It has been a while since we had a family vacation abroad. I think last was India when we had a family reunion in Chennai (You may want to read day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, & day 6). That was the year 2010. Last year we were occupied with time & of course fund in moving to this new house. In fact for the whole year 2011 I was bitten by the moving to a new house bug ;-)
Well this year (as in year 2012) we did down under. HB was to be positioned in Perth to fly the plane to Kota Kinabalu (KK). Since he was not on duty a couple of days before the date of his positioning, he decided to get an earlier ticket & bring us with him.
It was Yasmin's & my second trip to Oz but our first to Perth. Wardah was also once in Oz but she went without a passport. I was pregnant with her then in the year 2000.
As always we started the journey from home & took the ERL to KLIA. Everyone was looking forward to the trip & to wake up at 0530 was really nothing.
The girls in the ERL... all thrilled for Oz
Here's HB guarding our luggage
We were traveling during school break. Even though our tickets were firmed... priorities should always be given to those full paid passengers. Which means if the flight is overbooked out tickets are the last to be considered. Alhamdulillah... It had never happened to us but every time we travel during school holiday I am always psychologically prepared.
Ironically our tickets were checked in smoothly however HB had a problem with his. He was supposed to fly into Perth 2 days after as a passenger & I supposed the problem occurred because of the change of date. Obviously if he could not get the boarding pass we wouldn't go. No way I am to handle 4 under my guidance at a place that is foreign to me!
The girls at KLIA
At this moment HB hadn't gotten his boarding pass just yet. Only the elder girls knew the situation not the younger girls. I did not stop praying... & finally 30 minutes before departure time HB was cleared to board. Alhamdulillah... We made a speedy walk to the gate & made it just in time.
In the aerotrain.. the younger girls just can't get enough of it... ;-)
We were separated in the cabin. 6 of us was divided to 3. The elder girls wanted to be together. HB took Balqis & I Nadeen. It was a smooth journey. Right after take off Nadeen requested to be with HB. Love that arrangement... I could enjoy watching the inflight movie at ease. In fact she didn't give much trouble to HB. She fell asleep right after meal ;-)
Nadeen is a big girl. Much easier to travel with now.
Balqis & I in the flight
Arrived in Perth
So far so good. No more hiccups after HB boarding pass in KL. We straight went to Avis & claimed the transport we booked online. The registration was ready within minutes.
Us without Wardah in front of the Avis counter
The girls... thrilled to start their journey down under...
This 2 was obviously high on sugar! Too much ice cream in the flight huh girls..?
This trip was a bit different to me. My elder girls are already teenagers. Each was willing to take care of one younger sis... The best part was the camera. I was no longer the family photographer! Wardah was willing to hold that post. Now you see more of me in front of the cam... ;-)
Walking towards our ride. Yasmin here was posing for her sis ;-)
Of all the years I have been using my loyal dslr... never had I cam whored with it. Wardah did it like a pro!
Thank you for the gentle reminder :-)
I fell in love with the trees in Perth. This was my 1st encounter..
Ready girls..?
Headed towards Fremantle
We passed this river.... or was it a lake?
Didn't take many photos. I was busy navigating HB to drive us to a holiday park in Fremantle. Not that I was good... My first attempt with the GPS led us to the Perth city but good that we had HB with us. He noticed we were heading far from the sea & true enough I keyed in a different holiday park. Hehehe...
At last we arrived at our destination... Aspen Parks
It was a last minute decision really. In fact we had booked an accommodation in the city at the hotel HB normally stays. Good that he flew with a friend staying in Perth before this trip. According to him the parking rate in the city is very expensive. Like all of our travels... we always come out with our own itinerary. We wont be visiting the city until day 3 hence the abrupt decision to put up the night in Coogee Beach, Fremantle.
It was nothing fancy. Merely a cabin with a master bed, a dining area, a kitchen, wardrobes for each room, a bathroom & a room with 2 pairs of bunk beds. Since the girls had never experienced a beach cabin... they just loved it!
Here's HB unlocking the door to our 2 nights stay cabin
The master bed
The master bed was in the middle of the cabin. This was my only side back... From the bed you could see the whole cabin. That was not really an issue but when something was cooking on the stove I really had to make sure our luggage was properly closed & all clothes were hung inside the wardrobe.
The connecting room which my girls slept in.
The kitchen
HB above was still in his uniform preparing dinner. He loves to play chef whenever we travel. In fact right after we checked in, had a look at the cabin & brought in our luggage, he drove us to town to get groceries. We found Woolworth's & the things we shopped... I doubt we could finish it up in 2 days!
The dining area
Our simple dinner that night. Cold salad, fries
and HB's grilled potatoes...
