Shah Road Trip - Ballarat

Melbourne - Ballarat. After stuffing the boot with the things we had accumated in Melbourne we hit the road! Yahoo! The rental car is very nice to drive and the motorway was empty thanks to the public holiday.

Once we were on our way, we thought of all the things that we wanted but had packed in the boot. One thing we hadn't packed was ski gear, which was definately required once we got to Ballarat and it's 17 degree, rain filled chilliness. So the trip took an hour, and driving around town trying to find somewhere to buy warm raincoats took another hour.

Sovereign Hill was great, if a little steep at $100 plus extra for the coach ride and candle dipping. But we watched a gold bar being poured (Bailey and Jamie got to hold it with great excitement), walked down into a mine (Sienna, not so keen), watch the confectionist make toffee drops, dipped our own candles, did old fashioned bowling, watched the red coats firing their muskets (very loud), and went on the Cob & Co coach ride. Sovereign Hill Lodge is a nice enough place and now it's time for bed!

Shah Road Trip - Melbourne

We have left Auckland and have finished our four days in Melbourne with a whirlwind of visits to family and friends. We have been on trams ("...is this our stop?"), to the Queen Vic Market (OMG the food!!!!!!!!), to playgrounds, the Museum, and dinner out with friends at Siglo, a groovy rooftop bar in the city.

The flight was a good one, but the travelling day was a long one - 10 hours from Warkworth to St Kilda!

We had some excitement on Saturday with a weatherbomb over Melbourne city and suburbs. There were cars floating down St Kilda Rd and 10cm hailstones through windscreens,

houses, train stations and the lobby of our hotel! De ja vu anyone?

Melbourne City has been intense and there are just SO many people here and the kids can't understand why we don't know everyone's names. Jen might need medical assistance as it looks like her shopping instinct seems to be quite lacking. We hit the road to Ballarat in an hour or so and hope the kids wont kill each other in the back seat...

The Shah's Grand Tour

Welcome to 2010, especially to all those who waited with baited breath for the lights to go out on NYE 10 (short?) years ago. Weren’t we supposed to be riding around in flying cars in 2010? And I hear that it is twenty-ten, not two-thousand-and-ten, don’t you know - at least that is what the NZ Herald is reporting that a blog is reporting (which is what passes for reporting in the NZ Herald these days).

Having survived December with livers more-or-less intact, the focus is now well and truly The Shah’s Grand Tour. A good nine months in the planning, we are taking a month (and a bit) off the rock to visit family and friends, recharge batteries, shop, and see what the (temperate areas of the) east coast of Australia have to offer. So here is a heads up for friends, siblings, nieces & nephews, parents, aunts & uncles, great-aunt’s & great-uncles, grandparents & great-grandparents, and assorted dead relatives: the Shah roadshow is coming to a town near you!

Feb 19 – Mar 3 Auckland

Feb 19 Jenni & the kids arrive in Auckland

Feb 28 Michael arrives in Auckland

Mar 4 The Shahs depart from Auckland

Mar 4 – Mar 10 Victoria

Mar 4 – 7 Melbourne

Mar 8 Ballarat

Mar 9 Echuca

Mar 10 Rutherglen

Mar 11 – Mar 23 NSW

Mar 11 Goulburn

Mar 12-13 Kiama

Mar 14-16 Sydney

Mar 17 Hawkesbury

Mar 18 Hunter Valley

Mar 19 Port Stephens

Mar 20 Forster

Mar 21-22 Port Macquarie

Mar 23 Coffs Harbour

Mar 24 – Mar 27 QLD

Mar 24-26 Gold Coast

Mar 27 Brisbane

Mar 30 Aitutaki

I feel exhausted already!

On the price of things....

The price of things can be measured many ways - money, time, aggravation, frustration. Here are a sample of Aitutaki prices:

• Petrol: $2.40 per litre when there is gas on the island; priceless when all the pumps are empty...(add a big aggravation and inconvenience tax on that one)
  
• School Fees: $10 per term (admittedly the school has a few less resources than most NZ schools...)
• School Uniform: $10 per shirt (white, button up), $7 per shorts (khaki) - beats $35 per short sleeve in NZ, in fact I got Bailey's entire uniform for $68!
• Doctors visit: $10 plus 1 hour waiting time.
• Antibiotics: $2 plus 15 minutes for the dispensary to find the change for my $20.
• Milk: $4 per litre UHT or $2.15 powdered (chocolate milk on special $2.50/l).
• Cruskits: $11 plus aggravation levy upon finding they expired 6 months ago and are totally stale.
• Family sized block of Cadbury's: $9 less delight bonus upon finding the last block of Caramello.
• Child with fever not responding to Pamol and no medicine cabinet in the fridge full of other stuff, nor fully stocked chemist down the road: pretty decent level of frustration.
• Being bumped to the front of the queue at the doctors clinic in front of the 10 other locals there just because we are "papa'a": well no cost there yet...and my concience will get over that pretty quickly, besides Sienna's cute factor always gets us something.
• Sleep: More that I can afford, right now hot, sweaty Sienna wakes all night because she feels crappy; before that is was the rain on the roof...
• Missing Marcus and Debs' wedding in Tauranga: pretty darn huge, though there was a slight rebate after chatting with Marcus and seeing the photos and vows. Congratulations guys - we love you!
• Missing yet another wedding in Melbourne with Jo & Fred: aaiiieeeeeeee no wedding invitations in years and then two in the same month when we are miles across the ocean! Have a fantastic time this weekend guys.
• Rain filling up the water tank: free, plus a massive credit for keeping the temperature down.
• Fresh baked sandwich loaf: $4.50 - not much for than Tip Top!
• French stick: $2 - cheaper than the Warkworth Bakehouse!
  
• Cheese Bread: $2.50 at the petrol station and $4 at the Heinekin shop
  
• Power: $50 per week so far......Yikes! And that is without any aircon!
• Custom made pareau (island print) dress for Sienna: $15, plus a bonus for the end of the nag nag nag...
  

So it has been a long week. I have had the flu since last Wednesday - interestingly it has progressed without the Codral/Night & Day as it would have without it, and it is much cheaper! Then Sienna started sleeping in our bed as she is scared of the rain at night and lo-and-behold she comes down with the bot. Except after 1.5 days of low grade fever she started to go downhill, looking quite spaced out and untogether.

So off we went to the hospital where the doctor (some days 2 doctors) have their clinic. (At the same time we were trying to get money together for our car which would hopefully have some gas in it). Into the full waiting room, the nurse takes temperatures (glass mercury thermometer under the arm!) and issues records cards. Our little girl get bumped up the queue (past the German/Austrian with his 8 year old who has had a sore throat for half the day). Into the doctor, same old drill as in NZ (thank heavens I pay attention to these things) and some big lymph glands behind her ears. We didn't get a look in her mouth but went down the antibiotics route anyway. So today, she is still hot and sleepy but has started eating which is nice (and seems happy to sing along to Play School). I think we have a few crabby days ahead, but fingers crossed she'll settle down before the heat starts back up.

xxJen

PS 1MORE DAY UNTIL THE BOAT ARRIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!