Close Shave For Cancer

Hi,

Jason got his head shaved to a 'botak' hairstyle ( ie very short hair and almost bald ) in the name of charity.

In line with Youth Day and in partnership with the Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF), the school organised a Hair for Hope event.

The event,which began in 2004, encourages the public to shave bald in support of the children with cancer who lost their hair after chemotherapy.

Jason is the boy with the spectacles on your left.

Go to this website http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,169094,00.html? for more of the news published in The New Paper on Thursday 26 June 2008.

Great Ocean Road

Hi,

I have been posting photos taken along the Great Ocean Road and to conclude this tour.....

Here is a map of the places that I visited to give you a better feel of it.

If we have planned to visit all the places of interests, it would have taken more than a day.


Our plan was to drive from Melbourne to Warrnambool and stay overnight at a motel, driving inland and we stopped at Geelong for lunch. We left at 11am and arrived at our destination at 5pm.

The following morning, we left at 10am and took about 1 hour to reach Port Campbell where the places of attractions started. We lunched at the small town and then timed oursleves to see those chosen attractions after consulting their Information Centre.

You need to do a fair bit of walking from the parking bay to see the see and the structures as shown in the photos in the earlier postings. After about 4 hours, we drove inland back to Geelong as we have made plans to stay at our friend's home and was to be there by 6pm for dinner. My brother dropped us off at Geelong and he has to drive another hour to reach his home in Melbourne.

There are day tour to the 12 Apostles but you are likely to spend most of your time travelling on the coach and it would be quite a rush.

On hindsight, I think we should have have stayed overnight at Port Campbell and then started the tour the following morning by visitng the 12 Apostles first so that we have the sun behind us instead in front of us, this would have been better for our photo shots.

I personally would like to revisit the 12 Apostles if time permits in my next visit to Melbourne.

The other attraction I would like to visit is to see the little peguins coming ashore in Philip Island at night.

Well, it was a good holiday and I look forward to the next one soon..... I hope....!

Blowhole - Great Ocean Road Drive

When the wave are much stronger, the water would splash upwards....!!!

The underwater tunnel from the hole to the sea is about 100 metres.

Bay of Martyrs - Great Ocean Road Drive

The Bay of Martyrs, at the outskirts of Peterborough, is an ideal place to see the Bay of Islands at sunset with the islands and Massacre Point backlit by the sun.

It was cold and drizzling then.......!!!

A flock of seagulls gliding on the wind coming from the sea.....

Bay of Islands - Great Ocean Road Drive

The Bay of Islands Coastal Park is between Peterborough and Warrnambool, along the Great Ocean Road.

Stretching for 33 kilometres, from Peterborough almost to Warrnambool, the Bay of Islands Coastal Park is a narrow strip of coastal heathland with spectacular ocean views and secluded coves protecting rare flora and fauna.

The ancient limestone towers in the Bay of Islands appear to float in the ocean and surround the viewer.

Loch Ard Gorge

About 7 km west of Port Campbell is a turnoff on the right which leads to Loch Ard Gorge which was named after the iron clipper the Loch Ard which left England bound for Melbourne in March 1878 and was shipwrecked here on 1 June that same year.

The Loch Ard was not a large ship. At the time of the shipwreck it was carrying only 17 passengers and a crew of 37. Of the 54 people aboard only two survived - Eva Carmichael and a ship's apprentice, Tom Pearce, both were aged 19.

Pearce managed to swim ashore and then managed to save Eva who was clinging to part of the ship's spar. Pearce managed to carry her to a cave where he covered her with grass before heading back to the coast to search for other survivors.

At first light Pearce clambered up the cliffs of Loch Ard gorge (these days there is a pleasant set of wooden stairs from the beach to the top) where he found horse tracks and followed them until he reached Glenample Station.

Here we were, at the beach area after climbing a flight of stairs .... Wave was not that strong that day but it was scary though......

This is part of the cave ...

The Arch

Lookout over The Arch, a rock formation caused by water erosion.

It was cold and drizzling and Mum decided to stay in the car with Uncle Charles, our tour guide and driver.

The Grotto

About another 2 km west, via the Great Ocean Road, is a turnoff on the left which leads to a lookout over 'The Grotto' - a geological formation created when sinkholes in the limestone cliffs met with a receding cliff line.

We were at mid-way down to the base of the Grotto.

At the base of the Grotto, you can look out into the sea through the hole. A wall has been built but I wonder what is the sea level at high tide...???

London Bridge Has Fallen Down !

Hi,

Another attraction along the Great Ocean Road drive .....

On January 15, 1990, the arch connecting London Bridge to the mainland collapsed. What we saw today are the remnants and an island. Luckily no one was hurt when that happened. Two people were stranded on that newly formed island for a couple of hours before being rescued by helicopter.

It was cold and windy......!!!

This shot was chereographed by my dear wife.... nice shot!

Great Ocean Road Drive - 12 Apostles

Hi,

My brother drove us to Warrnambool for an overnight stay before we went onto the Great Ocean Drive from Port Campbell back to Geelong.

