Victoria Day 3 : Penguin Parade at Phillip Island

Assalamualaikum. G'Day Mate

Am back after weeks of hiatus. Bolehlah diabaikan previous entry itu. Jiwa orang tengah kacau; haruslah entry pun bunyi ala-breakdown gitu. No worries, alhamdulillah I'm good now. Biasalah bila lama sikit di tempat orang, hati jadi sensitif tiada sempadan. Thanks to my super awesome friends untuk keprihatinan yang tiada bernoktah. Semoga Allah SWT reward korang banyak². 

And back to my Melbourne trip. So we reached Phillip Island a little late than our initial plan hence we had to forego few activities. Previous entry (here). Bila travel ni memang banyak kejadian luar dugaan (teknik terbaru cover salah sendiri).

28 July 2015
Phillip Island - Penguin Parade

We didn't pre-booked our ticket. We bought them at the counter on the day of the parade itself. Luckily we still had like 30 minutes before we're allowed to enter. That at least gave us more time to wander around & learn more about this cute flightless bird from the educational displays at the visitor center. 

#1 The entrance

#2 The ticket counter

#3 One for the album

#4 The rare species penguin around the world. Also known as the mutant all-black penguin

#5 A juvenile Emperor Penguin (pale yellow breast less visible) 

#6 The Emperor Penguin (pale yellow breast); the tallest & heaviest of all living penguins species. 

It is the only species that breeds during the Antarctic winter. Bear in mind, the male Emperor have to withstand the winter for more than 2 months to protect his egg from extreme cold. While waiting for the chick to hatch, they do not eat anything therefore explain why they tend to lose about 12 kg after incubating. 

There are plenty of information about different type of penguins in the world. Love reading them all. And I also played some of the games (guessing penguin age, origin & etc). Didn't take many pictures at the visitor center though as I was totally into reading the plaque. And unfortunately had forgotten what I've read. Sekian.

#7 View of the Summerland Beach from where we were seated. 

#8 Two pretty ninjaS patiently waiting for the penguin to waddle up the beach to the safety of their homes in sand dunes. 

We chose to watch them penguin from the tiered seating platform (Ticket Price: AUD 26.20). To those who wish to have a little up-close viewing complete with ranger commentary, u can choose the Penguins Plus (a little bit more expensive than our ticket).

We're briefed beforehand that noise & camera flash would scare them off. So I kept my camera inside my bag. Sejuk lagipun tiada masa lah mau buka gloves bagai. We waited for almost an hour before we started spotting 'tiny black shadows' coming out from the waves. Mau keluar cara comel jak semua. We watched quietly yet in awed; the penguins waddled up across the beach to their sand dune burrows. Truly a magical experience for us. Spent sometime on the bench watching them until we spotted no more shadow from the beach.

While walking upon the boardwalk to the visitor center, we spotted loads of the penguin waddling underneath us. Rupanya boardwalk tu runs alongside the penguins' pathway. Patutlah masa ni baru meriah nampak penguin. As more people crowding the boardwalk, the penguins quickly made their move to their burrows. Masa nilah nampak penguin seketul-seketul. Too cute! Yang datang ni kecil jak, yang paling besar we saw was the size of a little kitten. Adalah juga visitors yang less prihatin, sibuk lah menggambar budak-budak tu. Lagi parah, siap on flash. Bikin lah panas perangai.

Nasiblah sedar diri gerak awal dari viewing point. Else memang kami bertukar arca. Sejuk bedi hingga ke tulang. I remember how amazed I was towards Ms G cold-endurance at that time. Langsung tiada complain whatsoever. I reckoned she enjoyed the parade & decided to simply embrace the cold.  

#9 Fashionista penguins

#10 Too cute isn't it?

#11 And we thought jumper means fashion as well. 

Not until we saw this. They were forced to wear the jumpers as to prevent oiled penguins from wallowing the poisonous oil as they clean their feathers. Stop those illegal oil discharges at sea already!

