Chinatown and Glenelg

After the fantastic Disney On Ice show, we continued to explore Adelaide city as the day was still young.

Adelaide Chinatown.  The huge 'paifang' led us to the many Asian restaurants and grocery stores.

We tried the Laksa in the foodcourt.  It was very crowded.  The portion was huge.  It isn't spicy so I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially after so many meals of fish and chips!!!  haha....

Exploring the city by foot

A magnificent church building but now it has turned into a restaurant.  So sad...

Found this Malacca restaurant... Checked out the menu but nothing like the food in Malacca.

This is one grocery store that my sis in law always drop by to buy Malaysian food supply for my aunt.  The shop is well stocked but the shopkeeper isn't very friendly...typical Chinaman

The public toilet in Adelaide town... yup, I actually took a picture of a toilet.  LOL

The day ended with us enjoying the sea view at Glenelg.

Strolling around the park at Glenelg

Silly pose since the kids have nothing better to do

and finally, the beautiful sunset at Glenelg. 

We had a early night as we'd be catching a flight to Melbourne super early the next day. 

Disney On Ice: Frozen

Disney on Ice is here.  And this year the theme is FROZEN!!!  Still remember in my earlier post I mentioned about seeing little Elsa in the train station? 

I have always wanted to watch Disney on Ice.  There is a secret desire in me to learn ice skating.  (Shh… please keep this to yourself.)  The performance involves all the elements that I love: dancing, ice skating, singing, acting (ok, I’m not really into acting).  So, when Audrey told us about this – I was literally screaming with my eyes popping out!!!

We took a tram downtown, avoiding all the parking woes.  The show was held at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.  The security was tight; but the queue moved speedily through the gates.

From the moment you entered the centre, you are inundated with Disney merchandise and food for sale.  There were a lot of little Elsa in the audience.  We spotted a few Olaf as well.  I simply admired their enthusiasm.

 

Finally lights off for the opening act.  It was introduced by none other than Mickey and Minnie, and the first dance featured all the favourite characters from Disney films: Snow White, Tangled, Little Mermaid, Aladdin and etc.

 

The stadium was transformed into a winter world of Arendelle where the full story of Frozen was re-enacted.  Our eyes were transfixed as we followed Anna on her epic adventure to save her sister, Elsa, and the kingdom of Arendelle. 

The first part danced along brilliantly as the young Anna danced sweetly with the song “Do you want to build a snowman”.  Anna is sweet, clumsy and naïve.  The ballroom scene unfolded with dancers whizzing over the ice.  

 

Familiar tunes from Frozen like “For the First Time in Forever”, “Love is an Open Door”, “Coronation Day” kept everyone hyped up for the rest of the segments to follow.

My favorite part is Elsa big number “Let It Go”.  It was really a magical moment with the enhancement of the stunning visual effect of smoke and falling snow as Elsa emerges in her beautiful dress.  It was spellbinding. 

photo courtesy of Disney on Ice

Personally I reckoned Elsa’s skating was the most elegant.  Just look at all the lifts, twirls and swirls – seemingly effortless but so beautifully executed.  As for Anna, her ice-maneuvers and chemistry with the rugged mountain-man Kristoff were mesmerizing.

There was a brief intermission that allowed us to for potty break or to refuel our snacks.

The fast-paced show wasted no time in ushering Olaf with its signature song “In Summer” on stage.  It was a colorful extravaganza as the butterflies, bees, and flowers danced and sang to the upbeat songs.  

The appearance of the Marshmallow was mind blowing.  He inflated into a huge ice monster and even breathes smoke.  

We immersed ourselves in the kingdom of Arendelle as Anna captivated our hearts with her sacrifice for Elsa.  The audience was enchanted by the action, adventure, magical moment and theme ‘True Love’.

The finale song “Let it Go” gave the 2-hour Disney on Ice a rousing close.  Almost everyone started to sing along.  We were totally enthralled with the performance right from the beginning until the end.  Andrew, as usual, was more attentive to details like how did they make the rocks roll; how did the marshmallow inflates; how did they make the falling ‘snow’.  Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed this breathtaking magical winter wonderland entertainment.

Latitude

Today is a fun day for the kids.  A special treat for my two kiddos: Latitude - a family friendly aerial superpark.   Kids and adults alike will definitely sweat their way out!

The sky walk is a great way to conquer your fear of height

There are lots of activities offered here: Rock-climbing, trampoline, dodgeball, basketball, skywalk, sponge pools and so much more!!!  The entrance ticket is charged per hour.  The kids had so much fun climbing and jumping around; we extended another hour for them. 

Elyse was very brave; trying out all sorts of wall climbing.  Some of which she managed to reach the top.  But the more frightening part is where you need to let go completely, allowing your harness to bring you down safely.

Erwyn tried it out as well

Even the mother was tempted to do so...

The staff are very friendly.  They keep an eye on the kids.  I was with my girl, assisting her with the rock-climbing while Erwyn preferred to play at the trampoline.  Seeing Erwyn was alone, one staff took the initiative to play along with Erwyn.  How grateful this mother was!!!

Erwyn loves the hand jousting over the ball pits; but he is always at the losing side as other kids are stronger and bigger.  Nevertheless, he had fun!!!

