Aussie Road Trip - Day 2 Philip Island

Early in the morning, Mich and I decided to go to the Melbourne International Flower Show before we embark on our road trip to Philip Island. On the previous day, I had caught a glance of the event at Carlton Gardens in my city walk but could not attend as it was about to close for the day. Happily hopping into the event hand-in-hand, we had expected to find exotic flowers, good food and fun activities.

The event turned out to be somewhat a disappointment. Not that there weren't brilliant flowers and skillfully done flower arrangements, but walking around looking at flowers just wasn't worth the AU$50 entry fee we paid for. The event was more suited for gardening enthuaists who were looking for gardening tips and equipment. After admiring flowers for two hours, we were ready to move on to our road trip.

The journey to Philip Island was a long one (by Singaporean's standards), lasting almost two hours. I did the map-reading while Mich drove, both of us singing along to the MP3s I brought for the trip. The weather was not looking good; dark clouds were gathering in the sky and the winds were chilly and strong. Still, we were determined to enjoy our trip. By the time we reached the island, the bad weather was still persistent and raindrops were beginning to fall.

The first spot we went to visit was one of the many beaches on Philip Island. The sea was all foamy as mighty waves repetitively assualted and withdrew from the craggy shoreline. I was in awe as it was the first time I glanced upon such a raging sea. It was as beautiful as it was frightening - what a force of nature! It brought to mind God's majestic and fearsome power. Indeed, it is as the Bible says, "it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Lord".

As we walked along the beach, the wind began to pick up sharply and grains of sand, stirred up by the wind, became whirling dust clouds containing a million tiny razors. Such was the strength of the wind that when the grains of sand hit our faces, they can cause a prickling pain. We barely lasted a minute in the sandstorm before we had to seek shelter in the car. The cold was also getting to our bones so we decided that we should drive to one of the townships on the island for warm meals and drinks.

The locals who lived on Philip Island are apparently used to the harsh weather here. In the warmth of a bistro, we observed in amazement at kids having a picnic by the sea. Philip Island's main attraction is the Penguin Parade. Since the penguins only return to their homes at dusk, we had some time to burn. We spent some time reading magazines in the bistro and then taking a nap in the car before moving on.

Near the beach where the Penguin Parade is located, there is a cliff overlooking two famous rocks protuding like monuments out of the sea. These rocks are known as the Nobbies. The sea around this part of the island is extremely dangerous; high up on the cliff, we could feel the splash of capricious waves as they surged forward, seemingly to engulf the land. The Nobbies are located at the southern-most end of Philip Island, and as such, it is the furthest away from the Equator in this part of the world. How fitting it seemed, that Land's Edge should have such a treacherous seascape.

Oh, and I spotted a chilling phantom rising out of the sea, take a look at the clip below:

When the sun snuffed itself, refusing to relight for the day, the blanket of night crept across the island and along with it came the imminent cold. Even with our jackets and scarves on, we were both shivering in the dark. I was in half a mind to give the Penguin Parade a miss but I knew that would be letting both Mich and myself down. I reckoned that the temperature was about five degrees on that day but we persisted to sit ourselves down at the beach. Along with us was a crowd of about two hundred other tourists. Everyone was speaking in hushed voices and looking towards the sea in keen anticipation.

I think we must be really fortunate. From what I've heard from others who have been to Philip Island, sometimes it takes as long as one full hour before the penguins gather the courage to waddle up the beach to their burrows. However, on this day, the penguins were rather hasty to come up to land, perhaps driven by the cold. I can't begin to describe how clumsily cute the penguins are, words would not do them justice. The way they consolidate into ranks at the brink of the sea before toddling across the beach in regimental formation really won my heart over.

Finally, when the last of the penguins disappeared into their burrows, and the remaining lights on the island dimmed, we began to depart. It was wonderful to be on Philip Island, but even the excitement of the day couldn't compare to the sweet serenity of the night as Mich and I sang and drove our way home under a vast and perfect star-spangled sky.

Aussie Road Trip - Day 1

Stepping out of the arrival gate into a 5am Melbourne dawn, my emotion is a mix of fatigue from the 8-hour long flight and keen anticipation. I had imagined my reunion with Michelle countless times before this day. Many times, I envisaged us crying in each other's arms, like a scene out of the movies. That did not happen in the end of course, me being too self-conscious to weep in public. When I beheld Mich standing in front of me as I walked out of the airport, what I felt was a sense of relief. A sense of coming home to the most familiar place on earth after what seemed like a millenium of endless wandering. To be home is to be by the side of Mich. As I walked with her, I was once again entranced by her soulful eyes and her animated way of talking, both of which I have come to love so much over the years.

Dawn in Melbourne was quietly beautiful. I stared out of the window and indulged myself in the cool morning air as Mich's small car breezed through the highway. After some time of travelling, we approached Melbourne city. The city is the only place in Melbourne where one can find high-rise buildings; the surrounding country is so vast that for miles and miles only farms and short houses exist. The high-rise buildings are statuesque and many of them carry the same dark-glassed splendor as Suntec City back home. Very soon, we reached Michelle's apartment, which is just across the street from where she worked.

Well, her apartment is a mess (notice the present tense); it's hardly what I had imagined of a place where two girls are staying. Random articles lie all over the place and amass into one big pile at the back of the living room. The overall atmosphere is one of a junkyard. Making a mental note to address that before Mich and I have a home of our own in the future, I proceeded to take a nap while Michand Yishan departed for work.

When I woke up, it was 3pm. Remembering that Mich had told me that the shops in the city close at 6pm, I hurried out to explore the city. I began by strolling around the perimeter of the city and Melbourne, like most other modernised cities, looks almost the same as Singapore. What is interesting is that Melbourne is divided into two sections by a river, and when you stand at one side of the river and look towards the other, it feels like a scenary out of "A Tale of Two Cities". The people of Melbourne are very diversed; everywhere I turned, I saw Asians. There were Hongkies, Chinese, Taiwanese, Koreans and Indians. I saw some interesting sights like a group of international student boycotting against their university for raising school fees, but otherwise, everything was prettty mundane. Soon, I tired of buildings and people, and strayed off-path to find the nature which I had so look forward to seeing on this trip.

My wanderlust brought me to a park, where I lingered on for the rest of the afternoon. It turned out to be quite a disappointment, really. Though the parks here were vast, they weren't as nicely decorated as some of the parks back home. Obviously, the real scenary lies outside the city. Come evening, when Mich and Yishan had finished their work, we went to have dinner at the Chinatown. The food was ok, but I questioned the need to eat Chinese food having just left Singapore half a day ago. When we were done, we went back to the apartment to retire for the night. Mich and I were going to visit Philips Island the following day, something to look forward to.