After the parade, it's time to go to our motel. Dari Melbourne terus pi tengok penguin haruslah belum check in. Nasiblah masa sampai tu, receptionist belum balik. I felt guilty though sebab lepas jak aku kutip kunci, diorang terus tutup office. I should have email them earlier. Thoughtless gila kau Bie. 

Campak segala barang dalam rumah, and straight we went out for some groceries shopping. Baru sedar kelaparan gaban semua. And luck was on our side once more. Sebab Woolworths belum tutup. I totally forgot shops in Australia close early. Some even closed by 6pm. Apart from groceries, kena beli charger juga. Gara-gara bijak si Err, semua kena beli baru.

On the way to Phillip Island, we stopped by to refuel the car. Pastu ada singgah supermarket so adalah beli plug bagai. Nearly 20 minutes after leaving the mart, baru perasan salah beli plug. Apalah nasib.

Masa tu juga terjadi sesi muka masam muka between us three. Semua penat...dari pagi berdrama salah subway & bus kan. Masing-masing ala melayan blues sendiri. Tiada kejadian bertekak or tinggi suara because we're professional like that. Sudah tau perangai & limit marah masing-masing. We've been travelling together for years; kalau lah bertekak macam joyah for some "salah beli plug sebab miscommunication" kinda thing....haruslah lame gila. Boleh benam diri dalam tanah. Sebenarnya ndak lama pun silent moment kami dalam kereta. Tunjuk rajuk & protest? Tiada siapa peduli sebenarnya. Hahahaha!

#12 Masuk supermarket pun happy (sebab tau bakal beli barang sumbatan perut)

#13 Si Omnivor. Mesti cari sayur else meals jadi hambar

#14 Masih jakung with self service counter. Ka rindu jadi cashier?

#15 Long receipt. Usah ditanya apa dibeli sebab bab groceries shopping ni memang favourite kami. Macam semua mau dikasi masuk basket

#14 Cepat & express. Alhamdulillah kenyang!

After dinner...semua pun jadi ular sawa. And because electric blankets on Ms H & my bed weren't working, we had to pull our mattresses to the living area where Ms G's bed is. Itu jak area yang ada heater. Memang akan beku kalau kami tidur juga dalam bilik malam tu. Blanket rosak, heater pun rosak. Mau complain pun malas because it was already late when we realized all the malfunctioning stuffs. Lagipun memang tiada siapa di reception. We put our mattresses right in front of the wall heater. Tu pun memang mencari nahas kan. Nasib jak kami ndak rentung malam tu. Sobs. 

Malam tu ndak berapa lena tidur sebab kena tunggu turn to charge my handphone. We bought the plug with only 2 usb ports (tu jak yang ada) hence kenalah bergilir guna. Handphones mau charge, camera pun sama, wifi modem lagi. Memang gigih bangun every couple of hours to check which gadget was fully charged & recharge the one that needed to be recharged. Demi!

Next morning, bangun on time. Fuh! The power of time management during travelling. Salute toing-toing. 

And for Day 4, will be continued later. Wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Random : Just Because

Assalamualaikum. 안녕

It's been weeks since my last update. Did my R hormone left the system already? Did the M hormone takes over the system once more?

Nah...I guess not. Truth is; I've got pleeeenty of things to write. Just that I don't have the appropriate time to sit down & relax....and share. Like, ada ke orang peduli. Kan?!

At the moment, I could say I am in this adopting phase. And soul searching (lah sangat). Melancholy sangat bunyinya Bie oiii. Padah penyakit yang dicari sendiri. Sobs.

And I found out recently, this particular question keeps pooping in my head lately.

Apa mahunya hati, apa mahunya diri.

Haraplah bakal bertemu jawapan soon. Insha Allah. For the time being, teruskanlah hidup. Allah masih bagi pinjam nyawa. I really hope I could 'use' the opportunity given to my utmost.

 لِلَّهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ

Semoga kita semua akan bertemu jawapan to our endless questions. 

