Melbourne Trip: Hot Air Balloon Ride in Yarra Valley

On the way to Melbourne from Grampians, we stopped at this vineyard for wine tasting. Of course, we didn't taste the wine, it was part of the tour. This place is said to be the oldest winery in Melbourne. We went into the cottage to have a look on the storage. Menarik!

We were brought to the basement where oak barrels were kept. These barrels are used as the vessels to contain the wine; for fermentation or as storage since the longer it is stored the tastier the wine will be. The oak barrels adds up additional qualities to the wine. One that I could recall is it gives distinct flavour to the wine; the flavouring agent will be smeared on the inner surface of the oak barrel.

These are the new empty barrels. The old ones which contain wine in them have labels on them. I remember I saw one labeled 1996! That was like 16 years ago!!!

Hehe saya rasa ini comeyl (^^)

Chris dropped us off right in front of our hostel. We were starving but it was raining.. The temperature was almost freezing, and our coats and sweaters were very thin

RA: Mat Salleh punye jaket lagi tebal. Bajet btol ar kte nih

We ventured out to find food anyway.. So hunger-driven..

It was our first time in the city so it took us some time to understand the streets and how the city tram works. But it was already late. The free city circle tram was no longer in service at that hour. So we just walk to the famous Flinders Street and was surprised to find how close it was. There, we got ourselves 3 large size Lord of the Fries with Italian and African Sauce, 3 Chicken Briyani and Kebab. Kuat makan!!

O ya, about the Balloon Ride. I made the booking about 2 weeks before our departure to Australia. The price quoted to us was $315 per pax but  MR found out how to get 15% discount. That's by mentioning Melbourne Official Visitor Guide during booking. The thing about this 15% discount, you won't get a full refund if the flight is cancelled. Alhamdulillah ours went well as planned.

So, the day before the flight, we have to check in with the pilot by calling a number and listen to the weather report and confirm the meeting time. The phone call happened to be answered by a recorded message which I failed to understand because the guy has this very pronounced Australian accent. I have to ask the receptionist at our hostel to help me out with the check in because I can't fully understand the instructions.. Every 'i' was pronounced 'oi' . Like for example 'fine' in Malaysia, we pronounce  in 'fain' there it's 'foin' Adeh.. Bila perkataan yang panjang dan laju, they sound so alien to me...

So we were instructed to wait for the pick up transfer at 3.45 am. We didn't sleep early despite knowing that we have to wake up so early the next morning. We were revising our itinerary that night because we were planning to go straight to Philip Island after the Balloon ride.

Kenapa lelaki itu seperti bersedia untuk diambil gambarnya..?? Hurm.. haha

SN and AM didn't join us. A van waited for us outside the mansion at about 3.50 am. It took about 50 minutes to get to Yarra Valley so all of us just doze off since it was pitch dark and nothing to see outside.

We were brought to this very nice restaurant set inside a vineyard. There we were served with coffee and tea. The place look very luxurious; with the glossy laminated wooden floor, the bar, the tables and chairs, the porcelain tea cups and the shiny cutleries.. Terasa kaya sekejap :p `

We were then introduced to our pilot, Dean, who then gave a safety briefing. The group were then brought to a grass field from where the balloon ride would start.

The take off point is chosen based on the direction of the wind. The point where we started was a slightly slanted grass field. There were kangaroos hopping about when we arrived. Quite a number of them. The basket for passengers was not that big but it could accommodate about 18 passengers at a time including the  pilot. But the balloon was massive! It took some time to inflate it.

And once the balloon was inflated and ready for flight, we have to jump into the basket as quick as possible. So those who are fit and could climb the basket faster are to hop on first.

Honestly, I was quite nervous as the balloon leave the ground. All of us were standing and we cheered during take off. I looked down; because I was never afraid of heights as a climber. But then suddenly there were butterflies in my stomach. I felt some kind of odd movement in my bowel. Like something was churning inside.. Suddenly everything below shrunk.. And I inhaled a deep breath and tried to calm down. I think I was nervous because there were no seat belts haha and there was a time when we almost hit the trees but our pilot wass an expert. he manage to elevate the balloon before we hit the trees. Ngeh!

Sunrise over the horizon

That's the camera we use to take the group photo inside the basket hehe

The best part was when we worked together to deflate the balloon and put it inside its bag! \(^^)/

Pakcik comel itu sungguh pandai bagi arahan (^^)

"Boys at the end! And girls line up!"

Dean: Looks like this lady is struggling over here. Let me give you a hand! 

Okay, tangan tidak cukop besar untuk merangkul belon (^^)v

Hoyeah \(^^)/

After that we head back to the restaurant to have breakfast :)

Thank God it was spring (^^)

My certificate with my misspelled name hehe it's ok! Yang penting the experience!

