But still there were 9 great shots and more good shots. Some photos had great composition but were underexposed.

I found brandy at Liquorland and some hanging baskets at a clearing house! I love this place!

We also drove to Cape Schanck to the lighthouse and walked down to the bay. The winds from the Antartic was really freezing. There was a slight fog and made a nice effect on the photos.

Watched "Gardening Australia" and got so many good tips about organic insecticide. Will be logging in to their website once I get home.

DAY 7 - 30 Oct 2005 (Sun)

Had a late start today. Drove to the famed Queen Victoria Markets (Vic Markets). Perhaps I had high expectations so I was a little disappointed with the place. It's just like another pasar malaam. Bought 4 kinds of cheese for A$10 and a kangaroo salami. Yeah, you heard right.

Was walking along Lygon Street looking for a restaurant to eat at when we were stopped an Italian chef, Eugenio, who convinced us to try his food. I had the lasagne and Phillip had the Seafood Marinara.

The old waiter was a little fiesty and when Phillip went into the restaurant to pay the bill, the waiter shoved him out and told him to go back to his seat and that he will bring out the bill. The couple sitting next to us joked about how fiesty he was. We waited for a while but the bill never came. When the waiter was attending to another table, Phillip snuck into the restaurant and got the bill paid. Freedom!

There was a gelati (ice cream) shop next door. They had diabetic gelato so Phillip was happy. We had 2 scoops each. Yummy!

Made the long drive back to Rosebud to collect Phillip's photos at the Port Phillip Plaza Kmart, but when we got there, it was closed. We forgot abt the daylight savings time adjustment. I went to Bunnings Warehouse and found more hanging baskets only smaller and at A$2.98 each. Bought 3. All 6 fit into the luggage!

Got dinner at the Noodle and Curry House at Rosebud Village in the town centre. Beef Rendang and Malaysian Chicken Curry. A taste of home. Beef was well cooked, soft and nice. Phillip liked the chicken curry and finished off the gravy as well. On the way back, we diverted to take photos of some horses near the country club because the sunset lighting was really good.

DAY 8 - 31 Oct 2005 (Mon)

Got internet access to check some recipes. Got lunch at a Fish & Chips shop (yucks), bought two meat pies and set off to Phillip Island.

It was a real long round about drive to get there. When we got there, we bought the 3 Parks Pass - Churchill Island, Koala Conservation Centre and the Penguin Parade. It was 3pm when we bought the tickets and Churchill Island closes at 4:30pm, so we rushed there. We were interested in seeing the Heritage Farm. On the way there we had to drive slowly around the herd of cows that were on the road. They are BIG and they would walk near to the car as they grazed as if we weren't there.

The Amess House was interesting. I really love the pioneer feel of the place. There was a weight attached to the door so that it will swing shut just like today's doors. Noisy. There was also a peacock in the farm (surprise!).

There were two Clydesdale horses. Lovely, patient gentle giants. They are very tame and love to pose for a photo.

The kitchen garden was interesting with tips on companion planting. The cabbages were big! Saw a plot with 5 different kinds of lavender. Before leaving, Phillip bought a soft toy bull and I called it Winston. Drove through the bovine herd again. Winston does look very similar to the big bull. Took more shots of them and they had really long horns.

Rushed off to visit the Koala Conservation Centre. Saw at least 6 koalas. One was walking the railings and I managed to get some shots with it. Another had fallen asleep while holding on to his dinner.

Before heading to the Penguin Parade (it was still too early), we headed to the Nobbies, a group of rocks at the tip of the Summerland Peninsula.

There were literally thousands of seagulls living on the rocks and the cliffs. When we walked to the end of the broadwalk, the winds that hit us was the strongest we've experienced on this trip. Many hats and caps can be found on the cliffs. We also saw many seagull chicks waiting for mommy to return with dinner. They are so adorable.

At the Penguin Parade centre, we had a bite to eat and then queued up to go to the terraces. The gates opened at 7pm and everyone went out guided by the park rangers. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed so we can't show you the penguins. We got seats in the first row and waited. The sign says that te penguins arrived at 8:15pm last night. We sat out there in the very cold breeze (thanks to the Antartic Ocean) waiting for the little penguins.

They started coming up at 8:10pm. They waited at the water line and kept a look out for eagles before crossing the beach. One group made it 3/4 up the beach, but ran helter-skelter back to the water when two seagulls flew past. You could tell they were very afraid.

After watching nearly a hundred penguins come up the beach, we left at about 8:45pm. At the broadwalk, we had an even better view as the penguins was walking beside it on their way back to their nests. Cute little foot-high penguins.

After a long drive in the dark, we arrived back at 11:20pm and ate a very late dinner of Irish Stew and instant noodles.

DAY 9 - 1 Nov 2005 (Tue)

Woke up late today. Decided to drive to Portsea for lunch to take a look. Wanted to go to the Point Nepean National Park but found that we had to pay admission. Skipped that and went for lunch at a semi-Italian restaurant, Spruzzo. Ate Seafood Linguini and it was great!

Drove back to the country club, turned on the telly and found that the main event for the Melbourne Cup was just over! Makybe Diva had won it the third year in a row. History has been made!!

I baked two brownies for tomorrow's visiting. They came out great despite not having a weighing scale and my usual oven. We basically lazed about today. Phillip called a horse riding school to make an appointment but was asked to call tomorrow night.