We plan, Allah plans. And; Allah indeed is the Best Planner. 

eryantierdabdulkarim

Victoria Day 3 : Melbourne City to Phillip Island

Assalamualaikum. G'Day Mate

Selamat Hari Merdeka yang ke-61 Malaysia! Moga kita turut merdeka dari jiwa yang tidak mengenal Pencipta, merdeka dari akidah yang songsang, merdeka dari pemikiran yang kebelakang. Insha Allah, amin.

Well, back to my Melbourne trip. Kisah sengals disimpan rapi dalam sampul memori. Bolehlah jadi bahan ungkitan di kala mengopi with the Jemahs in the future. 

28 July 2015

Apex Car Rental, Melbourne

We booked the car via online; weeks prior our arrival. Didn't do much research about the other rental companies available in Melbourne as I just went with the one recommended by John (KakiBerangan). Biggest point for this company is they offer zero excess full cover insurance (sooo grateful for this but you have to wait until Day 8 for full story) & free GPS navigator. These 2 extra services bought us instantly. 

The booking process was easy; I simply filled in the form & chose options that met our preferences.  Same goes with the pick up process. Downside cumalah ketiadaan outlet di airport. Pasal tu kena travel al-jauh sikit but since they provide free pick up from the airport to their office; I don't have any worries about the no outlet thingy.  

#1 Apex Car Rental office

#2 Our ride; a Hyundai Accent. Kereta dari kampong-pong-pong

Prior to commencing our rental car, we need to check for damages (most important). And this job was given to Ms H; the most particular & detailed amongst us three. She checked every nook and crook. Suruh aku cek kalu, memang ala kadar jaklah. Sekali imbas, terus ok we're good to go. 

#3 Spot Tukang Cek kami

#4 Si Err perlu drive barefooted; else ke laut navigation dia

Car fuel is provided on a full to full basis . We start with full tank & return the car with a full tank. 

After making sure everything is ok, payment made...off we depart for Phillip Island. It was a 2 hours road journey. 

#5 Leaving Melbourne city; heading to an island

We were all busy looking for toll booths as its a tollway. Sibuk cari duit kecil juga as we didn't know the fare. Sekali ada one time ni tiba² dengar macam bunyi scanner. Yang 3 orang dalam kereta haruslah kedaratan. Pastu risau manatau saman. We got our answer upon looking at the gps navigator. Rupanya toll; directly charged to the credit card we used to pay for the rental car. Gitu canggih. 

Automatic semua wahhh jakung! Invisible toll booth! Windscreen kereta pun langsung tiada sticker or barcode. Gigih cari tau. First time driving outside Malaysia maka gitulah kejadiannya. Easily impressed towards things we never seen back home. Kasi can please. 

San Remo, Victoria

Supposedly we're gonna stop at this town for pelican feeding. And that could only be done IF all those dramas earlier that morning didn't happened. If only. Huwaaaah! Riadah along Cape Woomalai walking track pun terpaksa forego. Redha jaklah sebab bingai tiba² tunjuk diri. Of all days...*sigh*

#6 Approaching San Remo

Nampak bayang² sunset upon approaching San Remo. Sebenarnya tangan gatal mau menggambar tapi as the person behind the wheel & ada pula 'JPJ officer' sitting next to me, niat haruslah ditahan². Nanti ndak pasal² dengar semboyan berbunyi. So wakilkan diorang jak lah ambilkan gambar. Aku snap dari hati jak. Cia² sangat kan ayat. 

#7 Crossing the San Remo bridge to get to Phillip Island

#8 Arrived at Phillip Island

Because we're way behind time (need to be on time for the penguin parade), we had our lunch in the car while on the road. Gilir² menikmati makanan. Nasiblah sandwich yang Ms H buat buat she put in her bag. Else makan angin jaklah kami semua. Kunyah chocolate & segala macam jajan yang ada juga. 

I am one happy driver. Selera perut dijaga rapi by Ms H. Minta apa jak, she will get it for me. Udah macam bilik Doraemon seat belakang minah tu kerjakan. Macam² ada. Minta air dapat air, minta choc dapat choc. Siap dia unwrapped kan lagi. Terharu sangat maknae nan seorang ini. 

