Air Supply Live in Concert

I was very excited when I read that Air Supply was going to perform in Melbourne. The tickets were pretty expensive and I felt I could not afford it. But then, I found a really good deal online and I snapped it up! 

I'm very pleased to know that they are an Australian Band. I grew up listening to their music. I remember listening to most of their songs from the radio and the tunes take me back to memories of being in my childhood home on a weekend.

Me and Joel had a really good time in the concert. They played most, if not all, of their hit songs and I could sing most of them, too! I love that they sound almost the same as their recordings, legit music artists of their generation. I only have a few clips as I wanted to enjoy the moment and also a staff of the convention centre was going around asking not to take videos (?).

Here's one short clip that I got from last night's concert.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Melbourne's Pink Lake

I've never thought that I would see a pink lake. I've heard of one at Esperance, Western Australia but it was very far from Perth. Then I heard of a Salt Water Lake becoming Pink in Melbourne.

With just a few minutes drive from the City of Melbourne, we arrived at Port Melbourne and located the West Gate Park. On a Sunday midday, we were not expecting a lot of people but we were definitely wrong. There were a lot trooping down to see the Pink Lake. 

According to the articles I've read, the lake turns pink when inland lakes reach a certain level of saltiness and combined with various species of algae, this either secretes red pigment into the water or the algae growing at the bottom creates the illusion of the pink color. 

Truly a unique color! We sat down to enjoy the view and left home happy that we got to see Pink Lake to ourselves before it goes back to its usual colour.  Thanks for reading and 'til next blog :)

Penguin Parade Experience 2018

Last November 3, 2018, we originally planned to fly to Perth but due to airline issues, our flight was cancelled. Not wanting to waste the day, me and Joel thought of something else to do and finally decided to drive down to Philip Island. It is just 90 minutes away from Melbourne and is Victoria's wildlife island.

We arrived at Philip Island at about 4pm and had a bit of time to eat. We chose to eat at the Fat Seagull.

With this amazing view in front of us.

We knew from the website that penguins arrive at sunset every evening but we also checked their penguin arrival time calendar. Since it was November, they were projected to arrive starting at 8:15pm.  We went to the center at 7pm and we had time to look around. It was also suggested to arrive an hour early to explore the visitor center which contained information about different kinds of penguins and facts about them. It also had penguin merchandise being sold as well as refreshments.

We chose to pay for General Viewing, the rate for adult is $26.20. Other ticket options on their websites include Penguins Plus, Underground Viewing, Guided Ranger Tour, VIP Tour, Ultimate Adventure Tour and Little Wonders Family Tour. 

After going around the visitor center, we then started to walk towards the viewing platform. We chose our seats nearest from the shore. This is clearly one advantage of being early. We braved through the cold and sat there for about an hour waiting for the penguins to come back home. We were given the instructions not to take photos with flash to protect the penguins and that we can grab photos from their website instead.

Also, we were fortunate to get the seats on the side since the rangers/ park staffs said it is a good spot. At first, it was hard for our eyes to get used to the dark and see their beaks from afar. But it did not take long when our eyes can spot them.

They were in groups and sometimes can't make up their mind if they would like to go to the shore or return back to the water. Understandable as they don't want to be eaten by their preys for dinner. It was fun spotting them and in total we saw 4 groups of penguins parading to their homes.

photo taken from https://www.penguins.org.au/photo-gallery/

Then people started to go. We thought that was it but much to our surprise the penguins can be seen on the side of the walking platform. It was much fun to watch them closer this way. 

photo taken from https://www.penguins.org.au/photo-gallery/

They were so cute to see but its just that they smelled fishy! Well, if you're out in the ocean catching fish all day then that explains it haha! There were other things to do such as Antarctic Journey, Koala conservation and exploring Churchill Island but it was already late and maybe we'll come back for it soon.

We drove back to Melbourne feeling accomplished with what we have experienced.  I almost gave up on making that day productive because of the unfortunate thing that happened with our first plans but our day turned out still interesting. One more tick in my Melbourne things to do! Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Great Ocean Road

One of the must do's when visiting  Melbourne, Australia is to take a trip to the Great Ocean Road. It is an adventure and experience in one. This coastal drive spans 243 kilometres in the South- Eastern Coast of Victoria, starting from Torquay to Abbotsford. As per wikipedia, the road was built by returned soldiers from 1919-1932 and dedicated to the soldiers killed during World War 1. 

Armed with eagerness for adventure, me and Joel set out to do the journey last March 26, 2018. We chose to drive down there so we can enjoy and hold our own time although there are a lot of online travel companies that offer the tour as well. Tours range from 96-105 AUD, depending on the inclusions and length. 

Our first stop was at Bell's Beach in Torquay. We came a week before the annual Rip Curl Surfing Competition so there were people busy putting up platforms and busy surfing. I also saw the famous shops of Quiksilver and Rip Curl here, very tempting to shop but we had an itinerary to follow :)

A few kilometers later, we saw this iconic spot. Everybody who comes to Great Ocean Road should have a picture or two here!

An interesting read about the road we are traversing.

Our next stop was at the lovely town of Lorne. While we parked our car, a bird rested on our side mirror. It is seemingly saying welcome to Lorne, visitors! But I was eating in the car so it must have seen my food. Lol

Lorne is a popular holiday destination in Melbourne. No question on this because of its beautiful one kilometer long beach and a sprawling park near the shore. During the time of our visit, the Lorne Sculpture Biennial 2018 was happening and was an interesting sight. Quaint shops were just a few steps away from where we parked so we got coffee and sat down for a while before heading off for the next stop. 

Kennett River is the next stop on our list. I've read that this is where seeing a koala in the wild is. Although I just saw one koala high up in the branches, Joel had fun trying to entice these colourful birds to rest in his arm. 

Driving out of Kennett River, we saw a pretty sight- a rainbow.

It was then almost dark so we headed out to our booked accommodation for the night in Apollo Bay. The following day, we headed early to continue our trip. We passed through Great Otway National Park and saw this beautiful view at Glenaire. 

A few kilometres ahead was Port Campbell National Park. We stopped to see for ourselves what Gibson Steps is about. It was an 86 step staircase down the cliff.

There had been rain a couple of hours before, so it was muddy and a bit slippery. There were a lot of people coming up and down the stairs at the same time so we had to give way so everybody can be safe. The natural scene of the beach was amazing but swimming here is not advised as waves are choppy and there are plenty of rip holes. 

Just a few minutes away was the Twelve Apostles, another iconic spot in the Great Ocean Road. We had to leave our car in the designated parking spaces near the Visitor Centre and take a bit of hike towards the opposite side. 

Right now, there are only 7 remaining. These spires were part of the mainland before wind and water eroded the connecting rocks. 

There was a throng of people everywhere enjoying the sight and the sound of the waves crashing from below. I was honestly not too amazed when I saw it myself but still I am happy to have gotten the chance to see the stones still standing amidst the pressure of the wind, water and rain. We concluded our journey at the town centre of Port Campbell to get some hot fish and chips and then drove 2 hours back to Melbourne.

That was another memorable adventure :) Thanks for reading and 'til next blog!