Week 1

Well it's been an interesting week. 

We have now settled with our room mates. We have (had, as one has left) 3 amazing roomies in Abbie, Liam and Matt. However Liam has now moved out to a shared house. There have of course been a few others coming and going with short stays, the drunk guy who never slept in the room, in fact we didn't know he was staying with us until he came infor the pillow case (you have to take them to reception when you leave), the boys who looked 14 but were late 20's, the two French girls who didn't wake up till after 2pm and right now we have Mark, who no ones really spoken too after 3 days, we are due couple of new people as there's spare beds, so will see when we are back if there's more people.  

The shared accommodation has been better than expected, I think because we have a good people in the room on long stays. In the mornings I haven't snoozed my alarm I have used the communal showers in the morning apposed to the one in our room, since most people don't want to be up at 7 or even 8am. It means I can take my time and not worry about someone else waiting for the shower. Just as I have started to sleep the whole night Chloe has started to wake in the night (good job she doesn't wake me up!). I still think it's half on purpose to Facebook the UK at a time when people are awake. That being said bottle day was very annoying, the noise of the collection is ridiculous. 

We have done a few things in our first week. We have been to Manly Beach once, Bondi Beach twice (it's cheaper to get there), sat and read our books on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, seen the Darling Harbour fireworks (planning to see them again on Saturday, as they are repeated in 'winter'), completed the Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach walk (and back), not to mention the over half day we spent setting up tax numbers and bank accounts. Being told your account must have $2,000 going in each month or you will be charged $4 wasn't too bad, if slightly annoying. Only to then be told you could put $100 in an keep moving it in and out until '$2,000 had been put in' your account just seemed silly. But I will do it to save $4 a month! 

We have also looked at jobs in and around the area, we have though decided to complete as much agricultural work as soon as possible. Additionally we have decided to do it by WWOOFing! The Willing Workers On Organic Farms programme is not paid, however you are provided with accommodation and food by your employer. The work is also much more relaxed with you working more closely with the employer, rather than on a massive farm land with hundreds of people. Everyone will have their own preference, this is ours. Fortunately Chloe was able to find us out first WWOOFing experience after two days. We will be meeting our new employers (if they are called that when your not paid) on Wednesday when we help them pack up at the Sydney Market, which we have yet to find. This could be interesting as we will have to carry our bags, and they aren't exactly the sort of thing you want to be carrying too far! 

The WWOOFing will count towards our 2nd year visa if and when we apply for it. This will allow us more time to see other parts of the country and to explore different work opportunities.

Sydney as a whole has been great, new and exciting and yet familiar at the same time. The city very much resembles London, with its large sky scrapers and busy sidewalks. That being said you can walk about 30mins down one road and be near the Opera House, from there you can see the sea, the culture of a place that is the Opera House with close by restaurants, a large garden, the Harbour Bridge and behind it the city buildings. It is a unique image, a special view. 

The only disappoint has been to see people leaving a colour run. If only we'd known. I would have loved that. Still it's only the end of week one!

Manly waiting for the ferry boat back

Darling Harbour Fireworks

Bondi Beach

Sydney Wildlife Centre / Park (can't rember the name)

Local Artwork

Chloe's attempt at photography humor 

Don't know these people, they got in the way of my amazing photo!

Bondi to Coogee Walk

We stopped to read (I was reading Abbie's girl book, it was very good). 

On the way back to Bondi

Day 1

So here we are! While Chloe phones her mum I thought I'd do a quick update. 

It really was a long journey here, 12 hours to Vietnam (plus 13 hour stay in Vietnam) then 9 hours to Sydney. 

On the first flight I watched 3 films then somewhen in the 4th film my sleeping tablet took affect (thank goodness). In Vietnam we discovered they don't really like their own currency, they price everything in US dollars (apposed to the VN dong recommended to us by the post office). We spend about  750,000 dong on 3 burger kings. Money well spent. In between naps in the airport we walked around the section we were in to stretch our legs. The second flight went much quicker, I took the sleeping tablet straight away! 

On arrival in Sydney we booked a coach transfer from the airport to our hostel. After being walked outside we stood waiting for about 30 mins. I'm still not sure why we had to wait outside. 

Once we were at the hostel, which is.... a hostel. We put down our very heavy bags. To see we where sharing with 5 other people. There where 'clothes' on the floor and the first thing Chloe said was "can we go home!"

After the realisation of sharing a hostel had set in (having only briefly met one of our room mates) we went in search of food and adventure. We quickly found Darling Harbour and its array of restaurants . Chloe rolled her eyes as she knew what was next, we walked along the Harbour checking prices for all the restaurants. We quickly identified if it was up to me we probably would be eating until we left Sydney. So Chloe chose The Hard Rock Cafe, which was amazing. I even tipped (only 2nd time ever!). We then walked around and once we started to use the map boards around the city we found the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. A really amazing view. We then walked back and went to bed (at about 8pm). 

Chloe took a sleeping tablet so slept though the night. I woke up a couple of times with street noise and room mates coming and going (This is why I didn't live in accommodation at uni). Still having spoken to them a little more today they seem like ok people. We share with 1 girl and 4 boys. Who are early to late 20's. 

Today we finally woke at 10.15 just missing breakfast. Damm! We walked around to the Harbour, which does look better at night. We have now made our way to Manly Island, had pizza for lunch and walked along the beach. 

Chloe's off the phone and waiting to go as we are now in the shade. We plan to go to the fireworks in Darling Harbour tonight. So that should provide some photos. 

The end of the beginning

The last week has come and gone so fast, it is quite unbelievable. After some last minute clearing and throwing away the clothes left over, we were ready to travel at about 4pm yesterday (the day before we leave). The last few days have been great, to see so many friends and family, and receive all your well wishes. We are going to miss you all a lot. 

