Updates!

I've arrived at SYDNEY!

Sorry for the long 'silence', i know you have been faithful in checking my blog for updates & i hope today's update is something worthwhile waiting for... hee! Lots of updates for the past 3 weeks & i hope to keep them short & sweet...

THE REUNION, 25 Mar (Fri)
My friend came to visit me in Melbourne! Her flight arrived on Good Friday morning at wee hours of 0525am! She had planned a 19days long vacation - first week in Melbourne then the remaining days with me in Sydney. We had planned to go on a campervan trip around Philip Island & the Gippsland region whilst in Melbourne during the Easter holidays.

HOLI-HOLIDAY, 25-30 Mar (Fri-Wed)
Our planned itinerary:
Melbourne City - Yarra Valley (Winery) - Philip Island (Penguins & Nobbies) - Sale (beginning of the 90 Miles Beach) - Raymond's Island - Bairnsdale - Lakes Entrance (end of 90 Miles Beach) - Buchan - Melbourne City

Our Campervan:
We had booked for a campervan with Maui (Spirit 2) which has the basic features of bed, kitchen, microwave oven, gas stove, sink & fridge. The vehicle is a Toyota about the size of a mini van, 5m length / 1.69m width / 2.5m height. However, when we arrived to collect, Maui has kindly upgraded us to another model which comes with toilet! When we were shown to the vehicle, it was huge! It's a Mercedes, 6.8m length / 1.97m width / 3m height. Naturally, it looks & feels weird for a small size girl like me to be seen driving this... After some 5-10min of driving around, it wasn't that difficult afterall. In fact, it's almost like driving a car despite it's long wheel based.

Our 1st night in Philip Island:
After some hours of driving from Yarra Valley, we arrived in Philip Island around 8pm, had our dinner & started our search for a Caravan Park to spend the night. With a campervan, one would need to book a powered site with a Caravan Park provider. Powered site is an area like a parking lot where you could park your campervan, where you could plug power cable from the main electrical point to the campervan so you can operate the mircowave oven, toaster, etc. A Caravan Park also has a common kitchen, toilet & bathroom facilities & because it's an enclosed park, there is some form of security...
It didn't occur to us that we have to pre-book a powered site in advance - especially when it was during peak holiday period, all the Caravan Parks were fully booked! Wonder why we didn't think of this... perhaps we had thought we have our 'home' with us when we booked for a campervan. Hahaha!
In the end, we had no choice but to park the campervan along the road near the beach & some motels for the night & prayed for safety. Thank God, in Him we find security! Thank God for His provision for He knew we would end up sleeping "by the street" that He provided us with the upgraded campervan that comes with toilet!

2nd night in Philip Island:
We didn't think we would get a powered site for our 2nd night in Philip Island cos all the Caravan Parks we have called were fully booked that weekend & we were prepared to stay by the street again as we did the night before. Then my friend saw this brochure at the Visitor Information Center which caught her eyes, we called & they have just 1 powered site left available for us that night. Praise God!

Got stuck!:
The rest of the trip was really nice. Enjoying the drive, scenic views, the cooling weather, etc. Took some photos & they are ready for your viewing at the usual place - "My Photos!". Check them out!
There is however, 1 quite interesting incident which happened on the 2nd last day of our vacation. We went for a tour of the Buchan Caves, then drove about 1.5hours to Little River Fall for picnic lunch & wanted to drive further to Little River Gorge but there was a sign that reads "No semi trailers or caravans beyond this point". So i decided we should head back to Buchan instead. Shortly after on our way, my friend was whining about coming all the way there but didn't get to see the famous Gorge & at that moment of frustration, i reversed the campervan & wanted to head back to the Little River Gorge so she would complain no more. While during the 3-point turn, the rear wheel of the campervan got stuck to the soft ground. Imagine this: a 2-way narrow traffic road with both sides green farm pastures (just like the ones in Malaysia) & the long campervan was there right across the road - blocking any traffic that could have come on! Fortunately, this is a quiet road, no cars at all which is also unfortunate cos there is no one to help... only cows looking at us as we tried to get the wheels back on track! I took the plank (which forms part of our bed on the campervan) & placed it beneath the wheel, hoping it could help to get it off the soft ground but it kept spinning cos the plank was too thick. About 15-20min later, a car came by & had to stop - the family we have met that the Buchan caves earlier. They had planned to visit the Gorge but thank God they changed their mind when they saw the warning sign & head back our way. The father & son drove to get help from the nearby farm while the mother & 2 daughters were with us waiting. Help came! The farmer came with his jeep, tied a rope to the campervan & pull it out from the soft ground & we are on the road again!