Long time no blog!

We got a boat! Yes we're really embracing the Aussie lifestyle and have now bought a second hand boat. It's a quintrex 4.65metre 55 hP (that's the technical stuff). So it's a little boat that we can go fishing etc in.

The first couple of times we took it out we saw dolphins, they swan around and under the boat and popped up at the side to say hello - well probably to see if we had any fish.

We've taken it around the islands at Shoalwater and seen seals and sealions, and heve been out fishing - the first time we came back with 20 whiting, which we BBQ'd aon the foreshore (and froze some). The second time it was a bit rougher than we thought it would be and I got seasick before we caught any and so we came back in. Going out on it again on Saturday when the forecast is better and we may catch out tea again!

We're gearing up for Xmas now, but are finding it strange having to do xmas shopping in the sun. The forecast for Xmas day is 38 deg - so We'll be having turkey butties on the beach - no big roast for us in that temperature. I've been charged with organising our works xmas do - so we're having a BBQ and a pool party - the invite said dress code: boardies(shorts) or jeans with thongs (flip flops) and bring your bathers (swimming cossies). How weird is that!

My place shuts down from 21 Dec to 2 Jan, so I get xmas off this year - what will I do with myself!!??? All that sun and 5 mins from the beach :-) Yes we are still really loving it - wish we did this 20 years ago.

The down sides - no real football (soccer), they play Aussie Rules (AFL) but soccer takes a back seat and the footie I've seen has been really poor - more like County reserves V Macc Town reserves than premiership. No mulled wine for xmas - well it would be too hot! The pubs aren't the same - but then again you eat late and outside and have wine with your tea and stay up talking, and you have your own bar. No best mates here -we're starting to get to know some people, and have had a couple of nights out - but not the same as your mates in UK.
Having said all that, I struggled to find the down sides! Most of it is up!

Stella the dog is doing well, she's 10 months old now - has 'graduated' from beginners class at dog training, and loves to swim in the sea. She has a good mate with Jess, Sue and Pete's dog - she's a puppy about 6 months now and loves Stella. We go round to their hose and take Stella and we don't see them all night because they're playing. She had her own dog club xmas party - and won a prize in 'musical spots'! - her own eskie (cool bag) that we can take her water in to ther beach or when we take her out for a walk!

Will try to update this more often. Will probably remember a whole lot more and post some in the next week or so - but if we don't it means we're enjoying life too much.

An example of enjoying life would be telling you about our night tonight - Came home from work about 5.00, took the dog to the beach, stopped off at a bar on the foreshore and had a wine, with John and the dog, came home and had a swim in the pool, got in the Spa, showered and cooked turkey steaks on the BBQ with baked spuds and our own home grown beans - oh and more wine. Yes we are loving it.

Perth City to Surf

2007 Perth City to Surf 12k run

Well I did it!!! And all without stopping, not a good time, but I did finish, come on 12km is about 7 1/2 miles, not bad for an old bird!

When I entered I had this vision of running through the city and parks in the sunshine thinking wow this is great, I'm in Australia, in a beautiful city in the sun and I can do this!

The reality.............

We got up before 6.00, in the dark, having been kept awake half the night by a storm, drove about 30 miles to Perth, the Swan River had waves on it that were coming over the Freeway! Got dropped off in the city, we had to be there 30 mins before the start, we got soaked before the race even started - see the picture, taken on my phone just before we set off. The fashion item for this year seemed to be the cut off bin bag! The race finally got underway - the count down to start was on - 10....9.....8....7....6...5....4.....3...2.....1.....and a major downpour just came out of nowhere, the rain was coming into our faces and we couldn't see for more than a few metres in front of us. So we set off, through the tall buildings of the city offering us some shelter, then we went up St Georges Terrace, and out of the buildings and up an enourmaous hill. The wind was that strong I felt like I was running backwards. Well I thought this course was flat - oh no there were so many hills and so much rain and wind! But it was fun!

Along the route people had gathered to watch, some in the front yard of their houses with friends having bbq breakfast and drinking champagne, under the shelter of their verandahs, oh how jealous I was. I was even jealous of the tramp with the dog drinking beer and shouting encouragement/abuse at the runners.

