From Melbourne to Adelaide

We're in Adelaide now. The hubby and I undertook the long drive from Melbourne to Adelaide on the 29th of December and arrived the next day. It was about 11.30 am when we started out from Melbourne and we arrived safe and sound nearly 20 hours later at our first son's home in Adelaide (which was the next day). The journey through the Great Ocean Road is supposed to take about 10 hours, maybe plus a couple of hours since we wanted to take our own sweet time and since we weren't used to the terrain and so on.. Of course we have the Garmin GPS gadget so we wouldn't lose our way and ended up somewhere else. However, the hubby was keen on detouring, trusting in his maps; Google or otherwise, making the poor Garmin gadget lady kept 'recalculating' countless times..! Here are some pics, illustrating our journey from Melbourne to Adelaide:

Leaving Melbourne on the freeway (yes, you got that right, FREE, as in no tolls yey!)

No, that's not Durian Road..

Ok.. we'll try not to sleep in our car, thank you

Wow,  a traffic jam (at first we thought there might be an accident but it was only because too many people wanting to spend their holidays at the seaside towns that the road get jammed)

OK Malaysian drivers, notice how the emergency lane is not filled with cars overtaking you from the left..?

And notice also that the biker in front of us has not left his position to overtake either from the left or right..

The hubby studying his map..

Admiring the blue blue ocean; SubhanAllah!

Bee..youtiful!

Interesting structure taking advantage of the ocean view to the maximum

Another seaside home, all glass..view must be incredible!

Let's hope this one is not as unstable as it looks..

Entering the Great Ocean Road

Lovely beaches

Reasonable traffic

Packed camping sites..

Leaving seaside route..

Admiring the rolling hills and fields

Farms along the way

Picture taken at the Gibson Steps

At the Twelve Apostles (nothing to do with prophets, just effects of erosion)

Explanation of phenomenon..

Three of the 'apostles' in the background

Farmland again

Time to fill 'er up; only over here you fill first and pay later..

Warrnambool says it all

Future owner of vast farmland and thousands of cows (insyAllah!)

Dusk.. SubhanAllah

Performing the Magrib and Isyak at about 3 am at a petrol station (really desperate situation as petrol stations which are open at night - for the restrooms, aren't many in these areas)

At 3 something am Adelaide is still quite a distance but after prayers we were more relaxed

Yey Alhamdulillah arrived at the son's home around 4 am!

Breakfast outside in the backyard (grand-dad and Ammar)

Daughter-in-law cooked fried noodle

Seems to be the best time to teach the first grandson, Umayr to climb trees (way to go hubby - after whole-night driving!)

Melbourne City Outings

Now that the hubby's here (he arrived around midnight 26 December), we spent yesterday and today going around Melbourne city on trams and.. legwork. From Sydney Road, it takes about half an hour journey to the city centre on the paid tram. And once there we walked and took the free city circle tram to see the sights. It's pretty easy once you've understood the map (which I fortunately leave that to the hubby.. I just say, "Where are we going now, dear? OK, let's get on the tram. Are we there, yet?"..) Here are some pics of our trips to the city:

The hubby intent on studying the map while waiting for the tram

The modern, shiny, spacious tram - a popular means of transport in Melbourne

Flashy and colourful, too. This is the paid tram - $3.80 for a 2-hour ride or $7 something for a day ride

Now this ancient and somewhat battered looking tram is the (free) City Circle..

Here's a green City Circle..

At certain times and locations you would be packed like sardines..but hey, it's free! I even managed to have a quick power nap in one of these trips..

This is inside a paying tram - very comfortable and spacious..

We went to Harbour Town, one of the places where the City Circle took us.

It's like a big shopping complex where at this time of the year, it's End of Year Clearance Sale!

Shoe sale..the daughter would go totally wild in here!

Now, these would drive her crazy.. because..

..it's her favourite brand! Cotton-On!

Harbour town

Melbourne City - it's amazing how they don't have traffic jam like in KL. Must be the trams..

I don't know why I post this picture, must be the hideously green, cloudy thingy on top of the building..

Hubby in front of Flinders St. Station

In the Conservatory at Fitzroy Garden - lovely flowers

In front of Captain Cook's Cottage, Fitzroy Garden

Melbourne Central

Me trying out the state-of-the-art directory in Melbourne Central

At last, found the place to eat - with a Malaysian touch (this outlet sells only halal food and no alcohol)

Ordered 'Catch of the day' (free meal because the son works here as manager. Well..he's paying anyway haha)

Now, tomorrow, we're going on a long trip - driving the 10 hours or so to Adelaide to see our eldest son and his family. We hope to have a safe journey, InsyAllah..

Sydney Road

Another scorching day in Melbourne...I might as well have stayed in Malaysia! Not really, we actually try to avoid the really cold weather when travelling because it's...well, very cold weather would only make me want to stay cocooned inside a sleeping bag forever..lol! Unfortunately these last few days were really hot and sweaty (well, Alhamdulillah I shouldn't be complaining  'cos you can't have your cake and eat it..*sigh*). Anyway, I haven't been going out much since Bang Ngah is almost always out at work and the only excuse for me to go out is to buy groceries. Shopping for groceries is very convenient at where we're staying. Sydney Road is just around the corner and certainly not easy to lose your way. It's only a long, long stretch of road, very busy most of the times, and noisy too, sometimes into the night where I have to endure it through my open windows (have to leave them open for some much needed cooling breeze..) It's really convenient because you can get your halal meat at any of the numerous halal shops along the road. In fact there are quite a lot of Muslim-owned and halal eating places apart from other kinds of shops that they own. If you're a Muslim, you certainly won't go hungry around this area.. Sometimes you'd almost feel you're walking along a street in some middle-east country, seriously! Some pics taken on my excursions:

See what I mean..

Trams running through the street as most streets in Melbourne

Even the customers are hijabies..

This reminds me of shops in Cairo

There's even a shop selling these - at prices I don't want to mention (when compared to how cheap you can get them back home..)

Halal meat - haven't the courage to buy those kinds yet..

The grocery shop I frequent - Muslim-owned

Vegetable heaven

Love these button  mushrooms - wouldn't ever find this kind in Kuala Terengganu.. so I would always buy them!

Swimming with Joy

The day before, I contacted and visited a friend, Joy who is doing her PhD at La Trobe University. And yesterday, she took me to the Reservoir Leisure Centre where Sundays 6-8 pm are ladies hours; only women allowed in the Centre. Not only do they have heated pools, there are also a jacuzzi and 2 saunas! Well, I don't swim actually, just splashing around in the pool and of course relaxing in the jacuzzi and frying myself in the sauna! The place was mostly filled with Muslimahs; Middle-Easts, Parkistanis, Malaysians (only 4 of us then - met up with Niza and Wani there). We are allowed to go in the pool in whatever clothing we like.  Joy said once, some ladies even jumped in their abayas and nobody gave a hoot. (fortunately nobody did that while we were there, or I would have taken some pictures...just kidding - no pics allowed!) A far cry from most swimming pools in Malaysia (a Muslim country, mind) where one is not allowed to go in without swim-wear.. (or rarely do we find an establishment that caters the needs of Muslim women like this one which is in a non-Muslim country...sigh..). Anyway, here are a couple of pictures taken (in dry clothes, ok..)

In front of Leisure Centre before going home

From left: Joy, Niza and Wani - PhD students in Melbourne

Thanks Joy, for a wonderful time! Enjoyed myself tremendously!