Still keeping the jetlag at bay we went up quite early to walk to the farmers market in Torquay. It was a mix of small stalls offering various edibles but more importantly a food truck with really nice sandwiches for breakfast and another truck with local coffee for the caffeine addicted.

The climate is a bit strange with some people are wearing down jackets next to others wearing t-shirt and shorts, it quickly shifts from sunny 20° to windy and rainy 12° – but it doesn’t stop people from swimming and lounging at beaches. After walking back and waking up dad we packed up the mini-van and went on the Great Ocean Road to Lorne.

Being Saturday with nice weather it was more populated than the previous beaches but the surfing seemed more suitable for beginners, or at least today the waves were pretty small so we skipped that once again. Instead it was a nice stroll along the beach and it seems there had been some volcanic activities going on ages ago creating quite interesting ground formations. We assumed it was melted lava as well as the water grinding down the softer materials creating weird almost organic shapes in the rocks.

After walking to the end of the sand beach we looped back for a nice lunch/fika where we were accompanied with some street musician who was actually not that bad – or good enough for Mona to buy another coffee to get some change at least.

We then took the road back towards Torquay for some grocery shopping. The (lack of) city design is very similar to US suburbia style, and new areas are being developed everywhere. Basically low houses with driveways closely cluttered in square districts without any restaurants and instead all the service concentrated in shopping areas you get to by car.

For the afternoon and evening (still getting used to that at sun sets at 19:30 when it’s spring/summer) we just hanged out while our hosts prepared yet another fantastic dinner – this time it was mexican themed.

I think we can get used to this life.

Addis Point from viewpoint

When in Torquay, the home of Ripcurl and Quiksilver, one obviously have to surf. However the weather wasn’t good enough according to surfing guru Jonte. Instead we just watched some of the more enthusiastic ones at Bells beach which was, incidentally, just a short ten minute drive from my brothers house.

We drove a little further to Point Addis  – a nude beach, but given it was winter the only other people we met were seasonly clothed. On the upside that meant I felt more comfortable of picking up the camera so below are some shots from the day.

Janelle drawing patterns with stick before waves wash them up

Brother Jonte contemplating the hardships of living in a surfing paradise

Family

Choose Happiness – but never go full retard

So, a new chapter begins with Juni, who enjoyed her first lounge in Bangkok.

To rewind the tape a bit; Mona was pregnant during the last trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar but to avoid concerns we decided to go public first after passing the first trimester and showing a ultrasound to our parents. Juni is now 7 months old and have survived a few trial trips and hikes so as I started my parental leave it seemed like a good idea to visit Jonte and Janelle in Australia together with my parents.

Some lessons learned – Thai Airways requires an infant to be no older than 6 months to receive a bassinet and be able to book good seats from the start. At some random time between one month and two days before departure it was possible to reserve nice seats (behind a wall with space in front) so it worked out in the end – for mom who had nut allergies it was trickier to check in over Internet but as long as she stated clearly that this was only when eating we were allowed to check in at the airport.

Security went smooth (family queues ftw) and the first leg to Bangkok went just fine. At the last breakfast the cabin crew informed that it was not allowed to have Juni sleeping on the floor, which she had been the larger part of the trip, but in general things went better than expected. The transfer was 90 minutes so enough time for a quick stop at a lounge to text Jonte, get some refreshments (instant noodles for yours truly of course) and another round of security before getting on the last leg.

More alert crew spotted Juni sleeping early in the flight so we had to have her in our laps for safety (masks falling down, but not on bassinets?) which was less convenient but we managed to get some shared sleep. Last but not least passed through the infamous border security without even having our bags checked – and all luggage were present as well as a hippie-brother with a large minibus who drove us straight to Torquay were we had a beer and a chat and hit the sack after some 30 hours of traveling…