Well ok the rain did clear a bit, and I managed to get to the end having run through some great parkland and enjoyed the city, and what a sense of achievement it was. As I reached city beach oval, the smell of BBQ (yes again) hit me and then seeing the sea I know why it's called city to 'surf', the surf was definitely up!

Everyone made the most of it and some dressed up for the occasion, I spent most of the course just behind or just in front of Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper!

We came home and had a hot shower and a spa, then got the burgers on the barbie! and had some beers!

Yes I will be doing it again next year.

Settling In

It's ages since I last 'blogged' so here goes.

We're settling in to real life now - I've been working full time for 5 weeks, and getting into the routine, the job is good, but this is definitley the busy period, we do peoples tax returns and accounts and with the year end being 30th June, July, August and September are the 'tax season'. In Aus everyone has to do a tax return so that means a really heavy workload for all the tax accountants, but again this is where the money is made. I have to travel 30kms (about 20 miles) each way to Mandurah, but the roads are really easy and it's only taking 30mins door to door, that includes parking and walking in Mandurah, much better than when I working 13 miles away in Manchester, and it was taking me up to an hour each way. I manage to get out most lunch times and have a walk along the estuary, there's always boats cruising up and down and pelicans, but the other week I saw a couple of dolphins cruising up river, that's when it really hits me how lucky we are.

John's job is going well, he's sold a few houses, but only gets paid when they 'settle' which can be a couple of months after the contract is signed, so he should be earning soon. He's enjoying the flexibility of the work and managing to get afternoons off if it's quiet, but on the other side it does mean he has to work some weekends, which is when I'm off work. We're hoping that when I go part time we'll manage to get more time off together.

Stella is still great, she's learning things really well, and generally comes every time she is called, knows sit, down and stay, so is able to enjoy a bit of freedom off the lead. She loves the beach, and has just braved the sea deep enough to swim, she plays with all the other dogs on the beach really well, but knows when she's beat and comes back to us pretty quick. She's also started chasing the seagulls up the beach, they just go out to sea and she's stuffed and gives up. We bought her a floating toy to play in the sea with, she managed to destroy it the first time we took her out with it, so now we use cuttlefish and sticks to throw, which she seems to prefer anyway.

She does have a bit of a destructive streak which comes out when she's left at home alone. She's shredded her bed, dug loads of holes, pulled up a few plants and jumped in the fish pond. We seem to have cured the digging (bury her poo in the holes and she won't dig there again), and we had to buy her a new bed, we're hoping this one will be better, it's a steel frame with a hessian sack on it, which makes a bit of a hammock, and replacement sacks are only about $5 (£2) so if she chews that it's not so bad. The fish pond is trickier, we've put fencing around it, but she seems to be gettin through/under/over it, so we need to rethink that.


Sue and Pete and the kids made it over here, they landed on Friday, and we spent a day with them yesterday, going to the beach with the dog, barbequeing and chatting, I'm sure there will be many more days like that.

Sue and I have entered the Perth City to Surf 12km run, which is next Sunday, so we have both been in training in our different countries, and today are going out to do a run together. There's loads of great running routes over here, as everywhere there is parkland, beaches, lakes and walking/cycling/running tracks, so I've really enjoyed getting out and about.

Well I'll go now but will try and update it a bit more regularly!

Introducing Stella

This is Stella, she's 6 months old, and a mix of some Red Heeler (Aussie dog), and it looks like some Jack Russell, and many other things. We chose her (no she chose us) on Friday at the K9 Rescue Centre in Mandurah.

We don't know any history on her, just that she had been in the rescue centre for a few days, and in that time she had been spayed, so she's still got her stitches in, she has them out on Thursday, she also has a stitch in her foot so must have had an injury there. She is very young and puppy like, but really keen to learn, she is already coming back to us, responding to her name off the lead, and knows what 'sit' means, we're working on stay now, and will carry on doing fun training with her. She responds really well and is learning what 'no' means, when it comes to jumping on setees and eating slippers!

She sleeps outside under the patio (roofed area), on her new pet bed, the first night she was a bit unsettled and cried a bit, but last night once she settled she was fine until about 6.45 when she decided it was time to get up, and let us know about it.

She's named after the stars, not the beer (honest)! She's been to the beach twice already and has played well with other dogs, she likes chasing seagulls, and is still a bit unsure of the sea.

