Dougblog !

Packed the bus and set off for Bell beach for the ripcurl surf championships - unfortunately they move the actual surfing up and down the coast in pursuit of the perfect surf - so there was no surf competition happening there. It was interesting to see the venue etc.

There was live rock music but not much of an audience...

Later we moved on to Torquay beach where long boards were hired and we show'ed em how it was done (well sort of...)

We left about 5pm for the 2hr drive back up to Melbourne

..back to Christeen & Kris's to ONCE AGAIN unpack and repack ready for the next (and final) part of the holiday - Singapore.

Blue skies and an excellent day for the beach, so we hired another body board and wet suits and had fun in
the surf!

In the evening we went for a meal - it was a beautiful warm evening and a short walk to the main street
along the seafront

On the way out...

At the restaurant...

Back at the Boat Hoosie...

We set off for trip down the coast to the highest tree-top walkway in the world. This was a bit scary because it rocked about a bit. There was a mental high tower which we climbed - it rocked about even more! The we went along the a dead-end cantilever bridge look-out which was swung about all over the place! Yuk.

Then we went to the "12 apostles" a popular tourist attraction and amazing to see at sunset.

Since we were equippped with a hired 7 seater Kia minibus to head off down the Great
Ocean Rd, it started off as the happy bus

...and later on as the surf bus - seen below with Christeen and two, 9ft surfboards in it!

On Friday, after a good night's sleep at the self catering 'boat house' at Apollo Bay,

we went for a wander and the kids went surfing with their new 41" body board - Kris went in too, to give them some instruction, but the rest of us waited until Sunday when it was forecast to be warmer, before having a go.

Lilian Surfing...

Lilian - cool surfer pose...

Lilian speaking,
This morning we all finished off packing for the great ocean road BY 10 in the morning because we decided the night before to get up early. Then Christeen n Kris told us that we didnt have to leave for 3 hours yet!! So Douglas,Calum n Lilian went to the park for a bit. When it was time to go, Elspeth, Christeen and Lilian went into Melourne to market to get food n lunch n more food while Kris,Douglas n Calum went on train to collect the minibus.

On the way down we saw kangaroos and koalas, arriving at Apollo Bay early evening. Flashed up the wood burning stove and relaxed in the house with the roar of the nearby ocean.

Kangaroos we spotted on way to Apollo Bay on a golf course!!

Koala up a tree.

Lilian and Elspeth went off for some retail therapy with Elaine while D, C & M went out in their speedboat for a blast around the bay, nozying at multi-million $$ yachts - them anchored to do some fishing... SCORE: Mark=0 Calum=2 Douglas=2+a tiddler!!
Getting the boat back out of the water was 'interesting' Douglas had to reverse Mark's newish Ute (pickup truck) and boat trailer down a slimy ramp into the water while Mark powered the boat onto the trailer for D to wade in and hook up before driving back out. No loss of life or expensive machinery ensued.
The ladies meanwhile, took Holly the puppy for a walk to the beach where Lilian went swimming.
Evening: we went out for a Vietnamese meal (delish!)

------------------------
Wednesday 3rd April
Flew back to Melbourne - unpacked then packed for next trip - expedition down the Great Ocean Road to do some surfing.

Went to Aukland - visited museum, learned about the history and teh volcanoes - had lunch at an amazing outdoor cafe, chinese / japanese food etc.
Went shopping then went to Mount Victoria for an amazing view of Aukland then kids went sledging down the steep grassy hills on bits of cardboard (as you do!)
Evening - collected fush and chups carry out (including visit to pub for me and Mark) then ate outside on one of the several decking areas - this one has an outdoor log fire! Met neighbours Damien (who has software development company) and his wife Debby and their kids. Kids were younger so Lilian spent a lot of the evening attached to the puppy, Holly.

Calum & Rachel amusing themselves:

New Zealand skyline:

Sledging

Small dog:

Lilian & Holly:

New Zealand has lots of Volcanoes...

Packed and flew to NZ - amazing in-flight entertaiment, with individually selectable systems; music, films, Catherine Tait series, Little Britain series, Top Gear series etc etc.
Elaine, Mark and Rachel met us at the airport (Elaine is originally from Fraserburgh, Mark from New Zealand, they moved from Stuartfield to nr Aukland 5 years ago). Despite all the Ozzies telling saying "ooooh - Aukland? you'de better pack yer woolies" we felt a bit silly with our winter jackets on, it was 22 deg C with the sun going down, E, M & R were in shorts and sandals. How they laughed.
It was great to see them again, we travelled by their car(s) to their amazing house in Greenhithe about 30 mins out of Aukland. The house is on 5 levels. We met the 3 dogs, had food and met neighbours had a few beers and planned outings.

Our transport

Arrival (with jaikets!)

Christeen & Kris took Lilian & Calum for a surprise outing to an animal sanctuary, saw Kangaroos, Koalas, snakes, Tasmanian Devils, Wallabies etc. then to an amusment park and out for their tea.

Elspeth and Douglas off to the art gallery and then to Melbourne International Flower Show. I went up the Rialto Tower to take some high-up pictures of the city at sunset. Oh I do like heights. Not.