We headed straight to the Penguin parade  venue (next entry Insha Allah) once we reached Phillip Island. Masing² excited jumpa penguin. 

Kami redha aktiviti lain that we had to forego. Thing happened for a reason. The Almighty knows best; always.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Victoria Day 3 - Jemahs Sengal di Melbourne

Assalamualaikum. G'Day Mate.

Alhamdulillah, momentum untuk kembali blogging ni nampak gaya macam makin ok. Insha Allah, semoga berterusanlah hendaknya. 

So sebelum membebel lagi panjang, let's continue with where I last left (here). 2nd night in Melbourne went by beautifully. We were already in dreamland by midnight. No late night snacking nor pep talk. Everyone so exhausted as if baru jak lepas seharian angkat bumi Melbourne. Sobs betul tanda² matang ni.

28 July 2015
Melbourne City

We had breakfast at the hotel before we checked out. Super fulfilling breakfast I must say; as if perut bagi petanda awal. Makanlah sepuas hati, kejap lagi drama sengal takes place...an empty stomach won't do good in order to deal with it. Fuh!

Today we'll be going to Phillip Island; somewhere 150km away from Melbourne city. We decided to drive hence we rented a car from Apex Car Rental. Will talk about ACR in the next entry insha Allah. The reason why we woke up early is because we need to pick up the car at their office which is situated merely 21km from our hotel. Taxi wasn't an option obviously (budget traveler katanye) so the only option left is the bus / train. 

#1 Elizabeth Street / Flinders Street view early in the morning

#2 Always wanted to have picture of this...du'a answered eventually. Alhamdulillah

#3 Waiting for our train at Flinders Street Station. Our first metro train ride in Melbourne gitu

According to my initial plan, in order to save cost this is the route we gonna take to pick up our rental car

Flinders Street Station -----> Broadmeadows Station (by metro train)

Broadmeadows Station ----> Tullamarine Airport (by bus)

Once at Tullamarine Airport, we need to call ARC. They will pick us up there & bring us to their office because unlike others car rental companies; they do not have outlets at the airport. Reason why their rental is cheaper; and why I chose this company. And this whole rental car pick up journey would take less than 3 hours to settle. 

*thanking KakiBerangan for his recommendation ---> tips from him here*

#4 My thing; signboard

In order to reach Broadmeadows Station, we'll have to alight at Essendon Station. Later change to Platform 2 & take the train to Broadmeadows Station. 

#5 Posing sakan in the train. And posing segala sudut dalam train

And apa hadiah lupa diri berposing sakan? Maka kejadian Sengal 1.0 pun terjadi. Instead of alighting at Broadmeadows, kami terlajak until the last station (Craigieburn Station). Oh yeah, boleh kan confident ndak tengok map as if kau hafal route train. This isn't Seoul Bie! Sedang di kampong pun kau pernah terlajak station. B to the Ngai.

#6 Bukti perangai sengal. Sudah terlajak train, sempat posing lagi. 

So bila terlajak train, journey yang patut sejam cuma...telah menjadi 1.5 hours. That means, we're behind time. Tapi semua masih stay cool, hari masih awal. Kata kau.

#7 Tabah berjalan pi platform seberang

#8 And finally we made it to Broadmeadows Station. Alive & kicking

According to instruction from KB's blog, we have to take the bus from here to Tullamarine Airport. The journey will take approximately 20 minutes. And we should board the Route 901 (Melbourne Airport) bus. 

#9 We crossed the pedestrian bridge to reach the bus stop opposite the train station

And ran hurriedly soon as we saw bus coming to us. WITHOUT bothering to look at the signboard in front of the bus. 

#10 Please look at the signboard. What did it says? Obviously it doesn't say Tullamarine, right??

Si Err sempat ambil gambar bas, in case jadi anything. BUT what she forgot to do was to look & READ the signboard!! We boarded the bus anyway, dengan penuh happy & riang ria cause we didn't missed the bus. Ugh!