There's some more pictures of her in our online photo album, and I'm sure we'll get some more pictures as she grows up over the next few months.

quick post

Just a quick blog today - I had a full day in work yesterday, and guess what - I managed to start just in time for year end! Over here year end is 30th June, so I will be taking over from the busy period, I guess doing full time for 4 months won't be so bad, it will get me chance to get into the job.

The housewarming went really well, we had lots of drinks (I had to go out and buy a beer fridge for behind the bar!), and spoke to England and Spain on Skype; the lap top was sat on the bar and Pete (UK), Mike (UK), and Ann and Pete (ex Railway now Spain) all joined in the party for a quick chat which was great. Our neighbours brought us a wooden vase that he had made himself, very nice, this is now sat on the bar. Then later on we fired the BBQ up and had burgers and sausages, just what you need after a skinfull of beer, yum yum!

I've been for a run this morning to the beach and back, I've entered the Perth 'City to Surf' 12k run at the end of August, so thought I'd better do a bit of training, the run today was about 7.5k, and I could still breath at the end of it so I should be ok.

Got to go now - shopping to do, only food today, unless I find a nice office chair!

Oh Good Luck to Jeckyl on their 3 gigs over the next couple of weeks.

Our new house

We moved into our new house last Friday, so have had a mad week of sorting things out. the house is great, I've posted some pictures on our photo album, just to make you all jealous of our pool and spa, oh and a lemon tree. I'm getting all homely and today have made some home made lemonade, and we've been juicing our own orange, carrot and apple juice; we've found a great shop 'The Spud Shed' that sells fruit and veg grown locally and at really reasonable prices, so we are eating loads of healthy fresh food.

Again we're having to learn new things, they say that if you learn something new everyday it keeps you young, well we should be regressing! We're learning about pool and spa chemicals, algae and pumps, we've been in the spa everyday so far, but have yet to try the pool (it's too cold in winter).

We've got some books out of the library to learn about our Koi Carp and other fish in our pond, I've put a picture of these up, we have 12 fish in total, and are now getting to know them and how much to feed them etc, we also need to look after this pump and filter system and keep the water level right. We're trying to get them to hand feed, and they are getting braver, they welcome us in the mornings when we come to feed them, I never realised fish could be such social creatures.

The weather this week has been quite bad, we've had rain most days, but the sunny periods are still really warm.

I had a day in work this week, to learn the payroll and get to know some other parts of the job, again it is all very similar to English work but with different names and different rules, so I should be OK when I get my head round the language differences. The most bizarre thing I learnt is that you get paid more when you take annual leave than you do if you work, the reasoning is that you generally spend more when you are off work, so need more money; the unions apparently negotiated this some years ago, so now you get 'leave loading' on your pay when you're not in work - Great!

John has sold a house this week, and is really enjoying his job so far, he is hoping to get another sale on Tuesday, so this will keep the money coming in, and when I start work properly on 11th July we will both be earning again - The company I will be working for has persuaded me to do 4 months full time over the tax season, and then I should be able to go part time, should be ok as I will be on less hours in time for the summer.

Yesterday I played netball again, and was rushing home to meet a plumber (to plumb our fridge in - it's got one of those water/ice dispenser things on it), and got pulled for speeding - so I have to pay a fine of $150 and get 2 points on my nice new WA licence! I think I'd better watch my speed from now!

We didn't get to go for that Indian last week we are going next week instead, tonight we're having a bit of a house warming party, well when I say party, I think we need to get a few more friends to call it that; but there should be about 10 people here so we'll have a good night - we'll have Skype on, so if you want to join us in a couple of hours give us a shout! We'll put the camera on and you can join in!

Ok must go now got a bit of organising to do for tonight and it's getting on now, enjoy our new house pictures and please all keep in touch.

Tracey got a job

I was offered a job this week, and went in today to chat about it and see the office etc. I will be Accountant to a tax practice in Mandurah (about 30 mins drive), the position can be part time which I want, and will initially be to cover extended leave for 3 months. I will also be able to learn the tax side of the business, and then after the 3 month period, other employment options can be looked at. So initially it will include accounts, payroll and fee collection from tax refunds, then maybe more of the tax consultant work, we'll see how it goes!