Dan ini short video during the flight.. O patot besolek dulu.. haha

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Blossom's Wedding (^^)/

Hehe sorry for the interuption of my Melbourne Trip post. But this one can't wait. This is about one of the most important wedding in 2012.. It's HH wedding!!!! \(^^)/ Most importantly, I was the bridesmaid so yahoo!! My face will be in most of her wedding pics hehe


Anyway, why blossom? HH, SJ and I called ourselves the power puff girls and I even set the PPG theme song as the ringtone for both their numbers.. And I think HH should be blossom because she's the eldest hehe

She picked a very nice date for her Nikah; 10.11.12. That's easy to remember :) Last time she said she wanted 10.10.10 then change to 11.11.11 and nah.. dapat jugak kan a nice date. Ko ingat tak ko cakap camtu, HH? Ka lepas kawen dah xde mase jengok blog aku.. huh!

I sat next to her during the Nikah and both of us were very blur. I've no idea how the Nikah works in Pahang so I just sit there and watch and helped wipe off sweat from ruining HH's make up. During the khutbah, HH whispered to me

"Nak buat muke ape weyh?"
"Buat  muke amek perhatian kot hehe"
Alhamdulillah, the Ijab and Qabul was done with one lafaz :) (Btol ka aku cakap ni..)

Lol! Masa ni baru lepas kejadian HH reluctant nak jawab mase kena tanya "Setuju..?" Dia bukan ragu2 tapi tak dengar haha

When you climbed countless mountains and did too many crazy stuffs together.. Gambar ayu begini look so wrong in my eyes hahaha rase macam nak cakap "Eleh! Ayu konon!!" Sebab salu nampak HH wat muka comeyl seperti ini..

Haha tapi memang ayu pon masa nikah tu..

X bole imagine kalo aku.. Mesti lagi nampak fake  haha

Malu2 lagi masa suro pegang tangan.. haha

That night, I spent the night at Mentakab with the other girls because I don't want to miss any updates. All of  uswere exhausted from the long journey; KL-Maran-Mentakab.. But, still, we manage to gather strength to stay up and fill each other with what's been happening in our lives. Not much to share with SJ, MR and RA because we just spent 10 days together. But SHA and HHM was with us and they sure have lots to tell since    it's really hard to see these 2!

We woke up early the next morning and had our breakfast at a mamak restaurant. All the other restaurants were closed. we were enticed to this mamak restaurant by the strong roni canai aroma~~~

Muka belom mandi masing2..

Carpool \(^^)/ I was too lazy to drive that morning ..

And after that we prepared for the wedding.. SHA helped me out with the shawl. I'm not that up to date when it comes to fashion haha

Posted this pic on facebook. Some thought I was getting married! Astaga... Cepat2 betolkan perception.. Jato la saham ni (-_-") hahaha

Masa bersanding..

Yah! Love this pic a lot! Drama kan??

Suap suap kek (^^)

Left alone on the pelamin with no bridegroom beside me.. HH jangan pergi...

With my family except for that makcik in blue hehe that's HH's brother's mother in law.

With the girls!!! \(^^)/ They have to leave early.. Even before the 'sanding'..

Hehe masa salam SJ, MR and RA la poyo..

RA & SJ: Ok gg, jumpa lagi dekat *next destination*

MR: Nanti brooch tu bagi mase kat *next destination* la ye

Hahaha lucu.. 7 months to go but we are already super excited!

Did I cry?? No lah.. Well, I cried when Len got married. At that time, I don't know how it would be after that. I thought I'll lose her.. I thought things won't be the same again. But I thought wrong. She's still the same old bff that I always have. We still have our girly chats once in a while and her husband was never in our way. Siap suro datang ruma lawat baby lagi hehe It's just that she has her own family to commit to. The friendship stays alive (^^) And I know, with HH, it'll be the same for us too.

Tembam nya kao haziah!

Many people were saying "Lepas ni tak lame lagi giliran pengapit la.."

Most people, I know, will say AMEEEEEEEEEEN.. But somehow, I just smiled and say nothing.. Belom ready kah.. Laen post aku creta..

I-don't-remember-who: Gg bile lagi? Nak tunggu yang macam mane..?

GG: *smile*

Dalam hati "Yang 'want to spend the rest of his life with me and none other'

Noktah.

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Melbourne Trip: The Grampians! (^^)

We were to spend the night in the Grampians on our first day and it was about 2 hours drive from The London Bridge. On the way, we stopped at the Maits Rest Rainforest Walk. It was short walk; maybe about 30 to 45 minutes.

