Mt Coo-tha & around Brisbane

Imran lives near Mt Coo-Tha.. another famous recreational area if you happen to visit Brisbane. And of course, as this is what i look for.. we went for a morning bushwalk to the summit. The lookout can also be reached by car as it is a developed area for at the top, when the day is clear you can get an excellent full view of Brisbane CBD. But.. boring ahh naik kereta, ada trail.. ikutla trail! Bushwalker melayu kan.. hahaha

The walk up was fairly steep but as th peak is not that high, it was not too bad. Mt Coo Tha is the highest point in Brisbane, thus the other reason i want to be on top of it. Deeno & Pak Am was here the week before, so I'm following their steps as well (perhaps prelude to Everest?) hahaha We did do a de tour to the aboriginal trail but i guess either it is summer or the falls which was supposed to be the main attraction is not there any more!

 It was time to explore the concrete jungle again! We parked our car at Kangaroo point and we did the full boardwalk trail along River Brisbane. It was certanly nice to do the walk as the council has really made it for tourist. I wish i had more time as i would have ran along it to enjoy Brisbane as an aussie! hahaha Along the path, there was this public pool ; perhaps a wannabe beach.. but as it was a hot day streams of Aussies were out to enjoy the sun! I should have brought my swimmin gear to have a dip there as well! Certainly well maintained for public use.

It was indeed a surprise. I;ve never thought Brisbane was as such based on the description given by few of my friends who had lived here before. It was nice.. and i do understand why Brisbane is in the top 20 list of one of the most liveable cities in the world.
I've been to Melbourne, Vienna, Toronto and I live in Perth.. in a way, i do have a rough idea what liveable cities should be like :)

Mt Tamborine basecamp - Skytrek and bushwalk

 After a whole day of fun in the sun, we were off to Mt Tamborine National Park- a famous area of visit for tourists who'd visit Gold Coast. I was planning something different, a camp night out in the outdoors! It was a first and perhaps the convenience of booking it spurred me on to continue the plan. The campsite was a dedicated campsite.. and it was almost full when we arrived. (we arrived near to sunset). Aussies do like to camp out with their families and I was impressed with their equipments. Another thing that shocked me was the allowance for open fire burning.. where in WA its a NO-NO! Campfire bule buat tu... cool..

 The toilet facilities were excellent.. I wonder why don't many Malaysians camp out in Aussie.. Memang best! I did wish my Kamcheng friends were with me in this trip as it was definitely tailored for our liking! It was also my chance to test my tent; as so far only Syafiq had used it extensively in his Field trips. I must say.. i made a good buy and I'm sure i'll have more adventures with it back home.

 After waking up early the next morning, we were off to do a short bushwalk to Cedar Creek.. which was near to our campsite. I'm sure the waterfall would be much beautiful during winter but it was good enough for both me & Imran to have a dip (again! hahaha) Best mandi ngan nature and I guess I'm more keen for such outdoor gimmicks in the near future.

 After clearing the campsite, we were off to the Skywalk; a special walkaway up in the canopy of the rainforest. Tulah, in Mt Tamborine its rainforest as it is more sub tropical so terasa la jugak macam hutan Malaysia. the main difference is its not humid therefore we were not really drenched with sweat but somehow easily dehydrated because of the dryness.

Gold Coast recce trip

I never thought i'd reach Gold Coast during this stint. It has always been potrayed as a holiday heaven for the family. I did plan to bring the family over in the future.It was a sudden plan; as it was also Imran's last few weeks in Brisbane before he moves over to Perth.

It was a quick getaway as well over the weekend. I took a midnight flight from Perth and arrived in the early hours in Brisbane. Imran fetched me and we were off to Gold Coast. The first destination was Surfers Paradise.. and it was coincidentally a hot day.. the first day of Summer in 2012. It was scorching hot ever since the sun rose. Typically, there were not that many people yet on the beach that morning.

 We had to go for a dip.. Wajib maah.. It is of my sudden craze in Aussie as well, the Why not question everytime we are wondering whether we should have a dip or not! The water was not as cold as WA though.. but it was fun to play amongst the giant waves! Yes.. dah berjaya lagi.. haha

 And of course, takkan dah sampai Gold Coast tak pergi Movie World kot? hahaha It was indeed reliving my youth as all the thrill rides were pulun"ed".. haha I must say Superman ride was one of my best ever adrenaline rushes as it was simply a woooshh.. perrrggghh... 4G acceleration mmg terasa gile! Haha I've not had that thrill for so long as for the mediocre rides in Malaysia.