Last night I played netball again, this time for the Angels, and we won!! It's really good to get back into netball, and meeting people - I even met one of the players today, she works at our settlement agent (small world).

John is now getting into his on the job training, and has completed his reports for this, so Friday he takes his work into Perth and should get his licence shortly after that.

Everything is now getting put in boxes ready for our move on Friday, you realise how well you've settled in when you have to change address at about 10 different places.

We're looking at health insurance (mine field), and now that we're working we need to look at Super (pension) schemes, another mine field. The most difficult thing is that everything is called something different over here:

P60 - Group Certificate
Pension scheme - Super
Tax code - TFN

Once you can interpret things they aren't too different than in England.

We've been invited out for a curry on Saturday night at a new Indian that's opened in Safety Bay 'The Korma Sutra'! I'll let you know how the Aussie curries compare with the Sangem or similar.

Still feels like a holiday

It still feels like a holiday, the winter weather has been kind to us, today it's 22c and sunny, we did have a thunderstorm last night with torrential rain, but we do seem to be having lots of days like this too, on Tuesday it was 24c and I went to the beach, well more about that later. I hope we can cope with summer!

Since our last blog John has been working hard on his course, he's been getting over 85% for all his course work and exams, with one being marked at 100%, clever boy! He finishes tomorrow with an exam in the morning, and then going out for lunch and a few beers, so I'm being his chauffer to and from Perth, I may have to fit in some shopping too!

I've been busy sorting things out for our house move - it's definitely happening on the 22nd June, next Friday. I'm having to change address for everything again, and get things prepared for moving. Tomorrow I'm going with our estate agent to do the final inspection of the house, this is where you test everything works, like light switches, plugs and any appliances being left in the house, and get instructions on how to work things like the pool pump, switch on gas etc.

I met with a guy at a tax practice today, initially about doing a tax course, but there could be some work there too, I should know in the next week. I've applied for a few jobs in the paper and am just waiting to here from those now, the agencies haven't come up with much, but at least they have my name and CV, we'll see what happens.

I manged to get a game of netball on Tuesday, filling in for someone who didn't turn up, I played for the 'Redbacks', and next week the 'Angels' have asked if I'll play for them, I'm hoping to get a regular place on a team, but for now I'm glad to get back playing. I'm also getting involved in a penguin research project in the area, volunteering to do beach walks to monitor for any dead or injured peguins on the shoreline, this information wil feed into the research project to identify the areas the penguins are inhabiting and what threats there are to them. (Yes I thought penguins only lived in cold areas too! - but there's a thriving population of fairy penguins around here that breed on - yes you guessed it - Penguin island in Shoalwater.)

OK back to the beach - On Tuesday it was 24c and sunny, so I decided to take my bike out, I rode along the shore to Port Kennedy, then came back half way and locking my bike up went down to the beach to read my book for a bit (great life or what!), so I was reading my book minding my own business when suddenly I realise the 2 other people on the beach are naked men! Oh yes I managed to find the only nudist beach in the area - Mum you should be proud of me - following in your footsteps! So of course I had to finish my chapter before I left!

Congratulations to Pete, Sue, Katherine and Natasha on getting their visa yesterday! - we can't wait to see you all over here, just get that house sold now! (If anyone reading this wants to buy a house in Handforth let me know and I'll pass on your details, or maybe pass them to John as he's going to be the Estate Agent!)

We're still loving it, and still can't get used to seeing dolphins and pelicans feeding close up, every time we see them we're amazed, we don't think we'll ever realise that this is an every day thing over here!

Bank Holiday Weekend

Last weekend off before John starts training in Real Estate, so we visited Freemantle Market. Tracey insisting in using her new car (Mitsibushi 380), odd as she was expected to insist on going there by boat as we both got our skippers licence on Fiday. Spent a few $ on the usual rubbish, but got a load of ideas for our new house, we move in on 22nd June.
Later we went to Perth, firstly to find the TAFE (University) where John's course is being held, then on to Kings Park for more of the breathtaking views of Perth and the Swan River, (see attached video). Then home for one of Tracey's Chicken Curries, a couple of beers, then watch an episode from series one of "Life on Mars" before bed.