Kali ni, instead of posing in the bus...we were busy with our handphones. Duduk berasingan, hence semua layan update sosmed. As if kejadian terlajak train earlier tiada kesan sama jiwa kan? 

For nearly an hour (or was it more than an hour), 3 Jemahs sengals are still busy with their handphones. Suddenly si Err jenguk ke luar jendela bus & questioned herself why does the surrounding looks like housing area, and too many trees. Pastu baru ada courtesy tengok jam oii! 

And reality kicked in. Sengal 2.0 confirmed. I signaled the other 2 Jemahs telling them we boarded the wrong bus. I went to the driver & asked him where the bus is heading. Eh baru mau tanya driver? Kenapa ndak kau tanya the following week jak Bie. Lepas memang 100% sure yang kami salah bas, we rang the bell. The driver told us to wait for the bus bound for Tullamarine Airport at the opposite bus stop. 

Dalam gelabah itik, we hop off the bus. In order to stay calm, instead of worrying about the time...we took pictures of the neighborhood. Pose, pose, pose. Ketawa sama kesengalan masing². Suddenly Ms H looked at me & said

"Bie, mana bag² kau pegang dalam bas tadi? Kau ndak bawa turun?"

And Sengal 3.0 detected. I accidentally left 2 paper bags in the bus. 1 containing our bekalan makanan we prepared earlier that morning. Also the sambals Ms H's MIL cooked for us. And the other bag hold our charging plugs, universal adapters & charger for our rented wifi modem. Macho kan bingai si Err? *clap clap*

We looked at each other with poker faces. Belum digest habis lagi apa sebenarnya jadi. Gitu alasan. Kalau mau kejar bas tadi memang confirm lah kami akan berdrama seharian. That bus will reach its final destination in 2 hours! Therefore we decided to figure things out once we reach the airport. Although we've wasted half day getting the wrong train stops & bus, semua masih tenang. Ndak lari office Apex tu kunun. Sangat² grateful I was there with them who know how to calm myself down. Else??

Once at the airport, after everyone had alighted the bus...we asked the driver how can we get our things back. He told us to email the company. And so I did (tapi sampai sekarang memang ndak balik pun barang tu semua).

Yadda yadda yadda...I entered the airport via T3 door with Ms H while Ms G waited us at the bus stop (sambil jaga our bags juga). Called Apex company using the free phone provided by the airport. Buat penat cari coins jak rupanya FOC. Choi! 

#11 From where we sat while waiting for Apex representative to kutip us

Macam biasa, despite all the dramas...bergambar tetap on. Itu dilupa jangan. Kenangan penting. 

#12 Presenting the most calm amongst the calmest; my beloved Jemahs. Beribu² lemon thanks for everything

While waiting for our ride, sempat lah kasi ketawa diri masing². Recalling all the sengals happened since early that morning. Tu pasal  masa mula² buka cerita Melbourne, I told u I remember vividly every moments of this trip. Memories I won't trade with anything in this world.

We arrived Apex office eventually. Proses ambil kereta sangat easy peasy. That I will share in next entry. 

Departed for Phillip Island at noon. Journey kutip kereta yang supposedly settle in 3 hours, berakhir for half a day. 

We plan, Allah plans and indeed Allah's plan is the best. Alhamdulillah. Regardless all the dramas, we got our rental car....and berjaya drive keluar Melbourne city without getting lost anymore. Sungguh² ikut arahan GPS. Ndak mau durhaka lagi. Ndak mau leka bergambar lagi except yang dua Jemahs tu. Sangat sibuk click sana, click sini. Kau driver Bie, memang harus ndak boleh leka. Cis! 

#13 Si Err driver for the first leg of the road trip

Boleh pula diorang suruh aku drive, kan. Walhal aku maknae among us three! Aku paling last dapat driving license tau. Akur lah arahan ahkak². They had put up with my nonsense since morning. Guide yang gagal. Ngeh. 

