Mon Repos

Brilliant time last night...
Travelled to a place called 'Mon Repos' just up the coast from here where, between November and January,  heaps of endangered loggerhead turtles come up the beach to lay their eggs.  8 weeks later, the baby turtles hatch and make their way out to the ocean to continue the cycle of breeding.
Arrived early evening as the turtles generally tend to avoid the hot day times.  We had to wait until around 10.30pm-ish to hear the call from the ranger that a metre and half turtle was making her way up the beach to lay. 13 turtles in total arrived last night. What an experience.  Really amazing and such a privilege to see. Oli was enthralled.  Only about one in a thousand hatchlings reach maturity which is around 30 years and the females return to the area where they were hatched to lay their eggs.  
Interestingly, the sex of the turtle is determined by the heat of the sand! Because of the cool summer last year, 99% of the hatchlings were male which isn't good for  Mon Repos.  The wardens seemed to think that this year, because it's cool too,  will be the same, (it's COOL??? I am soooo pleased that we didn't find HOT in our first year in Oz!).
Anyways, didn't get home until gone 2am and guess what we had to do then??? Yep: get all the animals brought in and fed.  Flopped in to bed at around 3am.  Off to the bottle shop now for some wine for tonight.  You can't buy wine in supermarkets here in Oz as in the UK and have to enter a shop selling just alcohol which always makes me feel as if I have a problem.


HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!!! 

A Trip to the Beach

Australia. An area where even a trip to the beach becomes like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie.  On the way you could pass places such as, 'Murdering Creek' or 'Stabbing Creek' or 'Dead Man's Creek'.  En route, particularly at dawn and dusk, you need to slow in case of kangaroos darting across the road (they would write off your car: and you). You will also sometimes travel kilometre after kilometre of nothingness.  Yesterday, a woman was found under her car in a remote area of Victoria,  where she'd crashed and left the road, avoiding a kangaroo at dusk.  She'd even tried amputating her own trapped leg so that she could escape to try and catch a driver's attention.  There's pluck.  


On the way to the beach, you could pass stalls at the side of the road selling fruit and veggies with an 'honesty box' next to the goods.  There will be long, straight roads with macadamias and sugar cane growing on either side along with mangos, melons, oranges, lemons, papayas, limes and bananas. Loads of backpackers stay around here for extended periods fruit-picking: there's always something growing year around.  Criss-crossing the road, there will be loaded trains which you need to look out for..


At the beach, there may be a kangaroo on the shore line which has wandered down from one of the national parks.  There will be jellyfish: some of them as big as dinner plates but harmless and some of them as small as your finger and lethal.  In the ocean, there could be rips so you should always read the life-guard's report,  swim between the flags and listen to the lifeguard when they use the tannoy.  There may also be a 'shark spotter' plane hovering to alert the lifeguards if they see one.  You could see dolphins in the distance, pelicans floating past and a variety of crabs on the shoreline. 


On the way back home, if it's been raining, the roads will be covered (and i mean COVERED) with horrible warty cane toads which you'll run over along with the possibility of seeing one of Australia's many venomous snakes.  And don't get me writing about the spiders and their webs when you arrive home in the dark and try to park your car in the car-port.


Another relaxing day in paradise on the Fraser Coast.

Life on the Farm

Have managed to get an internet connection so thought that I would update our blog.  


We're house-sitting for Jeff's boss's brother in a rural area called Childers in Queensland. Childers is a farming area and is surrounded by sugar cane plantations, macadamia nuts, melons, oranges, limes, bananas papayas and more.  We're staying in a gorgeous wooden 'Queenslander' property (house on stilts to catch the breezes) set in 28 acres with no near neighbours, with 4 cows, a dog, a cat, 5 goldfish, 2 ducks and 2 chickens.  We're in the routine of feeding the menagerie but arrived home when the sun was setting last night which was a different story altogether... the only thing I could liken it to was the Blair Witch Project!


