dawn a

hiya all,

well, everything is packed and we are ready to go. The computer is the only electrical item thats left, we pack it tomorrow.

We have said our goodbyes, very sad but hopefully they will visit us soon.

Not alot to say really. am in shock that we have finally got here - all our stuff in 6 cases. Our baby seems to be the only one enjoying herself. We only started packing on Saturday morning so its been a bit rushed. That would be my only advice - don't start to pack at the last minute.

wish us luck, i'll report when i get to the other side...

dawnx:scared:

jac16

which part of oz are you going to

Paylia

Good luck Dawn


Be sure to keep us all posted




Peter

dawn a

We are off to Melbourne . Where are you headin?

markeh

Hiya dawn a!

I think reducing everthing to 6 cases in such a short time would be hard.

I hope it all goes well, have a goold flight & take a last look at the Uk.

Bye
Mark

Jigsaw

Just want to wish you the very best of luck! Packing in that short time could not have been easy. Hope you all settle in quckily and that your family come over soon and visit.

Let us know how it goes when you get there, it will all be stuff l need to know one day.

GOOD LUCK

KayCee

Good luck and look forward to hearing from you when you reach "the other side"!

bubcay

I know exactly how you feel. I still have 26 days to go, and I am in panic :scared:. Did not start to pack yet. So many things to do....:scared:

Anyway, I wish you luck and all the best in Aussieland !!!

Cheers.

dawn a

hiya all,
thanks for the messages.
The morning we left, we weighed our luggage on the home scale, it weighed in at 126 kilo!!! Our emigration baggage allowance only took us to 80kilo (40k each), and at £31 per kilo we couldn't afford to pay the extra weight so hours before we left for the airport we bought our baby a seat, (we just had a bassinet booked before) that covered us for 40kilo and Cathay let us off for the remaining 6kilo! So weigh your luggage if you can.

Our flight arrived here Thursday morning. Flight was good and Cathay Pacific were excellent and very helpful, which was great as we were travelling with a baby. Rushed us through check-in like VIP's, carried our bags etc, not used to that. Then at Melbourne airport, staff at the luggage collection helped us carry it through to where the pickup point is. We were amazed how kind and helpful people were. We hired our car through Rent-a-bomb by email a couple of weeks before we left, and true to their word they arrived at work early to help us out. Our flight arrived at 6am, and they normally start at 9am. So we were on our way with a car, got lost a few times but finally ended up at our motel in Ringwood, where we thought we might want to live, but have since decided it is not for us and we have looked up and down and all around and have decided to rent in the Sandringham area. Two very different areas.

Only problems so far that we have encountered are, we haven’t managed to find the baby formula we usually use (HIP Organic baby formula) If anyone knows where I can buy this in Melbourne I would be grateful if you could let me know. Also, our baby’s car seat is not legal here, seems there is supposed to be some kind of buckle or belt that comes from behind the car seat and wraps around the baby seat (as well as the seat belt buckle). I used to drive with baby in the front passenger seat (we had no airbag in our old car) I have been told that this is illegal here. If anyone knows if I have been told wrong please let me know. Of course more problems are bound to be around the corner but we have only just started…

Today we made a car trip to Yarra Glen and Healesville for some lunch and treated today as a holiday to help us relax and unwind a bit before we start again tomorrow. It was very pretty and a nice day out.

Tomorrow we continue our search, but I feel more hopeful now and once we have found somewhere to rent I will feel a bit more settled. The first 2 nights here I was unable to sleep, the first being the worst as i also felt instantly homesick as soon as we arrived but this has worn off. I didn't expect to feel like that but it also could have been down to my being tired and jetlag, surrounded by our many suitcases I did wonder what I was doing here. I pity the cleaner that cleans around our bags in our room!

Anyho, wish us luck for tomorrows search - i shall report back.

dawnx

Paylia

Hey Dawn

Thanks for the update - it is great that you have found time to keep us all posted. Please keep letting us know how you are doing.

Good luck with the rental searching etc.

Peter

Bordy

Good luck Dawn, I hope you find something soon & get settled in ok. Look forward to seeing you at the next Ex Pats day/night out in Melbourne.

Chris Bailey

Hi Dawn,

Good to hear from you so soon after arriving, we fly out in 41 days, I know i've started to pack a few things up already, so you did real well in the short time that you had, especially with a baby.

We are also flying in to Melbourne and staying a couple of nights at the Atlantis hotel before we fly on over to Tasmania. We are flying with Singapore Airlines, so hopefully they will be as good a company as Cathay Pacific.

Best of luck Dawn, keep us posted
Love Christine x

nickram

Glad it all went well Dawn, Hopefully one day we'll be in Melbourne too!