AUSTRALIA : Melbourne, Victoria

Checked in quite late at a caravan park in the suburb of Braybrook near Melbourne. Had to arrange special pick-up for card access and cabin keys. Was quite pleased with the cabin that we booked. Stayed here for 3 nights.

A very well designed cabin. Compact yet practical. It has two bedrooms and can accommodate 6 persons. It even came with a balcony.

View of the living room, kitchen and dining. Quite impressive. Nice colour scheme. Very contemporary.

The main bedroom.

Aah! Hearty aussie breakky. Some beef and lamb bangers (sausages). bread, havarti cheese and pure orange juice.

Opted to take the train to Melbourne (kinda worried about the infamous 'hook turn' in the city). This is Flinders Street Railway Station, one of the major meeting points here. It's right next to the Yarra River.

Heritage and contemporary architecture co-exist.

Federation Square, where the SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) Building is located. Interesting architecture.

Loved the way they incorporate the running display boards as part of the facade.

Facade of St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral. The kids have never seen the inside of a church so decided to have a peek inside.

View inside, of the stained glass windows.

Another interior view.

The main altar.

The free City Circle Tourist Trams. Yup, we took one of these and travelled to a few of the tourist spots. Very convenient.

One of the buildings in the Docklands, a redevelopment of the industrial wasteland that used to be Victoria's first port - Victoria Harbour. It has now been transformed into a hip area, containing residential, commercial and tourist precincts even though still not fully completed. 

Colourful and fancy elements.

Well-connected with Melbourne's efficient tram services. The tram stop is located in the middle of the street.

Residential units.

Retail and f&b facilities at Waterfront City, complete with informal ampitheatre for performances.

Offices and residential units across Victoria Harbour.

Plenty to see and do.

Wonderfully designed restaurants at Newquay.

Interesting sculptures.

Public berths at the Docklands. Etihad Stadium is at the background. It is the home ground for 5 Australian Rules Football Teams, namely St. Kilda, North Melbourne, Carlton, Essendon and Western Bulldogs.

Nice balconies.

Another waterside reataurant.

There are bikes for rental. Very 'green'.

Very interesting. So many elements combined together.

Closer view. Look at the cantilevered balconies.

We then head to the Queen Victoria Market for some shopping. Colourful flowers on sale just before we enter the market proper.

These are proteas. South African national flowers, which are also grown in Australia.

Wide selection of cheeses available in the deli section.

Also sausages, olives and various dips.

We then headed back to Federation Square. It was getting dark and the temperature was getting chillier. There was a mini concert there and it was interesting to engage in some people-watching. It was some winter solstise celebration and there were some aboriginal dances.

Would like to stay longer but unfortunately we had a very early flight to catch the next morning. With heavy heart we have to bade Melbourne farewell and took the train back to our holiday park.

View of the platforms at Flinders Street Station.

The following day, even though we arrived quite early, we had to run to catch our return flight to Kuala Lumpur. It seemed that most flights depart around the same time and the queues for security checks and immigration were simply too long. This is somewhere in the interior of inland Australia.

Flying past a volcano in Indonesia.

Flight    : AirAsia X D7 2723 MEL-KUL
Aircraft : Airbus A330-300
Reg.     : 9M-XXA (the same plane that flew us to Australia on our Gold Coast trip in 2010).

AUSTRALIA : Puffing Billy Railway, Belgrave, Victoria

Opted to take the 55km drive to Belgrave instead of taking the Metro. Belgrave Station is the end  of  the eastern Metro line, located in the Dandenong Ranges. Allocate the whole day to ride the infamous Puffing Billy Railway. It was raining initially but luckily the clouds cleared by the time we reach Belgrave.

Puffing Billy Railway, located in Belgave, about 55km east of Melbourne is a preserved narrow gauge steam railway system. The line begun operating in 1900 and closed down in 1953. In 1962 operation was restored as heritage service and they were run by volunteers. The trip starts at Belgrave with stops at Menzies Creek, Emerald and Lakeside before returning through the same route. The return journey was about 3 hours, including a 1 hour stop at Lakeside, where you can have a picnic or stroll in the nearby park. On weekends it even continues to Gembrook.

Since the service is privately run, the ticket price is rather steep. However, if you are a steam train buff, it's worth every single penny.

Larger map. Wish we had the time to ride till the end of the line.

An older style pillar box (postal box). Do you know that pillar boxes are unique to Britain and countries of the British Empire? This is an example of an early Australian version.

The souvenir shop. Thomas the Tank Engine seemed to be the flavour of the month. Plus of course other Australiana items.

Waiting in anticipation. This was the 'original' Belgrave Station. The Metro Trains Melbourne now ends at the new Belgrave Station nearby. This old station is now the terminal for the Puffing Billy Railway.

Anxiously waiting for the arrival of the train.

Say cheeeeeese.....!

The arrival of the steam locomotive. The engineer (driver) is the one on the left.

NA Class Locomotive 14A will be pulling us today. She was built in US in 1914 and was part of the original fleet serving this line prior to closure in 1954.

Loco 14A getting warmed up and blowing her steam (pun intended!).

A rather chilly and damp morning, hence the clearly visible steam.

A couple of diesel locomotives D21 and DH5. During the summer months, when total fire ban is imposed, these will have to be used instead of the steam locos. This is due to the fact that steam locos have burning coal to heat up the boilers and they just cannot take the chance that sparks may flew out of the furnace and start a

dreaded bush fire.

Even though it was winter, we opted for the open carriage because better opportunities for photo-taking, plus another very interesting reason....

Travelling in the open carriages on this railway, you are allowed to sit on the ledge, with your feet dangling. The kids just loved it. Just make sure that your laces were properly tied. Or else, bye, bye shoe...! Nowhere else in the world are you allowed to do this while riding a proper train service!

So off we go. Blew the whistle!!

Everyone was excited and enjoying themselves.

Passing over a picturesque trestle bridge.

Plenty of photo opportunities.

14A puffing hard climbing the incline.

A view in between the trees. The southern ocean was visible in the background.

Beautiful countryside.

First stop, Menzies Creek. Short toilet and photography stop.

We were greeted by green liveried loco 6A going the opposite station

Off you go!

Loco 14A having a breather at Lakeside station. Had her coal and water ration replenished for the return journey.

A lovely park next to the station.

Late Autumn, early winter.

A flight of sulphur crested cockatoo flying across the lake.

 Sulphur crested cockatoos feeding below the trees.

It was just too cold to go boat pedalling.

Duck and ducklings crossing....I presumed.

Early winter scenery.

Just couldn't resist another family shot.

Lovely.

Purple Swamphen. Common near areas with large body of water.

Somehow, the swamphen kept following us. They were hungry perhaps but unfortunately we do not have any suitable food for them.

Watch out for the train!!

A rustic shed.

These are the contraptions used to work the railway signals.

Australian bottlebrush plant.

Lovely weather.

Bumped into loco 8A again on our way back.

Back at Belgrave. End of our journey reminiscing the bygone steam train era.

A close-up of the controls in the engineer's cabin. Soon, I was invited inside by the engineer to have a closer look. Didn't manage to take any photos because the space was cramped. Must be quite cosy during the winter months but a sauna during summer!

The new Belgrave Station is now the end of the eastern line of the Metro Trains Melbourne.

So it's a long drive back to Melbourne in time for dinner. Now, there are some nice turkish and lebanese reataurants in Sydney Road, Brunswick, plus halal butcheries to boot.