Jemahs first road trip albeit incomplete members. Yang dua Jemahs lagi tu sila join next road trip. Insha Allah. 

#14 Enroute to Phillip Island

First time driving di luar bumi Malaysia. I was a bit nervous at first whats more when Ms G kept reminding me about the speed limit. Saman adalah something we need to avoid. Bayar in AUD ok, not in RM. Worst, kena banned from driving di Australia.

Need to stop here. Too long an entry this has become. Banyak pula benda aku mau share. Over sudah.

Till then, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Victoria Day 2 - An Evening in Melbourne City

Assalamualaikum. G'Day Mate

Balik dari beli shampoo di My Chemist (shampoo lah sangat), aktiviti bersiram berlangsung. Then turun pi kitchen area yang selevel sama reception counter. Dinner di bumi Melbourne bertemakan lauk Melayu+Pakistan (??). Sambal bilis & sambal hitam super berapi sedap made with love by Ms H's MIL. Memang menantu kesayangan kan, apa dimau harus ditunai. Untung ler. Aku ni durhaka berkali² sama mentua. Berulang kali disuruh balik kampong, tapi buat² tuli. Daulat ndak lama. Koh statement!

Tabahlah layan anganan tiada henti si Err. 

27 July 2015

Ibis Budget Hotel

Dinner adalah ndak melibatkan aktiviti memasak. Roh rajin masak belum merasuk aku. Tertinggal di Malaysia so I have to wait for its arrival the next day. 

#1 Wrap all the way hangkut from Double K City + sambal meletup Nogori + Strawberry Melbourne as dessert. 

Never pertikai things we ate. Sometimes I'm surprise to the amount & varieties of food we consume everytime we travel. Alhamdulillah though, so far belum ada kes food poisoning happened to us. 

#2 Yours Truly having dinner. Kunun masih kenyang churros, sekali 2x nasi kau tambah kan Bie. 

Gendang gendut tali kecapi, lepas makan marilah kita keluar berwalkertapi untuk membakar al-lemaks. 

Flinders Walk

We opted to stroll around at Flinders Walk along Yarra River. Fyi, most shops in Melbourne close by 6pm.  Lagipun memang tiada plan untuk pi mall bagai. Tapi ada niat untuk ngopi. And later got cancelled because we don't feel like lepak-ing. 

#3 Federation Square showered with pink highlights. Purposely waited for the light turning to my fav hue

We walked upon Princess Bridge to go to the other side of the river. Went down the stairs next to Melbourne View Point (Hamer Hall). And we strolled along Flinders Walk. Menikmati angin malam Melbourne yang sejuk. Winter katanye. Teruslah rindu seleji di kampong. Poyo sangat!

Mama Ninja berbungkus properly so she didn't complain about the cold. Tapi tulah, perhaps it's sign of aging we didn't explore much that evening. Penat pun faktor juga tu. Yang pasti it wasn't jetlagged lah kan. If it's the excuse, sah triple poyo. 

#4 Arts Centre Melbourne (lighted in blue) and buildings in Melbourne city at night. Love the view of this concrete jungle

#5  View while standing on Princess Bridge

#6 Flinders Street Station

#7 Flinders Walk is actually few kilometers long but we decided to walked until this bridge only

#8 Beautiful visual of skyscrapers

#10 Who knows we'll be back to Melbourne one day (Insha Allah). I'll make sure we'll walk upon Flinders Street during the day. 

We encountered cafes, restaurants & bars also a playground along our walk. But I have no idea where did I save the pictures. Makin kronik level pelupa sekarang ni. I'll just assumed I've accidentally deleted them. Senang cerita.

End of our Day 2 in Victoria - Melbourne. Baru Day 2 tapi kemain sampai 4 posts kan. Balik bilik, packing lebih kurang & off we went to dreamland. Ndak lama pun letak kepala atas bantal, terus hanyut si Err. Penat betul kunun dia. We have a long journey the next day hence enough rest is of important. Lagi² yang bakal jadi driver. Gitu!

 Till next entry, wassalam. 

eryantierdabdulkarim