Ocean Dreams with Zech

Sleeping with the fishes has always been on my list. I've a whole lot of others such as sleeping with the animals in the zoo and camping in the mountain, just to name a few. I've become more adventurous after having boys I think. Either that or I was 'deprived' of all these experiences as a child. :)

With the recent purchase of my sea aquarium annual pass, I decided to enjoy the special rates given to pass holders for the sleepover at the Sea Aquarium. I signed up for Zech and myself. We checked in on a Friday evening at 6.30pm. Shortly after, we were ushered into a "secret" door where we left our luggages so that we could proceed with the guided tour.

There were 11 of us including 5 kids in the group. The guided tour was really good.  The guide filled us with so much details and information about the different habitats. It was interactive and fun as along the way, the kids played games.

Fascinated with the nurse sharks, which are nocturnal.

Sharks often lay eggs but not all are fertilized. The guide showed us a shark egg below a stingray and another egg on the body of a zebra shark.

At the touch pool, Zech was not very keen. He had done this several times at different places so touching the starfish and sea cucumber are not exactly a novelty to him.

We had the entire place to ourselves. That was pretty cool!

We even visited the dolphins. It was pitch dark but what a surprise! The curious dolphins visited us! We could see a few of them swimming near the glass panel. The guide even told us how to differentiate the male from the female. The sea jellies and the octopus were very popular with the kids too.

The tour ended at 9.30pm. We were allocated a place to sleep at the open ocean habitat. Our spot was on the ground floor, right next to the glass panel of the open ocean.  Sleeping bags and blankets were distributed.

We sat at the top facing the open ocean habitat and had our turkey ham sandwich and Milo for supper.

Lights were off at 10.30pm. We could still see the fishes, stingrays and manta rays swimming around. Zech was sleeping by 11pm.

The next morning, it was rise and shine at 7.30am. The guide took us back to the dolphins habitat again. Now we could see them clearly.

Not sure who were more excited. The dolphins seemed to be greeting the kids early in the morning. The guide could even show us the ears of the dolphin.

When we went back to pack up, the divers were there greeting us good morning. The kids love that.

We had our breakfast in a restaurant at Adventure Cove. The breakfast was pretty decent. Bento set with scrambled egg, tomato, hash brown, baked beans, sausages and apple juice.

After breakfast was another highlight of the sleepover - The back of the house tour. We had the chance to see how the aquarists fed the manta rays. No videos or photos were allowed here. It was really an eye opener to see how the manta rays were fed. The aquarist had to aim and direct the bowl of krill put out on the long pole into the huge mouth of the manta ray. Many other fishes were fighting for the food as well so the food had to go into only the manta rays.

Our sleepover ended right after the back of the house tour. It was about 10am. It was a unique experience for both of us. And I think I've learned a lot more from this sleepover than my 3 visits to Sea Aquarium. Without my annual pass, I may not have gone for this as the regular price for adults is quite expensive. To have a knowledgeable guide who can engage and interact with the kids, I feel this added on to the quality and made this trip more worthwhile.

The brothers

Life has definitely changed with a primary school going kid. It's no longer all fun. It's work almost all the time and weekends or school holidays are the only time for fun. I miss the walks at the Botanic Gardens on a weekday. I long to go for a book picnic early in the morning at the nearby Ang Mo Kio Town Garden. I look back and can only reminisce the good old days at the Fire Engine playground. Looking for fun in between busyness seems to be a task I'm entrusted with. And it is an important one, I soon realized. The time invested in building up the boys together is invaluable. As I've learned from parenthood firsthand, boys need the time to interact, play, compete and fight. I've come to accept the nature of boys. Competing and pitting against each other is part of growing up. From punches and scratches on the face to rolling on the ground and wrestling, my boys have come a long way, as they refrain from hurting each other now. The brotherhood between Zech and Nathanael is built up by the time spent together engaging in meaningful play.

My boys need that outlet to play, bond, imagine and dream. Even if it's just a mere 20 min of water play at the Sports Hub after school one day (unfortunately the rain came soon after), my boys were refreshed with pure delight all over their faces.

Though Nath loves disturbing his big brother, he adores Zech and looks up to him a lot. One day, Nath took out the foldable table Zech uses in the morning for work. He quietly sat down and did his writing. He told me he needed to do his work just like Zech. How heartwarming! There was a day we went to the library together. Nath insisted on carrying a similar bag like Zech's.

I treasure the time the 2 boys spend together. Not as much this year but with a little advance planning, it does ensure some quality time.

The 2 boys watched a play together for the first time. It was an hour long but could captivate even Nath's attention.

At Nath's first visit to Kidzania, it dawned on me how precious for the brothers to be playing together. Nath needed the company.

Staying home together means more noise, more fights and more fun too. Lately, they constructed an airport using Lego. One evening after dinner, Nath sat down on the rug and started working on the airport. Love the collaboration between the brothers! It's still sitting nicely in the living room.

Once in a while, I miss having a little girl at home. But I'm so glad Zech and Nath have each other. On their journey to adulthood, they need those pockets of fun to foster, deepen and strengthen their relationship and that's what I'm entrusted with.

Exploring Melbourne in a week and more

Whenever one mentions Melbourne, you think of cafes and trams in the city, Great Ocean Road, Philips Island, fish and chips and markets. We covered the must-do for kids such as Philips Island and of course the infamous 12 Apostles. However, my very resourceful cousin and brother-in-law planned other kids-friendly attractions that are off the beaten track and I must say, these attractions exceeded my expectations. Here are 3 attractions that are highly recommended for kids if you are in Melbourne.