DAY 10 - 2 Nov 2005 (Wed)

Got up late at 9am and left at 10:30am for Acland Street in St Kilda to meet another friend, Leah. It was a pretty easy drive. Acland Street was just after Marine Parade (not the one in Singapore). We turned into Shakespeare Street, parked there and walked towards Acland Street.

I was too busy trying to look out for the eatery that I didn't pay too much attention to the old-fashioned bakeries. I did notice that the cake shelves rosed quite high above the normal chest high level. Phillip found Deveroli's first and there was Leah! She had arrived at 11:10am, 40 minutes before we did! It was great to meet up with another friend!

We got a table and were still talking when the waitress came to take our orders. Oops! It took quite an effort to concentrate on ordering our food. I had stuffed cabbage rolls (lamb and rice), Phillip had Seafood Marinara and Leah had Chicken Avocado. I was seated facing the cake display and I can tell you that it was very distracting! The cakes were HUGE!

When it was finally time for dessert, we ordered the Marz Bar and Blackforest Roulade. They were delicious but we agreed that the Marz Bar cake was richer.

We left the restaurant after a while and walked along Acland Street. We passed two bakeries and, feeling like a martyr, I walked stoicly away... until we reached the third bakery and I succumbed. Bought two baclavas and one Cheese Danish. I must have had the same look ("Shall I go in?") on my face when we came to the fourth bakery because Leah reached over and pulled me away.

As we walked to the car, we were amused to discover that despite the huge car park, Leah had parked in the opposite lot behind us. We chatted for a while and parted company.

Next stop, Margaret's house in Mooroolbark. I had learnt aromatherapy from Margaret when she was teaching in Singapore. It was an hour and a half drive from the city. It was a pleasant drive and one of the roads was Middleborough Road in the town of Blackburn. Having seen the town of Chelsea at the Mornington Peninsula, we were wondering whether there was a Manchester around (hubby is a Manchester United fan). Finally, we reached an intersection with Manchester Road, Hull Road and Doncaster Road. As we neared Margaret's house in Cambridge Street, we passed by Lincoln Street. All are football clubs (and towns/cities) in England.

We started counting house numbers once we got onto Cambridge Street. Her house number was well hidden and we nearly missed it. It was tacked on a tree. We had a lovely visit and thank goodness my brownies were alright. Had some of them for tea.

As we chatted, Margaret and Chris (her hubby) told us that Mt Dandenong was just behind us and that got Phillip excited. Just before we left, Margaret gave me four sprigs of rosemary which I will plant in my herb garden when I got home. The drive up to the summit was short but winding. We visited the English Garden, took some photos and left soon after.

We wanted to make it back to the Noodle and Curry House for dinner and we did! Actually I didn't see the Closed sign and went in and ordered while Phillip was parking the car. They were very nice about it and made our order - Tom Yum Soup and Curry Laksa.

We were tired when we finally got back. I had one baclava for dessert. Quite good but of course very sweet! Watched TV till really late.

DAY 11 - 3 Nov 2005 (Thu)

Today is packing day and that we did. Decided against going horse riding. We went out to the Noodle and Curry House to grab some lunch as it was the last time we'd be buying from them. I popped into the bookshop next door and got myself a book - "Tradewinds and Coconuts". Managed to squeeze all the stuff into two luggages and 2 paperbags. Did a whole heap of washing up.

DAY 12 - 4 Nov 2005 (Fri)

We're heading home!

Got up at 7am and did the last minute packing up of things. "Did I leave anything behind?" was constantly on my mind. Left at 8:15am to check out. Gave reception the last brownie I made. Hope it is good. The staff remarked that the brownies I gave them on Wednesday were 'gorgeous'.

It was a long drive as we were caught in the morning rush hour. Got to the airport in more than 2 hours. We rushed to return the car and rushed to check-in. Another ten minutes and check-in would be closed. Whew! In the rush, hubby still remembered to take a shot of the total distance we travelled on this trip. We could hardly believe it! We averaged 200 kilometres daily!

At the check-in, I won the Random Drug Inspection lottery. I was given an explanation chart of the procedure and stood aside as airport security waved a detector wand around me. He then removed a slip of paper(?) from the wand tip and slipped it into an analyser. Negative. Of course, negative!

On the flight, I watched Valiant, Big Fish, Mr and Mrs Smith and part of Brother Bear. Not bad! My back was stiff and aching from sitting there for close to 7 hours.

The captain is also called Philip Tan. Hubby had known about him from a pilot friend. Said that he was a very good pilot. Well, he was very nice as well because he banked a little when we were above Uluru so that we can get a better view of it. I took several shots. Love the mist of green around the Rock. I was glad I didn't get airsick on the way back but my gastric did act up.

Finally landed at 4pm and crossed the threshold in front of Phillip's company, SASCO. We disembarked at 4:15pm. On the way to the Arrival Lounge, I discovered that my handphone was lost and made a report at the Lost and Found section. I don't expect to get it back.

Got our luggage and went home. When we got home, our little ones were a tad suspicious that we were not us. Perhaps they've given up hope that we were alive. Finally, they realised that it was us and not Phillip's parents and they came forward. Gave them all big hugs. Glad to be home. Strangely, it felt like we were never away...

THE END

The humble shots that we have presented here cannot convey the utter beauty of Victoria. Do plan a trip there and you will not regret it, that we can assure you. Thank you for reading this journal. We hope you have enjoyed it.