The cows are left to roam during the day and are brought to a smaller area at night... Jeff shook his sheep nuts(!) as per usual to bring them in to no avail and had to go off with a torch searching for them.  After half an hour they all turned up together, appearing out of the black void and scaring us silly.  
Meanwhile,  I had to hunt for the free range chickens which I found whilst battling through cobwebs and numerous cane toads.  (Cane Toads were introduced to Queensland from South America in 1935 in an unsuccessful attempt to deal with the cane bug beetles: the toads are vermin and just keep breeding with nothing to threaten them).  
Suspicious, unidentifiable noises in the grass surrounded me as I finally managed to get the 2 chooks into their roost... Rummaging around in the dark, I was then spooked by 'something in the woodshed' which revealed itself as yet another cane toad along with a humungous spider crawling over the animal feed: yukkadoodle.


The dog (a beautiful cattle dog called Digger), had gone AWOL and as we were calling him, various pairs of eyes shone in our torchlight: none of them Digger's.  He eventually just appeared at Oli's side which spooked us all!  When we finally accessed the house we realised that the cat wasn't in yet... we could hear her mewing and eventually found her stuck 15 feet up a tree outside... bloomin' heck... what a night!

Blood Donation

I have given blood regularly for the last 20 years or so in the UK... Whilst wandering through Maroochydore yesterday,  I noticed a poster stating that blood stocks in Queensland were low.  I duly called in at the blood donor office to offer some of the 'red stuff'.

THEY TURNED ME AWAY!! 
I was passed a leaflet that detailed that, 'anyone who has lived in the UK for a total period of 6 months or more between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1996 is permanently deferred from donating blood'. 


The Reason? Remember CJD? (I have been called a 'mad cow' on more than one occasion in the past I suppose).

Our Saturday...

Woke at 6am, put the washing on the line and then Oli and I drove to Eumundi Markets for the morning... very busy and lots of fun.  Heaps of different food stalls (Mexican, Polish, Tibetan, Chinese, German etc...) so Oli was in his element as he's really in to eating at the moment! Loads of musicians too including some amazing digeridoo players as well as stalls selling items from dresses to boots to ironing board covers (!) to metal wall hangings to jewellery to leather hats and much, much more... I had a free hand exfoliation and Oli had a head and shoulder massage. We stopped at having our palms read and our chakras re-aligned(!).  Enjoyable morning and not too hot today (24 degrees) with a breeze: most pleasant. 

Bought some cedar blocks to hang in the wardrobe as they were recommended to keep out moths and insects.  We've had the outside of our property 'sprayed' to prevent creeping and crawling critters from coming in for the next 6 months!! To also assist in preventing them coming in , we leave the screens across when we open the doors for a breeze.


Ate our food in the 'park'. Oli noticed that the word 'park' describes a different area than it does in the UK.  Here in Oz, a park is generally a small area with seating, a barbecue or two and swings and slides for the kids; they are often in the shade though which is welcoming. (A NATIONAL park in Australia is different again: hectare on hectare of bush, dirt and kangaroos!)  


I am getting more confident with driving in Oz now... was a bit nervous to start with but now I tailgate with the best of 'em!  Around here, there are no parking meters... there are zoned areas which are marked with the maximum stay allowed.  Seems to work really, really well and I have always been able to find a parking space, even now with the summer holidays and Christmas looming.

An Australian Party Food 'recipe' (!)

Fancy Fairy Bread

Preparation Time

20 minutes

Makes

30

Ingredients

·         10 slices fresh white sandwich bread

·         100g butter, at room temperature

·         125g (1/2 cup) hundreds and thousands

Method

1.    Spread the bread slices evenly with butter. Use a variety of 5cm-diameter pastry cutters to cut shapes from the bread, avoiding the crusts.

2.    Kids' task: Place the hundreds and thousands on a plate. Press the bread, buttered-side down, into the hundreds and thousands to coat. Serve.

Notes

·      You can make the fairy bread up to 4 hours ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a cool place out of direct sunlight.

Summer Holidays!!!

Oli finished school on Friday 9th of December and doesn't go back now until the 23rd of January... yay!! Good report too so extra pocket money went his way, bless him... On the penultimate day of school, he took in a plate of food for 'bring and share' and came home buzzing because of all the 'colourful' food consumed...  he was then told, that on the last day of this semester, the students should wear old clothes as they would be 'cleaning'... Oli said that no-one goes in on that day, but, mother that I am, I sent him in.  Only 4 kids in his class turned up apparently and they DID have to clean... poor lad, I will know next year!


