Camping at Lorne, Victoria

A group of us recently went on a camping trip.  We wanted to drive off somewhere not too far from Melbourne, and were looking for a site that is located near the water, either the beach or a river.  We found that Lorne, located along Great Ocean Road, has such camping sites.  The driving distance from Melbourne was only about 2 hours away, which is good because there is enough time to enjoy the roadtrip, but not too far that you'd get tired before arriving at the site.

So we chose to stay at Lorne Foreshore Caravan Park (click for detail info), located next to Erskine River and the beach.  It's very near to the small town centre of Lorne, shops, cafes, other hotels and apartments, and Foodworks supermarket is just right opposite of the caravan park.  There is also options for powered and unpowered sites for tents and caravans, and as well as cabins.  As like other caravan parks, there is a centralised toilet facilities, and cooking/pantry room.  There's even children's playground and picnic tables in the area.

At the time that we went, the weather was not the best that it could be.  It was sunny for a while, and drizzling in the next few hours.  Nonetheless, we had the opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous surrounding of Lorne.  Walking by the river, with the ducks and birds passing by, then walking on the boardwalk and taking a stroll towards the beach are definitely worth the stay.  Personally, I felt Lorne was just gorgeous and breathtaking.  Here are some pics from our brief camping experience there:

So what can you do while you're out camping in Lorne?  Well, you can visit Erskine Falls (which we didn't have the opportunity to visit due to the rain), have a walk to the town, go to the beach, have bbq, have a stroll or run around the area.  In this Lorne trip, what I enjoyed was just sitting back near the tent (and in the tent), having a stroll by the river, and just relax and really absorb the gorgeous surrounding.  It's at these kinds of places that we can feel and experience the serenity, calmness and freshness that's probably different from our day to day lives in the suburbs and the city.  So go there and remember that it's totally okay to not be filled with too much activities... but instead, just sit back and relax with your warm companies of family and friends (and a mug of hot chocolate early morning or in the middle of the night would be a perfect addition too!).

Lorne is located on the Great Ocean Road, further ahead after Anglesea.

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Other places along the way that you might want to consider visiting:

• The market by the river at Anglesea (beautiful, scenic river there as well)
• Ripcurl, Quiksilver/Roxy Factory Outlet at Baines Cres, Torquay VIC 3228

Burger Edge @ The Dining Hall, Melbourne Central

Another halal burger place in the city! We were thrilled to hear that Burger Edge at The Dining Hall serves halal burgers. According to their website, "Burger Edge uses only halal beef and chicken, but is not a halal environment. They use salami, ham and bacon in their burgers. Therefore customers are requested to alert counter staff if this is an issue to avoid cross contamination on grills and preparation areas". So please double-check or ask when you order.

We've tried their beef burger with halal beef rasher, spicy chicken burger and chicken tandoori salad. I must say they were pretty tasty!

Burger Edge is located at the upper floor food court in Melbourne Central.

Hobba Coffee + Kitchen on Malvern Rd

We visited a cafe that recently opened on Malvern Rd, Prahran. We loved the environment inside - kind of warehouse-like with wall textures without finishing (you gotta love those earthy brick walls!). The coffee was good as it matched our liking... not too bitter to my taste. The cafe is located near corner of Williams Rd and Malvern Rd, opposite of Budget Car Rental and a car dealership. Opens 7 days a week, from 7 to 5.

Malaysia Hall's Bazaar Ramadhan 2011 is also back!

Wow, Ramadhan bazaar in Melbourne TWICE  a week! What more could you ask for when fasting away from home right? :)

Source via Malaysia Hall's Bazaar Ramadhan Event Page

The bazaar is going to be held EVERY SUNDAY, starting tomorrow August 7, from 3.30 pm until Iftar.

Location: Malaysia Hall, 4K High St, Prahran

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Bazaar Ramadhan Melbourne 2011 is back!

Bazaar Bersama is once again organizing a backyard Ramadhan Bazaar at Kak Sal's Backyard in Fawkner. 

 

Source via Bazaar Bersama Event Page

The next bazaar will be on Saturdays (6, 13 and 20 August 2011), from 12 noon to 3 pm.

The location is at Kak Sal's back yard at 55 Percy St, Fawkner.