This rainforest is not like the ones we have in Malaysia. The climate was cold that we need not to take off our jackets and besides from tall fern trees, there were also trees native to Victoria and Tasmania. Ok.. Back in Uni we used to have this course about herbs and used to have visits to parks. I never really listen when my lecturer explained about those Mas Cotek, Tongkat Ali and whatnot. But in Australia, tiba2 sangat enthusiastic pada pokok bha pulak kan :P


Anyway... Walking in this rain forest was very refreshing, you see. In addition to the cool temperature, it has this very distinctive Eucalyptus smell.. o0o0 sangat best.. The two native trees that were shown to us was the Mountain Ash and Myrtle Beech.

I'm more into the Myrtle Beech. The roots form this huge hole that my friends and I can fit in. Well, when the Mountain Ash tree fell, the Myrtile Beech actually thrive on it's trunk and will get nutrients from the decomposing Mountain Ash trunk. As years go by, the Myrtle Beech gets bigger and the Mountain Ash continue to decompose and finally disappear leaving that huge hole beneath the Myrtle Beech.. Amazing kan?? hehe NERD! :p

And those fern trees, the trunk has this hairy features. Those hairs are actually the roots and they are always wet. I don't remember how it gets wet but Chris did explain how. Anyway, Chris described the hairy roots feel like dog's fur if you rub your hands on it. We did.. And we were like.. "O0o0o0o0 cmni rupenye rase bulu anjing.." Ngeh! :p

It was getting dark when we left Maits Rest. We head straight to the Grampians and on the way we saw wild Kangaroos hopping on the road!!! SJ and I were very sleepy, actually. But we wanted to see the Kangaroos so much that we forced our eyes to open until we reach the hostel. Although tired from the whole day trip and we haven't got ourselves a proper rest since our arrival, we stayed up that night chatting with our witty French roommates (^^)


So, in the morning, I remember MR said to me..

 "Kalo dalam video, kuar2 bilik da nampak Kangaroo.. Ni kene tengok betol ke tak.."

I was actually putting high hopes.. Opened the door.. No Kangaroos.. Held my video cam to my chest and inhaled a deep breath.. Trying to overcome my frustration. Pace slowly to the front house where breakfast was served.. And VOILA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There were 4 Kangaroos grazing on the yard!!! And later we saw there was a Joey in one of the Kangaroo's pocket!!! Ok sy siyesly melompat lompat gembira ketika itu...  \(^^)/

Di depan hostel

Our first destination was MacKenzie Falls but on the way there we stopped at this field where there were many grazing Kangaroos! These are wild Kangaroos so we didn't get to touch or feed them. The Kangaroos here look much fatter than elsewhere. Due to the cool climate in this range, they have more body fats and thicker fur.

This is how close I was to the Kangaroos.. Tapi ini Kangaroo tidak sopan ok! Telah berkentut! haha

 There are 2 walks in MacKenzie Falls; one is to the base of the fall itself and the other one is the lookout trail. The base is actually a few hundred meters down the steep walk so it is quite tiring for those who are unfit. I didn't go to the lookout trail, but Chris said it would give a nice view of the falls although not as stunning as at the base.

The water cascade was amazingly huge. I'm not sure where the water originates but this is very beautiful!!!

There was another walk that will lead you to the above waterfall but I don't remember the name.. And I also don't remember what's the name of this waterfall :p

O ya! Grampians is actually a famous spot for rock climbers. The rocks are sandstones but not of those that easily crumble because this one yang suda mampat berjuta2 tahun.. I did check the climbing packages that they have there tapi extremely expensive. Not worth it. I rather come with my climbing friends and climb with our own gears hehe

O! Another thing about Grampians that fascinated me.. The ashen tree trunks!!!

Nampak tak badan pokok ini hitam??? (badan pokok?? (>.<) )

All the trees in Grampians are like that and I was rather curious.. At first I thought (the nerd mind of mine thought) it's just how the trees adapt to the climate but I thought wrong!!!

Actually, many of these trees produce very flammable oil within their barks especially the eucalyptus so that's why they are prone to fire. So, to control this, they used controlled fire or prescribed burning to reduce the amount of flammable material in the forest.  Sebab itu la mereka hitaaaaam.. And what's amazing, actually the practice dated back from the era of the indigenous people of Australia!

*******Maaf post ini panjang.. Sikit lagi...********

After the waterfalls, we went to the other walks and lookouts.. Lets just see some pics for this one...

With our French Roommates

On the edge~

Maaf, bukan camera canggih yang punya lense besar. It was cloudy that day so the pics are quite blurry


And our last stop at the Grampians was Brambuk Cultural Centre

Nga Keenatt is 'Welcome'

So.. In this building they display the pictures of the aborigines and told the stories of what have happened since the arrival of the British back in the 18th century.. Due to limited time, I only manage to read about the assimilation process and I'm actually glad that I went to that section. Read about the 'Stolen Generations' dengan air mata bergenang-genang.. 

So that's it for Grampians \(^^)/

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