Uncle Andy

Uncle Andy has always been really popular with kids. But for some strange reason, Nadine was scared of him for the longest time. Until 2 Saturdays ago, when we attended Che-Che Emelyn's birthday party together, there was a breakthrough. Nadine allowed Uncle Andy to carry her. Next day in church, and the following week, whenever she saw Uncle Andy, she'd happily call him, like they're best of friends. And now, she's happy to let him carry her too.

Western Australia VII

Day 8:

Albany

Named Dog Rock, this huge granite outcrop near the town centre of Albany resembles the head of a bloodhound sniffing the air. Around this monument, there is a Dog Rock Hotel and a Dog Rock Cafe. Maybe there were other "Dog Rock" shops that we did not notice.

The Gap at Torndirrup National Park. The massive granite outcrops, cliffs, and steep sandy slopes and dunes are just amazing. A bit hard and risky to navigate and walk with the kids. But the scenery is worth it!

The Natural Bridge, just next to The Gap.

A sweet old couple from Perth took this photo for us. The further south we went, the more unfriendly we found the people. People in Perth City were so friendly and helpful. People in Albany .... hmm ......

Whale World - saw the sign for this place while driving, and decided to go there, thinking that it'll entertain the kids. It's another expensive place - $25 per adult, but we were "attracted" by the 3 "state of the art technological theatres", including the world's first 3D animated film on whales "Giants Exist". Well, the shows were so "exciting" that Uncle Mel and Mummy dozed off. But we did learn something about whales and whaling from this place.

A very exhausted Nadine. 1st time in 9 days that she's dozed off at a site. She had, at most, dozed off in the car, never while we're outside coz it's always too exciting, too many things to see, feel, play, touch and explore.

Daddy, Mummy, and even Nadine had searched everywhere for a nice pair of shades for Nadine. Each time we go into a shop that sells shades, Nadine would pull out several pair to try. So girl! We finally found this cute pair that fits Nadine perfectly at Best & Less in Albany. She loved it. Kept alternating between wearing them and putting them on her head, imitating the adults. And after getting her own pair of shades, she no longer objected to Mummy wearing shades. In fact, she wanted Mummy to wear shades!

Day 9 was spent driving back to Perth City. No photos were taken. We spent most of the time in the car, even in the city. We were supposed to go to King's Park during one of the nights that we were in Perth. Never got the chance. So we thought we'll go there to chill and wait out till dinner. Turned out there was a huge concert at King's Park that night. There was such a bad jam going into the Park, and after half an hour, when we finally go into the Park, there was no parking available. And by then, it was time to go for dinner.

The red-eye flight back to Singapore was even later, or earlier (2am), then the flight to Perth. Nadine was very unsettled on the flight there. Hardly slept, and kept crying - meaning Daddy and Mummy hardly slept too. We prayed really hard that Nadine would sleep through the flight back. And she did! Except, we didn't pray specifically enough. She slept most the time on either Daddy's or Mummy's shoulders, and the last maybe 1 1/2 hr lying down. Well, at least she slept.

It was a wonderful 10 days (including the flight) together as a family. Such great bonding, especially for Daddy and Nadine, as Daddy carried Nadine most of the time, and even showered her a few times. Wish we can take such holidays every few months!

Western Australia VI

Day 7:

Pemberton + Travel down to Albany

A day of driving. We drove for about 2 hrs before reaching Pemberton, a forested area. And then another about 3 hrs before reaching Albany. Scenery along the way - trees, trees, trees and more trees.

Stopped for a break to go look at the famous Gloucester Tree, which is 72m tall. Daddy had his one and only adventure of this trip - climbing to the top of this tree, with his slippers.

This is the view Daddy enjoyed at the top of the tree.

It was an extremely hot day. And up to this point, we had not been able to find a suitable pair of shades for Nadine. These ones that she's wearing are Gor-Gor Gerald's.

For some reason, Nadine did not like seeing Mummy with shades. She kept telling Mummy, "I don't want wear Mummy specs". Mummy kept correcting her, but that wrong grammatical structure was stuck in Nadine's head and she just couldn't seem to get it right. Well, she's afterall only 2.

Western Australia V

Day 6:

Margaret River

We started planning for this trip with the idea that we'll take it easy, won't rush from 1 place to another, and that it'll be a chill and relax holiday. And almost everyday, Uncle Mel would say something about just going to 1 or 2 places, and then come back to the apartment to rest. That never happened. We were always out the entire day and since the kids seemed to enjoy themselves so much, we didn't have the heart to drag them 'home'.

River Mouth. Check out the clear blue sky!

It was low tide and the waves were already super strong! Can't imagine how it'll be like during high tide!

Hot chocolate at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory - the real thing - made with real chocolate and not chocolate powder. It was super rich and yummy! Besides the 2 marshmellows, Daddy also gave Nadine way too much chocolate (they had a huge bowl of samples for visitors to try) at the factory. As a result, Nadine did not sleep at all that afternoon, and was ultra hyperactive throughout. By evening, Mummy was super tired, and extremely annoyed at Daddy.