One of the most spectacular coastal drives in the world is the Great Ocean Road Drive in Victoria. The view of world-famous 12 Apostles provides one of the highlight along this very, very scenic drive.

The Twelve Apostles are probably the most famous formations off the coast of Victoria. Over the years they have become the state's most potent advertising image. The reality does not disappoint. The 'stacks', as they are known, are vertically jointed and flat-bedded limestone. Some of the largest stacks stand 65 metres above sea-level. They are best photographed in the early morning.

Here are a few photos but I actually took quite a lot of photos there....

We have the sun in in the right direction so this photo came out very well.

I suggest that you should visit this place before 12 noon else the sun will be in your face... look at the next few photos and you will see what I mean.

The sun was very bright and shining into the camera lens so we have to use flash to brighten up our faces but the apostles in the background looked a dark.

This photo was taken when the sun went into the clouds and from a higher lookout too.

They have constructed boardwalk to ensure the safety of the visitors. Fantastic scenery.... It may looked sunny but the temperature is below 20C and the wind was very cold...!!!

Back Home to My Little Red Dot

Hi,

My family & I arrived at Changi Terminal 3 at 5:15am today after a 16 days visit to Melbourne. We are heading back to home as it is getting colder as the winter progresses down under...

We headed straight to MacDonald for some breakfast as Jason slept through and did not wake up for breakfast in the air. Smart smooth as it was a bit weird having breakfast at 3:30 am as we were landing soon.....!

Immediately, we felt the heat and humidity eventhough it was early in the morning just after 6am.

When we were in Singapore before we left, we looked forward to the cold weather in Melbourne. But when it ws cold like below 16C, we miss the hot weather back home...ha..ha...ha...

So what is preferred... Cold or Warm.... ???

Took a quick poll and both my wife and son prefer the cold weather but I think the warm should be better as I grow older though......ha...ha..ha...

There are more photos to be posted over the next few days on our visit along the Great Ocean Road, etc.... so stay tune.

Mt. Dandenong - Other Highlights

Hi,

Here are the other places of interests on the mountain......

This is the Australiana Tree ......

The Cuckoo restaurant is one of the popular dining place in the mountain, offering buffer lunch and dinner with dance performances....... but it is a bit pricey though.....

The Tea Pot shop where we bought 2 night light in the shape of a tea pot, very unique...!!!

This shop has won a few awards as a tourist attraction.

Mt. Dandenong - Pie In The Sky

Hi,

I love pie and we went to a specilist pie restaturant suring my visit to the Dandenong mountains in Australia recently.

The restaurant has won a few awards for their pies and it also have a unique name in Pie In The Sky.

Their special is a pie in the float; a pie in pea soup actually

This is the steak and mushroom pie with potatoes and peas.

Kangaroo - Australia

Hi,

Kangaroo is only found in Australia.

Here are a few photos taken when we visited the Wildlife Park in Philip Island.

We were given a pack of feeds for the animals in the wildlife park. We fed some wallaby, swans and the kangaroos, of course. This is a very adult kangaroo and when it ran towards me to get the feed on my hand....... I was scared...... and stood still......scary indeed! When other kangaroos approached me too for the feed, it snorted loudly to warn them to back off.

A very interesting but quite scary experience as I was scared that they would fight for the feeds on my palm....!!!

A smaller kangaroo approached Jason for some feed. This one is cute and not so intimidating..!

There was easily about 100 kangaroos in the park and they are free to roam with the human visitors. They are also eating the grass on the ground and some may not even approach us for the feed so it is qutie safe.

What a magnificient kangaroo..!

Koala - Australia

Hi,

Koala is only found in Australia and it is not a bear but a marsupial.

We visited a Koala conservation centre in Philip Island in Victoria state, near where my sister is living in Pearcedale ( off Frankston ).

Here are a few photos of Koala.....


We managed to see this koala high up in the tree and chewing the eucalyptus leaves while the few koalas were sleeping away in the trees. Thanks for the beautiful pose but it was hard on my neck looking up into the tree.....





We saw this very close to us, about 5 feet away as we were walking on the boardwalk ( raised platform so that we are closer to the koala ).















Koala is so cute ..........

Mt. Dandenong - Devonshire Tea

Hi,

We had Devonshire Tea at this nice cafe and ite was great!























Devonshire Tea is freshly baked scones with jam and fresh cream served with tea. I stressed the word 'fresh' else it is not that tasty. It is the best I have taken on this trip so far.

















My brother, Charles, drove us up the mountain and took us to this cafe called Fornums, which has a very nice environment and settings. A lot of glass panels and nice lightings.

Mt. Dandenong

Hi,

We took a drive to the mountains for a change of scenery, instead of shopping and hanging around the suburds.

Here are some nice photos ...

At one of the many parks in the mountain.

Mt. Dandenong lookout and you can see Melbourne city skyline very far away even though it was a sunny day.

This is the view of Melb. city skyline from the Mt. Dandenong.