Malaysia and Singapore...to finish

Indonesia...to finish

Australia...to finish

Wednesday 8th August
After a long 24 hour journey, we finally arrived in Melbourne and were greeted by my Uncle Karl. We made our way to their beautiful house and sat up 'til gone 3am drinking and having a catch up. It was so soooo great to see my uncle after over 5 years! Unfortunately Ang had to work the next day so we didn't see her until the following day at lunch time.

Thursday 9th August

In the morning of our first day Karl made us a full fry up on the BBQ which was amazing and a lovely treat after missing out on bacon and sausages in Japan. We had a relaxing day; we all went to a nearby cafe which was overlooking a lake for lunch, my uncle had football training in the evening, we enjoyed Ang's home made chilli and shared some beers in the evening. I felt so happy to finally be in Aus after months and months of excitement and anticipation, all we were waiting now was my mum to land in another day's time!

Friday 10th August

My uncle had to work today so we spent the day with Ang. I went to the hairdressers which was the first time in sooooo long. I had my hair cut only one time in Japan and due to the language barrier that was not the best experience of my life so it was a lovely start to the day to be pampered whilst Sim went for a run :p We then all went to the cheese factory and supermarket to allow me and Simon to satisfy our may cravings! After more good food cooked by Ang (Chicken wraps) we spent the evening sat in their spa/hot tub looking at the stars and drinking (again!).
 

Saturday 11th August
We went to the airport early in the morning to meet my mum who'd flown all the way from England! We couldn't wait to finally see her after so long - for me it had been a year but for my uncle it had been 5 years! When we got back to my uncle's he made us a BBQ breakfast and we had a good old catch up. We then went to watch my uncle play football - they won 3-2 (and a few weeks later, the league). In the evening we met friends of my uncles and Ang and they had a little house party which was great.

Sunday 12th August
Another wonderful BBQ breakfast followed by a visit to Grants Picnic Area where we got to feed the birds. We fed the white sulphur-crested cockatoos and the rainbow coloured lorikeets. It was loads of fun but a little scary at first! We then went to a lovely restaurant for lunch called Paradise, then went kangaroo hunting at Kardinia Reservoir. We saw loads of wild kangaroos, even one with a little Joey. We then went in the spa :) 

Monday 13th August

We had a really early start today as we were making our way up to Sydney! We had to drive to the airport for our 6am flight (which was a tad delayed by around 1 ½ hours). After we dropped our bags off at the hotel we went for a lovely breakfast and coffee overlooking Darling Harbour. We then went to a animal sanctuary where we loads of typical Australian animals including some really cute koalas and a massive/scary crocodile called Rex, who we found out had not eaten for a year! We then got a ferry across from Darling Harbour to Circular Quays to see Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House! Was a beautiful day, the sun was out and it was crazy when we looked around and realised where we were! We soaked in our surroundings and the sun over a few drinks in a bar that overlooked the Opera House. After a quick nana-nap (the phrase of the holiday!) we made our way back down to Darling Harbour for tea and drinks. We tried the typical Aussie dish; chicken schnitzel, which was tasty!

Tuesday 14th August

We couldn't get enough of Darling Harbour as it was literally a 5 minute walk from our hotel, (thanks to Ang who chose the brilliant location) as we went there again for breakfast. We then walked up through the streets full of high rise buildings and offices to catch the bus to Bondai Beach. We were really lucky with the weather, especially considering it was still winter in Australia. There were loads of surfers out and the bay area was beautiful. We took a walk along the beach then went to the RSL (the army/lifeguard working mens club) for some lunch with a great view over the whole bay. After walking back along the beach we travelled to Circular Quays where we walked up and along Sydney Harbour Bridge. We got there just in time for the sunset but unfortunately the stairs up to the view point on the bridge had closed...next time! We then went for some drinks at the bottom of the Harbour Bridge. We firstly went to an Irish pub then to the oldest pub in Sydney. We then went to China Town for tea and drinks which was really nice. It was a mega long day and we didn't eat until gone 9pm so we were definitely ready! When we got back to our hotel we couldn't get into our room, after several failed attempts to open the door by the receptionist and an hour of waiting in my uncles room, me, my mum and Sim were giving a key to a different room....it only turned out that they'd upgraded us to the penthouse suite on floors 18 AND 19!! We had three bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a huge kitchen and living/dining room! We couldn't believe our luck!!

Wednesday 15th August

Me and Sim decided to walk down to Circular Quays, having breakfast on the way, (and treating myself to a pair of beautiful grey UGG boots!) before meeting everyone else down there. We then caught the ferry to Manley Beach which was a really nice run out. We walked along the beach and had a beer in a beach side bar. We then got the ferry back and had lunch and cakes on the way. We then flew back to Melbourne after a long few days.

Thursday 16th August

We were all a bit shattered from our Sydney trip so we decided to have a bit of a chill out, quiet day. Ang had to work so we walked onto the Lakeside cafe to meet her for some lunch. Me and Sim had a bit of a workout in my uncles garage and he showed us some boxing moves before he went football training. For tea we tried kangaroo burgers which were surprisingly tasty!

Friday 17th August

We went to a place called Frankston, a little area down by the sea. We took a very quick walk down the pier but it was absolutely freezing and the clouds were getting darker by the second, so we rushed into a restaurant just before the rain came! It was a really nice restaurant called ''The Waves'' which overlooked the (wet) beach. In the afternoon me and Sim went shopping for some Japanese ingredients and spent the rest of the day preparing a Japanese meal. We made pork gyoza, rice, okonomiyaki, chilli chicken and tempura which we washed down with some mixed reviewed sake.