Lunch at the Bootleg Brewery.

The brewery owns a cattle ranch as well and their beef is excellent. The last time we were there, it was winter. We had the beef cheeks, which were soooooo tender, sweet and juicy. We were disappointed that their summer menu does not have the beef cheeks. Still, this was one of the best meals the group's had during this trip!

Nadine had her first sip of shandy, and didn't quite like it.

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse - located at the most south westerly tip of Australia, standing at the point where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. We could actually see that the currents for the 2 oceans were moving in opposite direction!

Although the lighthouse doesn't look very tall from the ground, it's actually the tallest lighthouse on mainland Australia. And according to Uncle Mel, it's not an easy climb at all!

Western Australia IV

Day 5:

Sugar Loaf Rock, Eagle Bay

The Gans took much nicer family photos, coz although they had 1 uncooperative toddler, the 2 smiley and pose-cooperative Gor-Gors more than made up for it.

Uncle Mel had the grand plan of a picnic lunch at Eagle Bay. We drove from one scenic spot to another. None had a proper place for us to sit down, and everywhere was super-windy. We finally found a beach with a boat parked at a corner, which we used as a table. It was such a hurried meal but the kids did not complain coz they got to play with the sand and seawater after eating.

Western Australia III

Day 5:

Country Life Farm at Dunsborough

http://www.countrylifefarm.com.au/Country_Life_Farm/HOME.html

Everybody's given a bucket of carrots to feed the animals upon entry, and paying the expensive entrance fees, $15 per adult and $13 for kids under 2. We tried our luck by saying Nadine just turned 2, hoping that the staff will be kind enough to waive her fee. But without missing a beat, he said, "oh, that will be $13". :-/

Nadine was a bit apprehensive about feeding the guinea pigs and rabbits initially. She kept asking Daddy and Mummy to feed them.

After a while, she decided to try her hand at feeding the rabbits, at arm's length.

The farm had an outdoor playground, which the kids enjoyed tremendously. On its website, it also it offers boat rides. But its micro-mini lake looks more like a mini swamp and its boats look like they've been abandoned for a long time.

Ethan and Nadine fighting over a toy at the indoor playground. Yes, Nadine's probably biting Ethan. Ethan's no push-over either. And Mummy kept reminding Nadine that soon, Ethan will be bigger and stronger than her, and will retaliate more than ever. At 1 point, she turned to Mummy and said she's scared of Ethan. That lasted for 5 min.

The indoor playground had sections for toddlers, pre-schoolers and older kids. There was even a "time-out" mat! More importantly, there was an area for parents to sit, chat, read papers/magazines, drink coffee/tea, as they waited for their children to exhaust their energy ... which can take forever.

Western Australia II

Day 4:

Hillarys Boat Harbour - for the rich and "atas"

Nadine really enjoyed "swimming" in the lagoon

The kids loved the playground too, and didn't seem to get tired of the slide

Nadine climbing up the ladder on her own. Mummy wasn't sure whether to be proud of her independence or to be worried for her safety.

A family shot, with a very sleepy Nadine

Western Australia

We took a well-deserved and much-longed-for family holiday down under again. This time, we ventured all the way from Perth to Albany, led by a super-duper travel agent cum tour guide, Uncle Mel, accompanied by his brood of 3 boys, and of course Aunty Wendy, plus Gong-Gong KK.

It was a fantastic 10-day holiday where we saw some really magnificent sights, and were entertained by the kids, especially Nadine and Ethan, who had a love-hate relationship. They enjoyed playing with each other, but couldn't stop fighting either. And many times, when they fought, both sets of parents and Gong-Gong KK just couldn't stop laughing coz it can be quite hilarious.

Day 1:

Arrived in Perth, drove round to look for dim sum, not realizing that most restaurants are closed coz it's Labor Day.

The Silases came to meet us for dim sum lunch. We stayed with them for a night when we visited in 2009. Look how much all 3 kids have grown!

Day 2:

Fish & chips at Fremantle + shopping at Target

Nadine had loads of soft drink, juices, ice-cream and fries during this trip.

Day 3:

Caversham Wildlife Park

The tour group. Aunty Geraldine joined us for the first 3 days.

Gerald and Marcus in a feed-the lambs competition.

A photo with the really ugly wombat

Taking shelter from the hot, scorching sun, together with the kangaroos

1st Ice Cream Cone

Nadine had her first ice cream cone (mini cornetto) all by herself tonight. Mummy told Daddy to share one with her. But Daddy wanted 1 for himself. Gave Nadine 1, and told her to share with Mummy. Nadine only gave Mummy 1 lick, and then finished the rest of the cone herself. Like father like daughter!

Shoes - choosing and wearing

Since last week, Nadine has been attempting to wear her shoes herself. She's quite successful with this pair of sandals, although Mummy will usually need to help her tighten the velcro. But it sure is a milestone that Daddy and Mummy are very proud of!

Actually, not only can Nadine wear her shoes herself. She now picks the shoes she wants to wear too. On some days, Mummy and Nadine will have a long "argument" on which pair of shoes to wear. Can be very exasperating!