An aMAZEing day

After the sad moment that was our check out from the lovely cottage we felt so depressed that even the memories of our Nesquick breakfast couldn’t cheer us up. We did however feel slightly more cheery once we’d seen the clear skies and the last of our gloom cleared once we reached our first stop of the day – A maze ‘n’ things. It’s hard to describe the place as it really is just such an eclectic mix of extraordinary activities from the mirror maze to the freefall slide. Alex particularly enjoyed the mirror maze, constantly walking into the walls prompting much laughter from Rach at his pain. The slide however was Rach’s downfall (pun intended) as she hung from the bar above the ten foot drop refusing to let go. It almost reached the stage where Alex had to tickle under her arms to get her to let go but she finally succumbed and gravity had his way with her. There were some awesome optical illusions and we couldn’t describe them if we tried. Hopefully the picture gives you some idea of what it was like.

As it turned out we still hadn’t reached the places namesake and we emerged blinking into the brilliant sunshine to find ourselves in one of the most complex and largest mazes either of us had ever been trapped in. Not to sound too bigheaded but we’re not too bad at mazes nevertheless we found this one a real stinker. There were four different coloured flags that you had to reach in the maze each looking deceptively easy to get to. We spent a good two hours determined not to be defeated and we were ultimately victorious but at a cost as Alex got a bit sunburnt.

After a quick lunch with Alex having to be forcibly restrained from going back into the maze we set the wheels on trusty old Yvonne and headed down a bumpy track to our next destination, a small island just off Phillip Island called Churchill Island. The island (have we said that enough now?) is home to the Churchill Heritage Farm and is a living history museum dedicated to all the previous tenants of the buildings. It is a really interesting experience and we were lucky enough to arrive with time to do most of the tours and activities. There was an interesting tour of the main house, and then various other demonstrations around such as at the blacksmith’s forge and sheep herding. We also got to try our hands at milking a cow, cracking whips and some boomerang throwing which was really fun if not all that effective! It is a little sad that this place doesn’t seem to be that well known as it was a great way to learn some history and pick up some new skills along the way.

The excitement continued on the way home as we managed to get lost and Rach had to come to the rescue guiding us skilfully back onto the straight and narrow. It was a really good birthday weekend for Rach and brilliantly conceived and executed by Alex. Score one for the man team!

Rex’s Rules of the Road

• It’s been really useful having Yvonne and we would highly recommend getting a cheap ride to move around in if you are staying in one country for a long time.

• If you are going to Phillip Island there are some great multi-ticket options available such as the one we got for the Penguin Parade, Koala Conservation Centre and Churchill Island. Check it out here.

• Having said that there is so much to do on Phillip Island you might not want to limit yourself. We’d definitely recommend Amaze ‘n’ things as an added bonus though.

• Check out Rach’s reviews of Amaze ‘n’ things and Churchill Island.