 Movie World is definitely a fun place to be at. Either with family ( providing anak dah besar2 baru best) or with your close friends.. Memang seronok ala-ala remaja.. haha

And of course, how could I miss the opportunity for a good sidekick pic with Batman !!

Another step for me..

The reason why there was a sudden travelling spree in the past few weeks was to celebrate me finishing my term on my course with the Univ of Melbourne. I have not bloged about my adventures in Gold Coast and Brisbane, which i will do in the near future.
Alhamdulillah.. I've just passed my exams in my Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Ultrasound! Wow.. I am thankful that so far I have managed to complete all my aims here.. and I guess my adventure in Aussie land will end soon :)

Sydney backpack

 It was my first time in Sydney. I must say it is a big metropolitan. Its bigger than Perth (of course!) and busier than Melbourne.. a happening town 24/7! I did the usual thing of going around town and looking at its attractions. The background picture of Sydney Opera House is a must .. and i did the other thing, which was to run around it along other runners- in this city where runners rule the paths! Seriously.. everytime of the day, pagi ke, petang ke.. lunch time and even at night! U can see runners or joggers doing their thing. The weather of course made it possible and of course, it was my chance to have my pics doing the thing that they do.. hahaha

 Every city in Aussie has their own character and it is here in Sydney that you see the diversity of Australians; a country where nobody really owns it.. though you don';t really see any aborigines in the city centre area. food was variable and it is not uncommon to find chinese cuisinie shops as well as Malaysian concept eateries around. My most memorable moment was eating kangaroo burger here.. haha only available in Sydney!

 During our exploration walk, we ended up being on the observatory hill as it was our solace to perform prayers when while looking for the Sydney mosque as per internet failed! Apparently it is only open for Friday prayers and not really licensed as a prayers house. and to our amazement, in the Planetarium area we found the highest point of Sydney.. A trigonometry beirut made of stone was commerated.. it was the point where from the map makers stood up and made thier grids as how they see it :)

A dip in Bondi beach was on my wish list.. of course, this beach is famous for its topless population but I guess god wanted to protect us.. The weather was not suitable for sunbathers.. it was indeed a cold beginnING OF SUmmer! haha but it did not deter me to play amongst the waves.. and i then understood why it is a surfers heaven.. Gile kuat the waves ooii...
It was a memorable experience as it sort of brought me back in time.. reminiscing the time when i backpacked in Europe and the states.. not so long ago but something I left not doing after started work and getting married. Alhamdulillah, allah has granted me the opportunity to relive that again.. :0

Exploring Blue Mountains National Park

The climb to the top was just the beginning of the whole adventure! Imagine, how after a bit of rest we were off from Thredbo with our destination next- Canberra to hitch off Deeno & Pak Am, and next straight to the Blue Mountains National Park which was an hour away from Sydney.. therefore, a whole night drive to our destination! Luckily Australia can be straight forward as with the GPS set, it was Apip and my turn to sleep during the drive.

 The main attraction for this UNESCO heritage site is the three sisters, a remarkable geological formation of three stones which has its own aboriginal fable. If you happen to be in Sydney, its a must to go to this as it will not be complete as how it has been advertised! haha.. The group tried to trek down to the waterfall but i guess being the end of spring and summer, it was not as impressive as how it was shown.. it was just a small waterfall as me and Abemu were following the trek to it. The view was amazing.. Masya Allah, the clear blue skies again became the determining factor for such beauty to the eyes :)

                                         The Giant stairs.. going down to the foot of the 3 sisters

                                           better pic of my position from Abemu's camera

 And as a climbing group, it would not be complete for us not to try and reach the peak of the land which we conquered. Thus.. Mt Piddington and One Tree Hill, as the highest point on this 1000 acres of reserved land.

Mt Kosciuszko roof of Australasia

17 November 2012, Alhamdulillah with my fellow OGKL members summitted Kosciuszko! It was an enjoyable trip and the one that i have been waiting for since early this year. In fact, i bought the Return KL-Sydney ticket early because i never thought i'd be extending my stay in Perth!

