A day at Kryal Castle

Was wondering what Kryal Castle was all about so we headed there one Saturday afternoon. Entry price for adults was $35 and $22 for kids but I got entry tickets of a discounted price from Groupon. The drive was about 1 hour and 30 mins from our house.

There was ample parking at the front of the place considering that it was Saturday.  The main entrance looked like a real castle with a moat and a drawbridge.

Kryal Castle is an indoor/outdoor venue. It is like a replica medieval castle.

The reception was quick to scan our mobile tickets and pointed us towards the Dragon's Labyrinth which eventually lead us inside the castle grounds.

The first thing that I saw was the Ancient Cemetery and the interesting tombstone writings it had.

Next to it was the Dungeons and Torture Museum. Depictions of how crime and punishment were done in the old times were written and illustrated here.

 I did not take a lot of photos during our visit but this makeshift jail good for one was in front of the museum.

They also had a small chapel and a banquet hall for events such as weddings or birthdays.

They had a room dedicated to the history of Kryal as well as lolly shops and gift shops.

The biggest part of the grounds was the Tournament Arena where we saw the Royal Joust. This is where the knights, wearing full steel amour and riding their amazing warhorse.

Lots of kids activities around such as giant inflatable slides, face painting, pony rides, archery range, potion making wizardry school and there was even a maze.

They also have a royal photographer to capture visitors in their finest. Kids and parents can be a court jester, king or queen or prince or princesses. Additional cost applies but prices already include costumes. 

The place entertains kids but honestly, did not do it for us. Nevertheless, happy to tick it off our list.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Arthurs Seat 2019

For our first day trip in 2019, me and Joel decided to go to Arthurs Seat. As per history, the first British explorers entered Port Philip in 1802 and named the hill Arthurs Seat due to its resemblance to Arthurs Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland.

We went down there last 5 January 2019 and left Melbourne at about 1 in the afternoon. The weather in Melbourne was cloudy and the forecast was cloudy at Arthurs Seat as well but will be sunny at around 5pm. We were in no rush and were also prepared to be disappointed because of the weather. The drive was about an hour and along the way, it was really rainy so we were in doubt if we made the right decision.

The clouds were already rolling away when we arrived at Arthurs Seat. We were happy to see this but because we got confused, we drove directly to the Summit Station. Parking was free in both base and summit station. As expected the roads were winding and there were a lot of lookouts along the way.

We were ready with our jumpers because the weather can get chilly in a split second. As with any other parks in Australia, helpful signs are along the way.

Arthurs Seat is the highest point of the beautiful Mornington Peninsula. I saw glimpses of the view when we were driving up but the best view can be from the gondolas. First we headed off to the  Eagle Cafe as we were both craving for hot drinks. This gave us time to decide what things to do while up there. 

 This was our view.

First we decided to head to  Arthurs Chair as well as the lookout.

Then we headed out to check the Enchanted Adventure Garden which was about 2-3 minutes walk from the cafe.  It features 3 hedge mazes, 5 giant tube slides and many more. It also features tree surfing wherein there are high ropes adventure with zip lines. General Admission is $30 per adult and $20 per child/senior. It would take about 2-3 hours to take utmost advantage of the place. We realized we had limited time and will be back to conquer it next time.

We then decided to go back to the base station and paid $24 for a return ticket per adult to ride the gondola. No long line to get into the gondola during that time and we had one to our own. We used their map to spot things from the gondola.

Back to the summit station.

We still had time so armed with our map, we went to check out other walking paths. The day was already nice and it was interesting to see different kinds of trees in their gardens. There were a lot of spots for picnics and relaxation.

Another lookout.

This is Flinders Cairn. It's a stone monument marking the site where Captain Matthew Flinders, the leader of the first circumnavigation of Australia and identified it as a continent, saw Port Philip. A stone cairn was used to mark a historical location at that time. At present, it has been enlarged.

We were satisfied with our time up there so we then headed to ride the gondola back to the base station. We were happy the day turned out not so bad. Another must visit place in Victoria conquered! Thank you and 'til next blog!

Tesselaar Tulip Festival 2018

When I was a kid, my mum had a garden of anthuriums. They were nice but I just could not get why my mum liked them a lot. Now that I am older, I understand. There is something about flowers that make people appreciate them. Speaking about flowers, when I saw on Facebook about a Tulip festival and it interested me. My aunt originally planned for us to go but since plans have changed, I asked my friends to come with me instead. They agreed and off we went last October 14, 2018.

The town where the festival was at was Silvan. It is 40 km east of Melbourne and about an hour's drive from where we lived (avoiding tolls, of course!) We didn't buy the tickets online as I am not happy to pay for online surcharge. When we arrived, there were ample parking spaces and the queue for the ticket entrance was fast and efficient. Entrance fee was $28 per person. Separating the parking lot from the field of tulips was this green wall which commands a photo opportunity :P

When we came in, there were already hundreds of people inside appreciating the blooms. Fields of tulips were there in different colours. It was really a wonderful sight and the weather did not disappoint. 

This was certainly my first time to be in a tulip festival and it felt exciting. I particularly love the deep purple colored tulips as well as this sunset orange colored tulips. Just beautiful!

Of course, there were signs all around to remind visitors not to pick the tulips. There were staff who were quick to call out guests who cross the lines towards the flowers. I guess the patrons just needed to get a good photo as near as they could to these gorgeous blooms.

Aside from the flowers, the place also showcased sculptures from local artists. One of the many that caught our attention were these metallic flowers. It is for sale for $320 for a set of 3 flowers!

A scultpture that looked like an eggplant to me :)

As with any crowded place, people had to make sure that no photobombers are in their photo. This is especially true with me and my friends. To achieve this, we had to do creative poses like lying on the ground :P

There were food booths, a souvenir shop, lots of tables and chairs and a pick your own tulip in the venue. I did buy 2 tulips for $1.50 each to put into our dining table.

The experience was great and that day off was well spent! They posted that an upcoming flower festival would be happening on April 2019 and we might just be back! For now, I have ticked this off my bucket list. Thank you for reading and 'til my 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!