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Papparoti in Melbourne!

There's this bun called Mexican Bun.  It's mocha crusted on the outside, and soft, fluffy and buttery in the inside.  And it's so good!  In Malaysia, each time we walk pass by a shop that sells these buns, the aroma is so tempting that it's hard not to stop and buy one.  A couple of months back, I had one of those missing-food-from-home craving for this bun.  The thought of the warm, baked bun was just so tempting that I thought I had to learn to make some myself.  To my luck, on one of the days that we were walking along Elizabeth St, I saw a small sign that said Papparoti will be opening in Melbourne!

We finally found time to visit Papparoti last week.  The buns are Halal, and they taste just like the ones back home.  The buns are AUD2.20 each.  Not to forget, we had them with a cup of hot Teh Tarik.  They also sell some Halal gelato.  The one we tried was Durian Gelato and it was truly delicious.

 

 

Papparoti is located on 349 Elizabeth St, right opposite of Melbourne Central.
They have a couple of outdoor seating, otherwise you can have your Papparoti buns to go.

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For more info, visit their website here.

A Weekend Afternoon Excursion to Half Moon Bay

You know that feeling that comes over the weekend, when you want to go somewhere, but can't think of anywhere to go because you think that you always go back to the same places?  Well, whenever that happens, remember that there is always somewhere new to discover!  We love going to the seaside, and sometimes, just driving by St Kilda Beach and Port Melbourne is already a good enough excursion for us.  Last Sunday, we wanted to visit the beach and the sea (again).  We didn't want to go as far as Frankston, and we've visited St Kilda, Brighton Beach, Port Melbourne and Williamstown many times already.  So where did we turn to for options?

This! Our Melbourne "Go Explore" box of cards.

Based on the card, we chose to head to a place called Half Moon Bay, a bit further down from Brighton Beach.  The card also mentions that there's a Fish & Chippery there.  So the expectation: definitely be at the seaside, eat some fish and chips, and enjoy a cup of hot coffee in the cool breeze.  Thankfully, the weather was beautiful that Sunday.

This little area is actually called Black Rock.  There's a jetty called Black Rock Jetty, a small jetty that you can walk or cycle on, and see people unloading their boats into the water.  And yes, we found black rocks too on the on the edges of the water (where the place gets its name).

There's a small cafe there, where we bought our coffee and calamari & chips.  They were pretty good too.  It's a really nice atmosphere to have our food, coffee, being outdoors and just relax with the scenery.

There's a parking area with meter available on site.  To get to Half Moon Bay and Black Rock Jetty, you can refer to this map.  It's about half-hour to forty-minutes

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So next time you're along Beach Rd, remember to head down to Half Moon Bay.

Lord of the Fries: Chapel St

Few weeks back, we were invited to visit the newly opened Lord of the Fries on Chapel St.  It's always great to have more Halal and vegetarian eateries outside of the city!  Since they launched their Mark sauce recently, that's exactly what we had: Mark burgers and fries with Mark sauce.  The taste of the new sauce is quite tasty.  As for the burger, I think I prefer the Spicy one with Jalapenos... but I'm sure everyone has their own fave sauce and burger :) Now our friends just told us that their nuggets are pretty good too! We'll surely give that a try next time.

 

Lord of the Fries is located at 170 Chapel St, Windsor.  For more info, you can visit their website.

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Fairfield Park Boathouse & Tea Gardens

If you wanted to be around nature and you don't want to go too far out of the city, then Fairfield Park is the perfect weekend excursion for you!  Fairfield Park is located at the top part of Yarra Bend Park, while the park at the lower part is Studley Park.  Either one, you'll get lots of lush trees and grass and the Yarra river.  Imagine having a picnic there, sipping a cup of coffee and enjoying your scones and jams, then later on, you might want to paddle the boat along the Yarra.  Yes, it's all there and we loved the serenity of the atmosphere.

We visited Fairfield Park Boathouse & Tea Gardens for the first time last weekend.  We noticed that there are picnic tables and BBQ pits around the park.  When we visited Studley Park last two years, we took the chance to paddle the canoe along the river.  That was definitely exciting yet very relaxing.