Saturday 18th August

Me, my mum and Ang went on a little girly shopping trip in the morning, which Sim nearly let himself into my mistake, he got in the car not knowing where we were going and when he realised my uncle didn't get in he sensed something was not quite right! We then went to watch my uncle play football – turns out they won the league the week after we left Australia!! In the eveing we went out for a curry with a few of my uncles and Ang's friends then went to a really nice wine bar at the end of their estate. When we got back me, my uncle and Sim went in the spa and enjoyed some more beers under the stars!

Sunday 19th August

We were heading across to Philip Island to see the penguins, but they don't come out until the evening so we firstly went to San Remo to watch a pelican feeding. All the wild pelicans fly to a certain beach at a certain time of the day and wait for a national park lady to come and feed them fish. It was crazy watching them scoff down the fish in one gulp – many of them getting the fish lodged in their strange necks. A bird distracted my attention for a while though after doing its business on my head...lucky me!! We then made our way across the sea to Philip Island and went to look at a few different beaches. We then walked along the board walks along Nobbies Point where we saw some seals. We then visited a koala sanctuary. We walked along the pier in a place called Cowes before we went wallaby hunting in the trees. We then went to watch the tiny little penguins come out of the sea when the sun goes down and make the long walk across the beach and into their little houses at the top of the beach. They go out to sea early morning to catch food and return at night to give the food to their young and have a rest before making the long journey the next day...o cute! We then did some more wallaby hunting before setting off back.

Monday 20th August

This was the start of another great little trip out of Melbourne – we set of down The Great Ocean Road. We firstly took in a great view over the bay at Arthurs Seat before getting the ferry across so we could make the long, beautiful drive down the coast. We stopped off on route for lunch by a beach. We then went to hunt down some koalas which was really good, we saw loads. We then stopped off at the roadside after seeing more koalas and a little later again after seeing some dolphins :) We arrived at our hotel/apartment and relaxed for a few hours with a few beers before a drama kicked off! Mum went for a little nana-nap and when she came back into the living room we were nattering away before noticing a trail of blood leading across the carpet and up her sock and under her jeans...while everyone tried to stop the bleeding which was coming from a small puncture in her lower leg, I went to check her bed to see if there was blood on the bedding. I was pretty freaked out to find a leech under the covers. Turns out it must have attached itself to mum whilst we were out animal watching earlier in the day and had a good feed before dropping off in her bed! Yuck!!! After the chaos wore off we went out for a pub lunch and some drinks down near the bay.

Tuesday 21st August

We had a leisurely morning and took a slow drive to The 12 Apostles. The weather was maybe the worst day yet and caught us out when it started raining. We still managed to make it to the viewpoint at the end of the cliff side overlooking the Apostles for some nice but rather quick photos! We then took the drive back to the hotel before heading out for another lovely pub lunch.

Wednesday 22nd August

We made our way back up to Melbourne on beautiful coastal road, stopping a couple of times before crashing into bed when we got back.

Thursday 23rd August

Ang had to work again today so we met her for lunch at a cafe called Corner Post which is one of the oldest buildings in a local town called Beaconsfield. Another relaxing day, finished off nicely with a chilli made by me and mum and a nice glass of wine!

Friday 24th August

We went out to Pakenham for lunch, then went to look around some AMAZING show-homes near my uncles place. They were absolutely stunning! We then had an evening in with some wine and BBQ grilled chicken kebabs :)

Saturday 25th August

In the morning we went for a walk around the creek near my uncles house, followed by watching my uncle play football. In the evening we had a BBQ and relaxed outside on the decking. Me and Sim then went in the spa which was so relaxing even when it started to rain.

Sunday 26th August

We dove along a scenic road towards the city centre stopping off at St Kilda to see the harbour. We then went to South Melbourne Market to get some lunch, Dim Sims and a muffin :) We then went into the city centre where we wandered around before going up the Eureka building which was 88 floors high. We then went to a lovely pub for a beer and cider whist we listened to some live music. We went into The Crown casino which was crazy, so many people gambling away during the day. Me and Sim had a quick 5 dollar bet on a roulette machine and won back 19! Not a bad return :) we then headed back for a BBQ which involved consuming the worlds largest steaks!

Monday 27th August

My uncle Karl made us all bacon and egg butties on the BBQ for breakfast then we went for a drive to see the Neighbours soap set. They were filming so we could not go down the street but we did stalk out at the end of the street trying to spot Karl Kenedy. We then went for a well deserved coffee and an amazing slice of cake at the old school cafe. We went to a Moonlit Sanctuary in the evening and got a private tour. We all took it in turns to hold an absolutely massive python (including my brave mum!), then we fed and stroked some kangaroos and wallaby's. We saw a koala, some owls, some cute squirrel like things that we fed dead crickets to, some massively crazy Tasmanian devils and loads of other animals before feeding and stroking the kangaroos and wallaby's again, this time more confidently! We then had a nice take away pizza for tea :) 

Tuesday 28th August

We went to look around some amazing show homes again. We then went for a drive in the countryside – my uncle and Ang live in a really good location, they are central to getting out into the countryside, going to the beach and heading into the city. We went to a little village in the middle of the hills and had lunch at a place called 'Pie in the Sky'. When we got back we relaxed in the garden and lit the BBQ up again for tea. It was our last evening in Australia so we stayed up 'til late talking and drinking.

Wednesday 29th August

On our last day in Australia, Mum went for a nice relaxing massage in the morning to brace herself for the mega long journey home. We all then went for lunch at the Lakeside cafe then fed the ducks! We had our last supper cooked by Ang before making our way to the airport. After saying our emotional goodbyes to my uncle and Ang at the airport we waved mum off on her way back to England, then me and Sim went for a beer before settling down for the night in the airport. We couldn't believe how quick our time in Australia had gone but we'd had a wonderful few weeks and didn't want to leave.