The storm season has arrived in Queensland and boy, do we get storms.  We went down to Mooloolaba harbour to watch the annual parade of decorated boats which sail along the waterways for the benefit of around 10,000 spectators.  However, huge black clouds collected and a storm ensued, bursting upon Mooloolaba with one of the boats being struck by lightning!  The event was hastily cancelled and we ran for cover...


Good day yesterday and today though... Oli and I went to the beach for a couple of hours and I even ventured in the ocean above my knees... those waves do pound on the beach quite ferociously and there are some frightening rips!!  I don't get any sympathy though from Oli or Jeff as I run for the beach when I see a wave looming... Off to battle the waves today too... we've taking our litre bottle of factor 30 suncreme as well as our wide-brimmed hats (no peaks as don't want melanomas on the tops of our ears!) and quality sunglasses... couldn't survive without them here with a burn time of 6 minutes...

Christmas bits and bobs

christmas crackers are called 'bon-bons' here in oz... all the kids give each other candy canes as 'friendship gifts' at christmas... virtually every house in our cul-de-sac is lit up with reindeers dancing across the roof, palm trees decorated, flashing 'santa stop here' boards and, every night, a steady stream of families troop around the estates marvelling at each and every one!! 
we're putting up the tree this saturday... jeff and oli always do it, always fall out over it and i always follow behind to 'tweak' it! the ice-cream christmas cake on sale in town looks yummy; might give that one a try this year... don't fancy a christmas pud in this weather, must admit christmas pud is horrid anyway isn't it?? yukkadoodle... so too are mince pies, unless they're home made.
we'll also have to go to the beach i suppose on christmas day (sigh... what a trial)... however, the aussies say that it's only the poms who do that... must admit, we tend to only go to the beach to 'cool off', never 'for the day' as we used to in the UK... we also spend sooo much time looking for shade as the aussie sun is mighty fierce... jeff and oli love to battle with the shore breaks at mooloolaba and i sedately 'dip' ever since i virtually got flattened to the sand by a wave a short time ago: not a dignified look.

Queensland Storms!!

Wow! Queensland can certainly do a tropical storm brilliantly... i have never seen so much rain and lightning,  heard so much wind whistling through the trees and the LOUDEST thunder... all clear this morning although heaps of leaves and branches on the lawn...(and Oli slept through it all)...

Our Container Has Arrived!!

We ♥ our removal company!
i have to say that Pickfords, both in the UK and here in Australia, have been absolutely brilliantly fantastic.  If you're thinking of emigrating, I would definitely recommend them wholeheartedly... we were told that our consignment would take around 13 weeks to arrive: it took exactly 13 weeks from door to door. The packing service in the UK was jovial and efficient and the guys this end arrived at the time they said they would as well as being equally efficient and polite.  We were able to track the container on line and there was a seamless customer service between the UK and Oz... heaps of telephone calls and e-mails to advise us what was due to happen next etc... 
I am so excited now it's here and can't wait to open it all. Oli had already opened his scalextric and set it up before he went off to school! Have bought a replacement Christmas tree here in Oz so don't feel so bad about customs destroying ours which we had sent from the UK...  :)

Oli's School Carol Concert

we have just been to oli's school carol concert tonight where we sang rolf harris songs '6 white boomers' and 'summer in the sun' (google them; you'll soon be humming along!), as well as chomping on barbecued burgers and sausages, participating in a draw where the prize was a surfboard and sitting on blankets in 22 degree heat watching the sky turn a beautiful pink as the sun set (jeff was a bit chilly though and needed a sweatshirt!)... lovely evening and so very funny... welcome to our first australian christmas.
the aussies embrace christmas with a passion and driving home, we've stopped to look at so many beautifully decorated houses... they certainly love their christmas lights... heaps of people wandering around 'ooing' and 'ahhing' as they take a look too xx

I am a Smidge Cold This Morning

we had a thunderstorm last evening which cleared the air somewhat as the temperature this morning has dropped to around 20 degrees (it's 9am).  i am sat eating my brekkers in my sweatshirt as i am soooo cold!! have started to acclimatise i s'pose...