Fishing

Today we decided to go fishing - so we started - with no knowledge and no equipment - Good place to start!

We went to a tackle and bait shop on Rockingham foreshore and admitted our ignorance, they were great -we got rods, reels, hooks, weights, little bits that go between the weights and hooks (for some reason), bait, and loads of leaflets showing what fish we could catch and how to do it and a DVD on fishing basics, all for about $80.00 (about £32.00). So now we're all set - we didn't look at the DVD but took our books, rods etc to Palm Beach Jetty and fished of there this evening - after several helpful spectators giving us advice, we thought we knew what we were doing. Anyway to cut a long story short I caught a tiddler which I threw back and John caght 4 tiddlers which he threw back AND a Leatherjacket - We were told this is what it was and our books confirmed it - which we kept and took home to eat (Well it did us a starter!) So now as an educated fisherperson I can tell you that the Leatherjacket is so named because it doesn't have any scales - when you fillet it, you take off the head as normal, then peel the skin back like a 'leather jacket'.

We did get a surprise with this one - when I was trying to cut its head off I had to apply a bit of pressure and its stomach split (yuk) and out came its most recent meal - live with legs still moving - I think it was some sort of yabbi or bug (crayfish type of thing), and then another one again still moving - I bet they thought they'd been saved - till I killed them and threw them in the bin (well what else was I supposed to do with them?).

So now we're going to try again to get a proper meal! We'll watch the DVD first...... and let you know how we go on.

Kyotmunga winery

For John's Birthday I bought him a row of vines in Kyotmunga winery in the Chittering Valley (about an hour north of Perth). Today we went to see them, and to pick up his 12 bottles of Shiraz produced from them. Lynette and Trevor welcomed us and gave us some tastings of their wine and olive oils, then Trevor showed us around, showing us his sheep, vines, olives and citronella fruit trees. Whilst looking at the sheep I felt something crawl on my leg, then I felt a nip higher up my thigh - ANTS - I had to make a hasty exit to the loo and evict it from my jeans! We'll visit them later this year and get the remainder of John's birthday present - a lunch platter and Devonshire tea for 6 - we may even stay over somewhere near there and make a weekend of it. See the photo album for some more pictures of the winery.

This week we've both passed the theory test of our Skippers ticket, we were due to go out and do the practical on Saturday, but the weather has changed (you can see the dark clouds in the photo), and we have had to postpone going out until the weather clears. Tonight we are due storms, but from Tuesday it should be up to 25C again.

Huntsman

After posting the sleeping spider yesterday, we were going to bed, and noticed this guy on the window. Fortunately he is on the outside of the glass, we checked this out by tapping the glass (then running). This is a Huntsman spider and will eat smaller spiders so I guess he's OK - as long as he stays outside! He won't kill you but can give you a nasty nip. Again click on the pic to see the full screen scary version.

John got a job!

John's going to be a Real Estate agent - he takes a course at the beginning of June and then starts with a Real Estate company after that. We met the guy today and had coffee with him at a local cafe and that was the interview. I've taken some photos of a home for sale for them, and hope this will expand. Going to see Hays agency in Perth on Wednesday, but now don't think I want to travel that far - but we'll see how it goes.

We went for a walk along the beach this evening at sunset and realise how lucky we really are, then we stopped into the pub for a quick drink to celebrate John's new job.

Now back at home - going to watch 'Desperate Housewives' some things are the same over here!

Spiders and wildlife

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO GET THE FULL SCREEN VERSION

We've not had too much trouble with spiders- this one was dead (or asleep) when we found him, so we hoovered him up - now we're fighting over who empties the hoover! There's 3 in there so far.


We have seen some other more pleasant wildlife, a stingray in the shallows at Point Peron (just up the road), and a dolphin in Safety Bay (again just up the road). We've bought a bird feeder to try to attract the parrots to the garden, but think we need to do some research on what they eat, as we haven't seen any feeding yet.

What a life

I'm now sat outside updating this by the pool, what a hard life. We've been very busy organising life out here. After a few knock backs on houses we finally think we've found one - we've put in an offer and it has been accepted, we're now waiting for the building inspection to be done, and if that's all clear we could be in by 25th June, when we know it's definitely going ahead I'll post some pictures, but it is wonderful!