To all of you we say thank you and see you soon. 

The day! Having woken up at 5.45am and being picked up by Steve at 6.45. We are now in the airport waiting for our flight at 1.10pm. We have since learnt that Steve broke down on the way home. So we are VERY glad to be here. 

Below are a few photos of our last days in the UK. 

Clearing out involved a few trips to the tip and recycling centres. 

It also meant saying see you later to old Ted!

And a few amazing friends..

Followed by living in an empty house for a while...

The the final volleyball training session..

Before we were off! 

From the Tower to the Mansion

As part of our move / adventure, we have to do some difficult things. Saying goodbyes, clearing the house and of course giving up our jobs. However one of the most difficult was driving Tom, Millie and Marmalade to their new home. A home that wasn't with us. 

Although we know it is best for them (can't see them doing the two day journey, only to be greeted  by quarantine), there is noway they could take the temperature and climate. I'm still wondering how I will cope! 

That being said it is still hard to leave them somewhere else. 

Apron arrival at their new home Millie asserted herself by surveying the area and ensuring she knew her surroundings quickly. Marmalade trotted around for a little while before copying Tom, in hiding. Tom took refuge in hiding behind the fridge freezer. He would only quickly poke his head out for a treat, before retreating back to his hiding place. 

After spending a couple of hours settling them, seeing them become a bit more relaxed we made our way back home, without our kit-e-cats. 

It still seems strange not to have to close the kitchen door at night to keep them downstairs, to see them in the morning, waiting to be fed and released (cat flap opened). Fortunately we are able to see them a few times before we leave which is great, as we can see them really settle into their new home. 

We are going to miss our 3 amazing and very 'special' cats sooo much. But worry not cat friends, we will Skype you! 

Love you Tom

Visa Story Expanded

So I guess it's time I put some 'useful' information on here, since I said I would. 

Here is our visa story...

Having looked online we still didn't know a lot or have a clear understanding of the different visas and the visa  process, so the migration expo in London looked like a great idea. To be able to hear from experts about moving to Australia, New Zealand and Canada could only be a good thing. We booked our places online and where quite excited to receive e-tickets. 

We traveled by train to London and found the building quite quickly (still had time to walk round the entire building to find the door, yes, about 10 feet from where we started). Waiting outside for the expo was exciting, waiting with other people who where thinking about leaving the country, to explore strange new worlds and to seek out new opportunities. We tried to guess where they could be going (you've got a 1 in 3 chance). Appon entry our e-tickets where scanned and we made our way through to the stalls. 

The first stall we saw was Immagration2oz. After filling out a 5-10minute form they where able to talk to us. There was a que now, so we where glad we had stopped here first. These, apparently, were the people to see. 

After identifying that my job was not currently on a skilled list we discovered that Chloe's was. But only in one state. Tasmania it was then. After some playing on his computer John informed us we could apply for a state sponcerored visa. This would mean;

- Chloe had to work within the state for the duration of our visa (4years)

- Chloe would have to work within the same position for those 4 years

- I could do what I liked as 'The Partner'

- After the 4years we could apply for citizenship (Once you are a citizen you can come and go as you please)

At the time this sounded great. We could only go to one place, so there was no decision to be made on in regards to location, which was good. Additionally we could both continue working in similar jobs / 'fields'.

We walked around and briefly spoke to a few more people. Then we took our seats for the talks. There where a range of speakers and topics including, information about travel, bank accounts, working rights, shipping and visas. We didn't really listen to the working holiday people, that's not what we were there for (how little we knew)! It had been a thoroughly enjoyable and informative day. 

We decided to progress with Immagration2oz. We progressed through the stages, paying as we went. First a review of our details, then extended information including family information. Next up was a English language test. Fortunately (for me) as we were applying based on Chloe and her work, I didn't have to do the test. Chloe revised and practised based on the information available online. She did so well she almost scored full marks! 

Now at this stage we were both excited to be working towards Australia and to Tasmania. However we did feel abit restricted. Chloe had also started to think that 4 more years of her job may not be for her. Previously I haven't liked the idea of a working holiday visa and didn't really see the appeal for people already with experience and desire to work in a certain field. However with the 4 year visa looking more and more like it wasn't actually as suited to us as first though, and the next stage in the application being quite an expensive one, Chloe decided we should be looking at the working holiday visa more seriously. 

We searched online and decided to visit STA Travel. We were able to speak to someone there but they didn't seem very......knowledgeable. However the guy sat behind her did. We went away and discussed our information, deciding to go back and see the guy and ask a few more questions. He was great, having traveled himself in Australia and having a friend currently living there meant he was able to answer all our questions (those that know me, know there's usually a few), and there the decision was made. 

We would apply for the working holiday visa, allowing us to move around the country and work in any 'field' we wished, even if we only wanted to work in one area the flexibility was appealing. The only real restriction is a maximum 6month contact with an employer. At this point I should say I had been contacting Australian universities for a while, to find out about their programmes of work, activities and work opportunities. So the possibility of being able to move around suited Chloe, who wanted to see the beaches, and me, who wanted to meet the people I'd been emailing. So this did, now, seem like the best option for us. 

Having now booked flights, visas and accommodation for our first 7days in Sydney, we just have the insurance to go. The working holiday visa process was nothing like the sponsored visa. This time we filled in our information online and within an hour we where approved. Done. 

Our visas are for one year, while we are in Australia we can (and plan to) complete 3 months agricultural work allowing us to apply for a second year visa. This is then plenty of time to explore Australia see what it has to offer us and how we could fit into Australian life. If we like it we could again pursue the sponsored visa, but that is a long way off at this stage. We are just happy to be visiting Australia and hopefully meeting some amazing people.

So while everyones visa experience is, I'm sure, different. That is our visa story.....so far.