You can find more info on Studley Park via their website, and more about Fairfield Park boat house at their website.

The snapshots below are from our visit to Fairfield Park Boathouse & Tea Gardens.  

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Chilli Padi Mamak Kopitiam

It has definitely been a while since we visited any new Halal eateries around Melbourne.  With Malaysian food trends coming into Australia within the last few years (not to mention also on Masterchef!), another Kopitiam-concept eatery has opened in Flemington.

Our good friends Shaliz and Din introduced us to Chilli Padi Mamak Kopitiam.  Thanks to them Walk Walk Melbourne can now add another Halal cafe into our collection :)

 

Chilli Padi Mamak Kopitiam is located at 295 Racecourse Road, Flemington.



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Melbourne Laneways

One of the hidden sights of Melbourne are definitely the laneways.  They're tucked neatly in between buildings and they are usually filled with small cafes.  We love walking through these laneways, and just enjoy being in the midst of the activeness of people walking and people sitting down on the sides sipping coffee having a chat.  The one in the photo here is Centre Place.  Centre Place is located between Swanston St and Elizabeth St, between Flinders Lane and Collins St.  If you walk from Flinders St, you can go through these laneways: Degraves St - Centre Place - Block Place - The Causeway - Royal Arcade - and exit at Bourke St.  When you visit Melbourne, make sure you don't miss visiting these laneways.



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Walk Walk Melbourne is Giving Away FIVE Lord of the Fries Vouchers!

 Thanks to those who participated in answering the Mark Questions for the Voucher Giveaway!

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We were thrilled to have received these vouchers from Lord of the Fries, to be given to none other than friends of Walk Walk Melbourne!

"Lord of the Fries has decided to celebrate the specialness of those called Mark, because really, it’s kind of a forgettable name.  Nothing special in that name, you would have thought. But there are stacks of Marks who really deserve to be recognised, and celebrated for, well, their straightforward and plain ordinariness. We’ve declared the ‘International Day of Mark’ just for them.

We’re saucing (had to throw a pun in!) Marks all over Melbourne to be part of our mass taste test, with the aim of cramming 75 Marks into our newest store on Chapel Street! To commemorate this important day, on 21 June we’ll be launching a Special Mark Sauce, to accompany our award-winning Big Mark burger. We’re going to hold a mass celebration by hosting a ‘Big Mark burger mass taste test’. We’re hoping it’ll be the biggest gathering of Marks in the world!  So if your name is Mark or Marc, don't miss out!" - Lord of the Fries

 So, in conjuction with the launch of Mark Burger, we'd like to give away these vouchers to our friends, fans and followers out there.

How?  Easy!  The first FIVE people who can answer this question and first to send us an e-mail at blogwalkwalk[at]gmail[dot]com will get the FREE vouchers!

Here's the question:

Give us the names of FIVE people named Mark that you know and tell us a bit about who they are! Yes, it's that simple :)

I'll give you two hints to get you started:

(1) I know there's a Mark Wahlberg, also known as Marky Mark.  He was in the movie The Italian Job, driving that super cool Mini Cooper!


(2) We bought our car from a guy named Mark, seriously! He worked at the car dealership.


Easy right? So start listing your Marks now and email us right away!


P/S: We'll be giving the vouchers to the recipients by hand, which means you'll have to be in Melbourne.  Once we get the list of the winners, we'll set a date and time to all meet somewhere near Melbourne Central.

Walk Walk Melbourne: CBD Halal Map NOW ON SALE!

Getting around Melbourne for Malaysians and Muslims could not have been easier now that you can buy a copy of your own pocket-size WALK WALK MELBOURNE: CBD HALAL MAP.

If you're in Malaysia or anywhere you might be, you can also purchase this map before you come to Melbourne. Simply send us an e-mail at blogwalkwalk (at) gmail (dot) com to inform your interest

For Customers in Malaysia:

WWM CBD Halal Map = RM10.00
(Please note that it may take 3-5 days for postage)

For Customers in Australia and outside of Malaysia:

WWM CBD Halal Map + Postage Within Australia = AUD7.00

We can post the map to anywhere in the world! E-mail us for more details.
Payments can be made via Online Banking and also PayPal.