The Big Fridge

we needed to buy a fridge when we arrived in Oz as there wasn't one in the house which we're renting... everyone kept saying 'go big'... 'choose the biggest one you can find'... we didn't see the importance of this until now with 30 degree heat each day and we're soooo glad that we listened to advice! EVERYTHING goes in the fridge... if it doesn't your wraps will wrinkle, your lettuce will be limp and your chocolate will be everywhere but where it should be... the bread dries out even when i am buttering it for oli's sandwiches and his chocolate advent calendar has had to be put in the cool to prevent it turning to mulch by the 1st of december... biscuits, jam, nutella, vegetables, fruit, my lipstick (seriously!) our fridge looks soooo full all the time now... 

We're Melting and it's Only 9am!!

Mooloolaba Weather

    

26.68°S 153.12°E 2m AMSL

Maroochydore Forecast

Today	29°C
Tonight	20°C

Now

29.2°C 
Updated at 08:50 EST

Southeast Coast for Sunday Early mist and fog patches. Mostly fine with only isolated light showers about the Sunshine Coast. Light to moderate NW/SW winds, tending N/NE near the coast, fresh at times in the afternoon.

I can now teach in Queensland!!!

hot off the press... have just rec'd an e-mail from the queensland college of teachers advising me that i am now eligible to teach in queensland!!!! yay... now need to send out my resume with a passion and in great numbers... much sooner than i thought which is brilliant :)

Day out on the Gold Coast

went off to a theme park on the gold coast today. we were a smidge concerned because it's coming the to the end of the first week of 'schoolies week' and didn't fancy sharing the rides with 20,000 schoolies!! schoolies week is actually a three week graduation festival celebrated by Year 12 school leavers from every corner of australia. the gold coast is home to the nation’s largest schoolies celebration and, traditionally, each of the three weeks of schoolies in queensland attracts a different state of year 12’s so that each one parties with their own fellow students. 

each year thousands of year 12 students descend on schoolies destinations to celebrate the end of their school years and enjoy what is also the ultimate summer holiday. students make the journey from around australia (and new zealand and other countries) and for many it is their first holiday without their family!! they must have been on the beach today as they certainly weren't in dreamworld... lucky us. good day... oli got me to go on every log flume, water shute and water slide... he said that he enjoyed hearing me screaming and seemingly mistook it for someone who was enjoying themselves!!! i am a bit of a ninny on the bigger rides (and boy, do the aussies love the 'big stuff') and  i am well and truly knackered now...zzzzzzzzzzz...

2 hour drive there (nothing to us now!)... jeff drove as i am still a bit unsure of the aussie driving tactics (ie) changing lanes constantly, undertaking, overtaking, 'left-lane' merging constantly just to keep you on your toes, kangaroos at dusk etc... and also, feeling a bit small as we seem to be the only people on the road who are NOT in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. as a driver,  you must give way to huge 'road trains' which are very scary as they bear down on you as you glance in your wing mirror... don't like to generalise, but all the road-train drivers look the same... tattooed arms, shaved heads, beards, wrap-around sunnies and fluorescent work-wear tops... they're always very pleasant though and will 'parp' their horn for anyone who asks(!)

Oli and his bicycle!

Oli went off to school today on his bicycle (helmets MUST be worn by EVERYONE here: it's the law)... he's at a school which was recommended to us as one of the best state schools on the sunshine coast. it's HUGE (1300 kids) and that's just the primary school: bit different from his school in the UK which had 130 kids in total. oli is 11 years old and in the UK, he would have been at senior school now. however, in australia, year 7 is still primary, so he's in the last few weeks of year 6 now and after christmas, when the new school year starts, he'll be in year 7 and his final primary year. school is 8.35am to 2.45pm and is seemingly much more relaxed than the UK... Oli is really enjoying himself and is in awe of the kids' ability to be good at EVERY sport!