 

A super fun experience!  A perfect place for a winter’s day and let your kids waste some energy.

 
As for the daddy, Audrey took him to The Spud Shop to fulfill his craving for ... baked potato.

Since we’ll be flying off on Sunday, we have decided to attend Influencers Church today.  The church was pretty crowded by the time we reached.  We registered both kiddos with the Children Church workers. Thereafter, we entered the sanctuary waiting for the service to start.  After the worship, kids were ushered into the children’s hall.  They played some games, followed by a teaching session on the Heroes of Faith – Jonah.  After that, they did some colouring.  As for the adults, there was an invited speaker that evening.  The sermon was very well delivered.  Love his humor and interaction with the crowd.

Finally, we called it a day and went back to Bay Motel to rest for the night.

Victor Harbour

We left Hahndorf with a heavy heart.  But our hearts were pumping with joy for what awaits us today.

South Australia is home to acres of rolling vineyards.  Sadly, this is not the right season to visit the orchards and winery.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed the gorgeous views along the way.   Roughly an hour and fifteen minutes scenic drive from Hahndorf, we arrived at Victor Harbour and stopped by at McDonald for lunch.  This was our first McD in Australia.  

While waiting for our tour to begin, we saw this famous horse-drawn pram heading towards Granite Island.  The horse is gorgeous!!!

 

Excitement was in the air as we were about to embark on a spectacular ocean adventure - whale watching.  Unfortunately, Audrey could not join us as she is prone to seasick.  The tour departs from Granite Island Causeway.  There were 10 of us on the speedboat.  As we headed into the open water, everyone was in high spirits and eager to set sail.  The speedboat plunges into the sea and glided effortlessly through the wave.  I was already feeling chilly before that.  Now with its high speed, every bit of me was fighting the icy breeze as the cold wind caressed my face.  However, it was not so with my two kiddos.  They were overwhelmed with exhilaration.  Well, if you are a lover for some thrill ride like roller coaster, I am sure our ride by speedboat is similar to it.  The kids simply loved it!  

Our first stop was the Seal Rock where you may be up close watching the seals and sea lions as they bask on the rocks.  It was difficult to spot them though as they camouflage so well amongst the rocks.  The wave was pretty rough and it was a good 10 minutes before we proceeded to the next stop.  The cold, the wave... Now I was glad that I didn’t have a heavy lunch at McD. 

The boat circled slowly at that vicinity for awhile, covering Wright Island, The Bluff, West Island and Waitpinga Cliff.  The boat often came to a complete stop, allowing us plenty of time to get giddy (Of course, that’s not the purpose!!!).  But the choppy oceans wave and the rocking boat was certainly getting on my nerves.  As for the rest, it was a perfect time to snap hundreds of photos.  The tour guide cum driver enlightened us with interesting information about these marine mammals.  

Our tour carried on in search for dolphins.  However, they were no where to be found.  That’s the thing about searching for these creatures in their natural habitat.  It is never a guarantee that they will show up and say ‘hi’ to you.  Our exasperation soon turned into joy when we finally caught sight of them.  We got out from our seats and stood along the side of the boat, trying to catch a glimpse of these lovely aquatic mammals.  Every time these stunning creatures surfaced, there was a ripple of ecstasy amongst the passengers.  They swam around our boat as though they knew we were there for them.   Hubby took over as the cameraman as yours sincerely was feeling really nauseate by now. 

We spent quite some time watching the dolphins and finally back to the harbour as there were no whales spotted that day.  It was rather disappointing.  This would probably be our very first and last whale watching tour.  Not only it is quite pricey, the rough wave is terrifying enough for me not to venture into this kind of exploration again.  Nevertheless, we were privilege to spot seals, dolphins, seabirds and sea lions.  We even sighted a wild mountain goat at a rocky island.  Wonder how it got there???

We had lunch at Original Victor Harbour Fish Shop.  While waiting for our food, there was a shower of rain.  This was the first rainy day after we landed in Australia.  How blessed are we!!  We ordered three plates of fish and chips.  After all, it’s a Fish Shop right?  There are different types of fish to choose from.  Honestly, we are not an expert in fish.  But one may easily gauge the quality of the fish by its price.

Next, we visited the Whale Centre.  We thoroughly enjoyed every single minute there.  There are plenty of educational material on whales and marine life.  Kids are given a leaflet whereby they needed to find answers to the questions.  And upon completion, each of them gets a small gift.  It was a washable temporary tattoo with the logo of the Whale Centre.  Of course, this was not done without Daddy’s help.

HELP!!!

Look how gigantic it is - the tail bone of a whale

Captain Erwyn

This arch is made from whale's bones

Archeologists in the making

Finally, we retreated to our ‘home’ at Victor Harbour Beachfront Holiday Park to rest and chill.  The 2-bedroom cabin is fully equipped with all necessities.  The park offers fantastic facilities like jumping pillow, heated pool and a waterpark with slides.

Our neighbours - lots of caravans

laundry time

Last but not least, we had dinner at Caffe Primo.  Audrey and I had pizza and I enjoyed every bite of it.  Children had chicken snitchzle and Andrew some chicken dish with cheese (he will order anything with cheese).

With that, we retired for the night