Send us your order at blogwalkwalk (at) gmail (dot) com.

Buy it for yourself, or send someone a surprise! :)

Melbourne Memories

We're delighted to hear that our blog brings back nostalgic memories to some Malaysians who have lived in Melbourne back in the 70s and 80s. If there's any specific place in the city that you'd love to see captured in photographs, we'd be happy to do some photo hunting to those places. Who knows, maybe we'll even discover places which we might have never visited before too. List your favourite places here, drop a comment, or e-mail us :)

Secret Recipe Now Also in Melbourne Central

This Secret Recipe is located on the third level of Melbourne Central, next to Nando's.

Don't forget to get the combo offer of Coffee + Cake for AUD5.50  =)

Lord of the Fries

So you're in the city, and suddenly you have a craving for some burgers.  But Halal McDonald's is a tram ride away, and you just don't want to ride that far.  And maybe you've had enough of Nando's (but we always love Nando's!).

Well maybe now you can try the Veggie Burgers from Lord of the Fries!  It's all vegetarian, and they actually taste quite good.  I like their Spicy Burger, with jalapeno peppers, yummm.

The one located at the laneway into Melbourne Central has received a Halal Certification.  I've read across the net that since Lord of the Fries use vegetarian ingredients, their food should be suitable for the halal diet.  You can find LOTF scattered around the CBD: Elizabeth St, Flinders St Station & Melbourne Central.

Another WWM Roadtrip: WALK WALK ADELAIDE!

The Roadtrip: Melbourne to Adelaide

Places to Visit: Great Ocean Road, Mount Gambier, Adelaide, The Grampians

Duration: 5 days, 4 nights

If you want to see more of the Australian landscape, the Melbourne-Adelaide road trip may be something that you can consider.  A direct drive from Melbourne to Adelaide will take you between 9 to 10 hours, but what's the point of going on a road trip if you don't experience what's along the way, right?  We always feel that road trips are not just about reaching the destination itself.  It is about the journey along the way.  And I'm sure many of you would agree (coz that's what make road trips so much fun!) So if you have 5 days to spare for a trip, let's get on board!

Day 1: Melbourne - Great Ocean Road - Mount Gambier

If you haven't been to GOR (Great Ocean Road), you should.  Its a meandering scenic drive (Malaysians should be familiar with Balik Pulau - it's kind of like that).  You can see vast seaside landscape and limestone cliffs.  If you love ocean and breathtaking views, this is definitely your cup of tea.  Famous attractions along GOR is The 12 Apostles, London Bridge, Loch Ard Gorge, and along the way you may stop at Lorne, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell, Port Fairy and further up is Warrnambool.  If you don't want to go for the long scenic drive on your Adelaide road trip, you can always take the inland road, and exit at Port Campbell.  From Port Campbell, 12 Apostles, London Bridge and Loch Ard Gorge are just nearby.  If start driving in the morning, you can have a relaxing drive, and reach Mount Gambier by evening.

The 12 Apostles

Day 2: Mount Gambier-Blue Lake-Umpherston Sinkhole-Centenary Tower-Tantanoola Caves

Mount Gambier is a beautiful place - a town once was an active volcanic site.  Expect to see gorgeous lake, vast vista of landscape, a secret garden and stunning cave.  The 3 places - Blue Lake, Umpherston Sinkhole and Centenary Tower - are all within the city of Mount Gambier.  Tantanoola Caves will be along your drive towards Adelaide.  Here are some sneak peeks of these beautiful places.

Blue Lake

 The water in the lake is blue or turqoise only in the summer; while in the winter, it is said to be grayish.  So do visit Blue Lake in the summer and you'll be blown away by how blue it looks!  If you're lucky, you can see it in turquoise, which only happen when the weather gets very hot.

Umpherston Sinkhole

This sinkhole feels like a secret garden! You'd be walking in a park and before you know it, you'll see a large hole with a lush garden inside it.  Imagine getting inside the sinkhole and experiencing how deep it actually is.  Well, no need to imagine as you can walk down yourself to the gardens.