We've signed up to take our Recreational Skippers ticket, and should start the training next Wednesday, that will allow us both to get our own boat to go fishing on and enjoying the sea.





John's looking into selling Real Estate and is looking at courses now, he's found an agent that will take him on when he gets his licence. I've just started looking for work and will let you know how I get on in the next few weeks.


SAFETY BAY


We went out on our bikes yesterday, cycling around Safety Bay, it's lovely to be able to get out and see the beaches and ocean.

A couple of days ago we took some snags (sausages) down to this same stretch of beach and BBQ'd them for lunch. The council provide free electric BBQ's in nearly every park and stretch of park near the ocean, you just push a button to heat it up, cook your food and clean it off afterwards - Great!

Broadband at last!!!

We've finally got online! Not broadband but ASDL, seems to work OK. So now I'll have to update this thing. We've done loads more shopping for furniture, pots, pans etc, you can see some of our furniture on this web site http://www.realestate.com.au/realestate/agent/summit+realty+waikiki/sunwai/103349221 The house we are renting is on the market and the Real estate agent wanted some more pictures, so took these. The down side to that is that our furniture looks that good, that they have now sold the house, so we desperately need to find one that we can buy, as we will be homeless in 6 weeks.

We've found a couple but been pipped to the post, but still have lots more to view, so will be kept busy doing that.

Will continue to update now we have internet access

Wally?

Perth Has City Voulnteers who provide free walking tours to orientate tourists in the city. This guy showed us around 2 1/2 years ago, and he's still doing it. We reckon it's 'Wally' from Crocodile Dundee!

Shopping and Wow

Yesterday we shopped!!!

We bought bedding, knives, toaster, kettle, hoover, pegs................cuddly toy.......................etc.
The best bargain was the hoover - an ex demo model for $50 (about £20). Still more shopping to do tomorrow and next week for big things like beds fridges BBQ's etc.

This morning I went for a run in Kings Park - Because of the jet lag we are up early, so I was in the park at about 7.00, so other than other joggers and Japanese tourists, I had the park to myself and the parrots, great!

Today we walked about 6 miles over the Narrows bridge to South Perth, along the South bank of the river which is all parkland, and then over the canning bridge past the WACA and up to the Lucky Shag for lunch again (Chilli Mussels, Pizza and Greek Salad).

On the walk we had one word for most things - WOW
- Outside our hotel the Tongan Male Choir were practising
- It chucked it down big style, then stopped and it was sunny and hot
On the south bank of the Swan there is parkland all along with:
- Free electric BBQ's to picnic at
- Lots of manmade lakes with Black Swans, Pelicans, many types of ducks and we saw a water rat
- A Husky sled team meeting, where they use wheeled sleds to exercise the dogs
- Gym equipment including cross trainers and weights free for anyone to use
- A cycle, running, walking track the whole length of the parkland
- A butterfly reserve
- And lots of WOW views.

Remember this is in the middle of the capital city of Western Australia. JUST WOW!!!

Out and about in Perth

We went to bed early, and of course got up early, this jet lag is still hitting us (it's now 5.20am, and I'm writing this!)

Spent all our first morning in Kings Park, walking for miles in a park in the city which is so big it looks like you've 'gone bush'. See our online photo album for some pictures of the park, the city and some of the bird life we saw. The weather has been 23 degrees and sunny, not bad for autumn.

We went to the 'Lucky Shag' bar (The shag is a bird!) on the waterfront for lunch. Thanks Sue and Pete for our first proper meal in Aus - Seafood platter.

We've been shopping! bought ourselves bedding etc for when we get to our house on the 1st May. Woolworths are great, they're like Tescos, sell food and everything else you can think of, I think they'll be getting a lot of our business.

Oh we got told to leave a bar! For wearing Thongs! (Flip Flops to us Poms!), they seem to treat these as we treat trainers in bars.

25/04.07

We set off from Manchester Airport, bound for Dubai then Perth. We did some damage to the Exec Lounge at Manchester Airport, and managed to get extra legroom seats on the first leg.

Dubai lounge was good too, with liberal 'Black Russians' and lots of snacks, now on to Perth (11 more hours). Still feeling like we're going on holiday!