1. Werribee Open Range Zoo

I love this zoo. It's the best I've been to so far. Read on and you will find out why.

Taken just outside the entrance, the kids had a great time clambering and climbing onto these animals.

It was a weekend so the kids were free! The admission ticket includes the 30 min safari ride. The zoo was simply huge! The safari bus took us closer to the animals.

The best part was seeing the giraffes walk right past us. There were at least 5 of them. Beautiful creatures.

After the safari ride, we walked around the zoo. It was delightful to find a play area complimenting almost all the animal enclosures. A very brilliant concept! What was amazing was the simplicity of the play structure could engage the little ones immensely.

My boys love the jeep at the lions enclosure.

Look at all the monkeys here! You've probably guessed it. We were at the monkeys enclosure. There was even an audio with the sound of monkeys.

There was a mini obstacle course near the hippos enclosure. The kids were thrilled.

The Australian outback enclosure was amazing.

A glimpse into how the aborigines used to live in the outback.

Logs were found all over the place, adding to the rustic beauty of the Australian outback. These logs naturally became part of play for the kids.

A hut for the kids to explore.

I can't remember exactly where this was. But who would thought placing a couple of car tires would be play for the kids? Indeed the simple pleasure of life.

There's also a water play area and a playground that perfectly blends into the safari and rustic theme of the zoo.

One of the highlights of the zoo was the gorillas. The layout of the zoo allows us to view these big hairy creatures at different angles. Just watching them move intrigued us.

If you find it too hot or cold outdoors, there is an indoor ranger kids playroom. This is no ordinary playroom. What we found inside surprised us.

At centrestage was the helicopter. This was enough for my boys. They could stay inside for hours.

The kids could dress up as rangers, vets and even animals. We didn't do the place justice as we had to leave. But during the short time we were there, the kids had great fun playing pretend. There were other play areas but the kids were only keen in this. Small live reptiles were also kept in tanks in the playroom and there was a mini tortoise enclosure.

Thanks to technology, the zoo has added a smart device that looks like an iPhone to all the animal enclosures. Nathanael, who's always so fascinated with gadgets, saw the gorillas on the device and thought it was an iphone. He pressed the button and said, 'Hello gorillas." Haha! A very clever move that our zoo here should adopt soon. The kids in the future gen will be more interested to learn more about a particular animal through the smart devices.

2. Kyral Castle

An adventure park away from the city, I can't imagine anyone driving all the way up to this lone castle on a hill. But the park sees a reasonable number of visitors each time it opens. It's only open on weekends and pubic holidays. For the month of June this year, kids are free! Yay!

Kyral Castle presents a novel experience of life in the castle. Initially, I thought it was just walking around the castle grounds. But there were lots to do.

The different torture methods were difficult for the kids to comprehend. But they had fun nonetheless.

Off with your head!

We watched a pantomime at the theatre about how a princess was saved. Then we moved to the grandstand to watch the training of the knights.

In the afternoon, there was another performance which showcased the knights' challenge.

If you are keen, the kids can also queue up to be trained as knights for free!

Exploring the castle grounds...

There's also a maze, cemetery, a museum to tell the horror stories in the torture chamber and of course, the dungeon with the dragon chained up.

Other activities that come with a small fee include painting a handcrafted wooden shield, face painting and pony carriage rides.

Posing for pictures with the knights.

It is recommended to spend a day at the castle as there are performances and activities slated for the whole day. When we left, it was near to closing time at 4pm.

3. Tinakori Farm

We stayed overnight in an old and very cosy farmhouse. It's not a big farm but there were lots to do and feed. Our kids were overwhelmed by the toys in the living room when we arrived.

The adults were contented with the fireplace and the animal-themed bedrooms. I love the comfy bed with the electric blanket I shared with my boys.

Evening feed for the emus and pig.

The host was very kind to accede to our request for a bonfire that night. The kids were overjoyed!

Early the next morning, the kids were up and jumping on the trampoline while waiting for our host to start the animal feeding.

The first animal to be fed was a baby. The kids had fun taking turns to feed the lamb with milk.

Then off to feed the fowl.

There's something about this place that uplifts the spirit. Wild cockatoos were flying all over. Awesome!

Feeding more birds and collecting eggs. The host even showed the kids the difference between a plastic egg and a real one.

Our host cum farmer cum teacher got the kids to sit on the crates while she gave each one a guinea pig.

My little one loves it so much you could almost see the sparkle in his eyes. The kids had fun feeding it with vegetables.

Back to the black pig which the kids fed last night. It's a wonder why the kids love petting it. So coarse! Yikes! My boys were intrigued by his food, as it ate just scraps of almost anything.

To the emus...

A bonus for the kids to see and touch an emu's egg!

Our host gave the kids an emu's feather, which came in a pair like twins!

There are other animals on the farm like kangaroos, which were fed last evening and deer. I realized every farm experience can be so different. We should go visit one every year!

Finally, I must make special mention of a very unique and kids-friendly café we had lunch on the way to Mansfield. Quite near to Yarra Valley.

We had lunch in one of these carriages.

While waiting for lunch, which took quite a while, the boys helped themselves to the toys.

Yummy bites from the kids menu. :) Prices are reasonable.

My boys were thrilled with the café, as they are big fans of trains.

Having been to Melbourne a few times before, I didn't expect much. But my boys and I enjoyed ourselves tremendously at the above places. I thought these few places have shown me a different perspective of Melbourne. And the most wonderful thing is the warmth and friendliness of the people. Probably not city people, I find these Australians so much more sincere. We will be back again I'm sure. :)