Centenary Tower

Landscape should be experienced with a bit of walking, shouldn't it? Well bring good walking shoes as you're going to be walking up the slope to reach Centenary Tower.  From this tower, you'll be able to see the whole landscape of Mount Gambier.  Nice vistas - one side towards the countryside, while another towards the town and the lakes.  You'll know if the tower is open or not if you see the flag is raised.  If it's not open, you can still walk up the hill.  And if it opens, you have the opportunity to get inside the tower for a small fee of AUD2.50 per person.

Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park

Yes, a real cave with real stalactites and all!  It's amazing to see natural wonders like this up close, and being inside one made it an even richer experience.  It's also great opportunity to review those long-forgotten geography lessons!  The cave is wheel-chair friendly as it has smooth surfaces to walk on, which also makes it stroller-friendly.  Entrance fee is AUD10 for Adults and AUD8 for concession.

Details on Tantanoola Caves here.

Mount Gambier to Adelaide Coastal Drive

We accidentally took the coastal route from Mount Gambier to Adelaide, because we had initially planned to use the inland road from Tantanoola Caves.  However, the unplanned route was well worth it.  Did you know that South Australia produce salt?  Yes, they do.  Via the coastal route, you'll pass by Salt Creek and you might be able some salt flats.

Day 3: Adelaide CBD & Glenelg Beach

After driving through the landscape, a visit to the city is a nice change.  We spent a full one day in Adelaide, driving around the CBD to understand its layout, and then walking along Rundle Mall and Northern Terrace.  Along Northern Terrace, you'll find University of Adelaide, the State Library, Immigration Museum and South Australian Museum.  Here are some snapshots of Adelaide:

Rundle St / Rundle Mall

Rundle Mall is a pedestrian mall, like Bourke St.  You'll see many familiar shops here (just in case you miss Melbourne already!)  The tram is actually on King William St, which is the center spine of the CBD.  This is at the corner of King William and Rundle St.

Glenelg Beach

 I must say that the sand at Glenelg Beach is pretty soft in texture! And you can see this from the forms created by people's footsteps on the sand.  The middle entrance of the beach is also directly accessible by the street shops and plaza.  Have a swim, picnic or just walk around.  You'll enjoy it.

p/s: If you have friends in Adelaide, try asking them about crabbing activities.

Additional attractions:  If you're in for a bigger budget, you might want to visit Kangaroo Island.  We didn't go but have heard a lot of nice things about it.  We spent this third visiting some friends in Adelaide, other than experiencing the CBD and Glenelg Beach.

Day 4: Mount Lofty - Hahndorf German Village - to the Grampians

From Adelaide to The Grampians, we stopped by Mount Lofty and Hahndorf.

Mount Lofty

You can see an overall view of Adelaide from Mount Lofty.

Hahndorf, Adelaide Hills

Hanhdorf is Australia's oldest surviving German settlement.  Here you'll find some buildings/shops that was built in the 1800s.  Walk along the main street, visit shops and have coffee while you're there.

Day 5: The Grampians - Daylesford - back to Melbourne

The Grampians is another national park in Victoria.  Unfortunately, due to heavy rain the previous week, many of the major attractions were closed due to landslide.  Nonetheless, you can visit other accessible places like Halls Gap, Lake Bellfield, and Brambuk the National Park and Culture Centre.

Lake Bellfield, Grampians

Cultural Centre, Grampians

On your way back to Melbourne, you can stop at Daylesford to rest for a bit.  Daylesford is known for its mineral spring water, so take the chance to taste some of those water.

Food for Traveling:

We didn't eat out during our trip to Adelaide, as my road trip mates were very much well-prepared with some delicious home-cooked food.  Here's a tip that we can share for fellow WWM friends planning to do a road trip.  You can pre-cook the food, then freeze them.  During your trip, bring a cooler and fill it with ice to store your frozen food.  When you get to your accommodation, you can reheat them or continue to store them in the freezer, and repeat the process as you need.  All of the place that we stayed - caravan park and motels - had microwave oven, so reheating will be no problem.

If you want to eat out, you can get a list of Halal-eateries in Adelaide from here. 

So there we go, a Melbourne-Adelaide Road Trip: crossing landscapes, towns, lakes, sinkholes, hills, caves, city, beach, summit, and nature - in 5 days.  Do share with us your road trips as we would love to hear from our fellow walkers out there :)