in australia, you need to live in the catchment area of the school to be able to go there.  clearly the rental agencies are aware of this and, because of the popularity of the school he's going to, finding a rental was a bit difficult and relatively expensive compared to other areas! however, we did find one, although it's a half an hour walk to school (with few pavements in the suburbs: they must expect everyone to drive!!). OK in the winter months but today, for example, the temperature was 25 degrees at 8am... we then decided to buy him an early christmas pressie of a bicycle... one happy boy :)


schools are not free here;even state ones... we have to buy exercise books, pens, pencils, dictionaries, atlas, computer paper etc... i've just paid around $130 for next year.  You also then, on top, need to pay for uniform, trips, swimming lessons, fun activities and donations to the school building etc... 
anyways, all in all... he's happy and is making some good friends now who are from all corners of the world... good on oli as he was our biggest concern as he's making the biggest change to his life... result!

our container's being delivered!!

we're a smidge excited as our container with all our gumph from the UK arrives at our door on the 6th of december!!! (minus a fake christmas tree which the authorities stated was real: it's sooo not, they offered to fumigate it for $275 or destroy it for $55: we took the latter option)... be warned if you're thinking of emigrating here: don't bring anything that you're a little unsure of although, we were 100% sure of the chrimbo tree as it was bought in the uk in 2005, was in its original packaging which clearly stated 'fake and no real cones have been used in the structure'... however, the photographs that the brisbane authorities e-mailed to us did seem to confirm their suspicion that perhaps the cones WERE real?? at least it means that our shipment will now be released and delivered to us though, which is the best news.
overall though, our removal company have been brilliant... the packing guys in the uk were excellent and we were able to track the shipment on-line too.  it arrived when it should have done and the correspondence from the liaison in brisbane has been very detailed... would deffo recommend them.
can't wait to get my dyson vacuum out when the container gets here (sad but true)... i spent over an hour cleaning the bloomin' thing out prior to packing it as well as scrubbing the tyres on our bicycle tyres and the soles of our shoes: no foreign dirt allowed here!!!

1st day of work for jeff!

bit excited today as jeff started work!!
we moved over from the UK on a 175 (skilled independent) visa.  jeff had always fancied living in queensland because of his love of diving, snorkelling, swimming and surfing.  we're now on the sunshine coast which is amazing but jeff's had problems getting work here. the area, overall,  is suffering a tad with lack of work generally but firstly, he needs an employer who can help him get his australian electrical qualifications... secondly, all of the australian states do things differently... because we're in queensland: they are the most difficult so we're told... jeff completed what's called a 'vetassess' assessment in the UK which, when mentioned here, is met with blank stares.
you have to do all the leg work and internet searching yourself, i must admit.  however, after sending out numerous e-mails and CVs (called resumes here), followed them up with 'phone calls (no-one answers e-mails), jeff managed to get an employer who is willing to take him on for the 'training' period (and still pay him a decent wage) and is giving him a company vehicle he can use for private use, mobile telephone and a natty little outfit to boot! jeff still needs to sort out the training needed but he has, at least, got his foot in the door. he does have to travel to work (everywhere is a long way from anywhere in oz), negotiating kangaroos at dusk, flooding of the roads in the summer and hectare after hectare of sugar cane, but hey! he did it... he got up at 5am this morning (normal here as it's light at 4am) and set off at 5.30am with plenty of lunch and cold water... ols has just cycled off to school and i am about to mop the floor: domesticity does not agree with me but hey ho!! needs to be done x

why i am doing this!!

Hi there
my son has a blog and persuaded me to have one so that we can share our australian experiences with anyone who is interested!
firstly, i am lizzie (hello)... i am married to jeff and we have an 11 year old son who's called oli... we have been in australia now for 9 weeks and are very happy, albeit sometimes a tad bewildered with processes etc...!
my husband is an electrician and i am a secondary english teacher... we applied to emigrate to australia 4 years ago and it's been a long slog to get where we are. if you want to come to australia you REALLY need to want to come to australia... you must be determined, prepared for plenty of ups and downs and very, very focused on your aim. you mustn't lose sight of your goal as when you arrive all that pre-travel hassle disappears.  It does get replaced by more hassle over here, but at least you're actually HERE... yay!! more soon xx