Took the Qantas flight from Perth to Sydney and I must say, after being a loyal customer of air asia for travels, I have forgotten how it feels like to travel in a premium airline. Eventhough it was domestic, the full package was there ie food, entertainment and pillows to sleep on during the 4.5 hours flight!
I arrived in Sydney too early, at about 6am and waited for the team to arrive from KL at 12 noon! I have indeed explored Sydney airport and i now know where one would like to be if being in this airport for that amount of time.. hahaha
The whole team arrive and it was a mini reunion for multiple trips i had with them before; Deeno,Saf, Apip, Eryn,Taha Kak Ana, Uncle Appa, Abemu ( i know how he got that name.. haha) PAk Am and of course the beauty of doing an OGKL trip is you get to meet new people. I was introduced to Arif, Abg Yusof, Fakhrul, Sabri, Naim, Nora, SQZ & Arnie.
After a bit of tough negotiations to get our transport, we were on our way to Thredbo which was 600+ km away.. Perrghh.. jauh tu nak drive.. hahaha I was the designated GPS reader and off we were in our three SUVs.Honestly, we only really started at 5pm after the stop in Bankstown to shop for our breakfast and maann.. we were soo late! The route can be confusing at times as I was new to the Navman GPS and with twist and turn, we went down all the way to Canberra before heading to Thredbo.
We arrived in our place of stay for the night really late! And after a wholesome meal of my own recipe for pasta hahaha (sorry ek sapa yg tak dapat.. tak sangka lak org makan sampai menjilat pinggan!) ; a briefing was done by Apip with a bit of taaruf before off everyone went for sleep. The temperature was really cold as it was 0 when we arrived :)
Woke up in a bit of rush in the morning as i was to prepare the fried rice as well as the pitta tuna for the climb! Managed to do it in time thanks to the ultimate service of nasi microwave! haha

 The chairlift which brings us halfway to the top started early that day because of a MTB downhill tournament happening and that made our movement faster. We were up and ready at the Thredbo chairlift and off we went! I literally slept all the way on my way to the end because of the sleep deprivation! hahaha The trek to the top is nothing to shout about; Toolbrunup and Bluff Knoll is more of a challenge, but hey.. even Kinabalu is a simple trail and it is the highest peak in SEA!

 There was still snow covering the pathway, and that brought joy to most of the contingent! Playing and feeling the snow was the main theme! Everybody seemed to enjoy the weather as eventhough it was freezing cold, the wind did not make it worse. By noon, everybody in the team summitted and the shout of joy! Woohooo.. top of Australasia.. tak la tinggi but to be in another Continent :) that is an achievement.. in a way.. thanks to Air Asia.. haha Surprisingly, my pitta became a super hit as everybody was hungry and the tuna mayonaise mix was delicious! hahaha

It was great fun and of course, the saying of its about the journey, and not the destination does hold its say :) Thank you OGKL for this trip and i certainly enjoyed the company and the adventure that comes with it! Tak susah pun nak sampai puncak so i do encourage those in Aussie to do this! Seriously... bila lagi ? :)

Another Kalamunda MTB trip

We just had to do it again as we were cut short the first time around with an SnR effort. The weather was better and it was the Saturday before Syafiq was to go back to Malaysia. He managed to loan off a car from a friend and that made it possible for us to endevour into antoher MTB adventure.We were off early and arriving to the camel farm was within a breeze. It was not too dry and perhaps suits our bike the best.

This time around we were better prepared; knowing what the track was like thus the beter handling of the bike. We did try to jump whenever there was opportunity and perhaps we were blessed as well not to return with catastrophic injuries. Both of us were traumatised along the way with our falls but Alhamdulillah, not too bad. The high difficulty trek was definitely a challenge and perhaps when we are better, we'd really go for the DROP on the obstacles.
We had a fun day out. It was challenging in all, physically, mentally, spiritually and technically! Of course, the key that was left inside the car as we were about to leave will serve as a significant memory for this MTB trip.. hahaha

Demam Bola!

It was excellent to be able to kick the ball again! I've not played 11 a side for quite sometime and somehow rindu pulak kat main bola! I guess.. when i go back, i will try to be active again with DUFC for their weekly weekend football!