Life so far in the Land of Oz

“Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!
Gay your life must be”

This is the song that insists on playing inside my head each morning. The reason being is that on most days we see up to three Kookaburras sitting on our washing line in the garden. It is such a delight to behold when one has been starved of such amazing wildlife for so long.
I would have to say that the Rainbow Lorikeets are probably my favourite due to their exotic colouring and cheeky nature. I have tried to photograph all the birds but the qualities of my photographs are not the best. Another crazy bunch of hooligans are the Cockatoos who fly around screeching to their hearts delight as well as the mischievous Possums who love to run around peoples roofs and eat dog/cat food left outside.


Apparently the first three months of being in a new country is called the honeymoon period. Euphoria, novelty, fascination. The next 6 months or so one experiences a culture shock where one feels out of sorts. This follows onto a culture learning adjustment and increased networking, which should end in full adjustment: stability, acceptance, enjoyment and immersion. They say that if one had to return to ones home country you would still go through all the above and even on a greater level.

I have to say that with all the above and more my surroundings are at this moment very surreal. We live in a beautiful village like area called Berowra which has been divided into Berowra, Berowra Waters and Berowra Heights. Surrounded by bush on a hill we wake to such lovely views. We are within walking distance of 3 parks, school, train station, the community centre, library, petrol station, post office, liquor store (supermarkets do not sell alcohol), doctor, Chinese and Thai restaurant, Subway, etc…however, when I say walking distance I have to mention the very steep hills we have to trudge ourselves up. The upside or should I say downside ;) is that we get to run all the way downhill on the way back home.

We live in what I am told is the safest suburb of Sydney and as a result our insurance is apparently lower here. Having met a couple of grannies at the park who look after their grandchildren they all say that Berowra is the place their kids always come back to, to start a family and have their children grow up here. I heard the same thing said about Stubbington in the UK. I guess it’s a worldwide system of going back to ones roots.

I am loving the weather. It’s the height of winter and the average temperature is 16 degrees Celsius and the average minimum is 8. Although we do have heaters in the house for the evenings, the days are very comfortable and we generally don’t wear jumpers. Most days we walk to our local park and the kids play outside for many hours. There are ovals attached to each park and I tend to do about six laps of running while the kids play; a cheap way of keeping fit.

I love the fact that in almost every park or picnic spot there tends to be a free gas BBQ available to anyone. It saves on having to lug around all the usual kit and is best for preventing bush fires. The fabulous weather means that they are put to good use. We have used them with friends on two occasions now. Its good fun to have dinner outdoors while the kids play at the park.

We have a local ferry at Berowra waters, which transports cars and foot passengers for free 24hrs a day. It takes one across to the Hills Districts where we often go to a wonderful place called Fagan Park which has beautiful world gardens, play area, museum etc..

Our local large Westfield Shopping Mall is located in Hornsby and I love going there for lunch. I almost always have fresh sushi, which is very tasty and so affordable. I absolutely love the Asian influence everywhere and enjoy the exoticness of it all. It is so weird but also wonderful that they offer cheap massage and mani/pedicures in the mall. These shops are a dime a dozen. I have yet to try them out but I look forward to doing so. I have however decided that with the instant availability of such quality massage and also because of babysitting issues, I won’t be continuing my massage business in Sydney. I hope to perhaps forge a career in writing instead.

Our family have been exploring the sights of Sydney with cheap train fare. It costs us $2.50 per person to use any train, ferry, bus or light rail all day on Sunday. What a bargain! Going on the ferry ride to Manly beach is in itself an exhilarating experience. Speaking of trains, it only costs Adrian $37 per week for his hour-long train journey to work. He used to have to pay up to £60 per day for travel to London. Makes you realise how the train companies can rip you off.

We took advantage of a brilliant annual pass called The Merlin Pass, which entitles us to unlimited entry to the Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Tower, Sydney Wildlife World, OceanWorld Manly, Kelly Tarltons Underwater World in Auckland and Hamilton Island Wildlife Park in Queensland. All the above for a family of 5 cost us only $270. Children under 4 go free. A family of 4 costs $220. If you think that it costs £205 for an annual pass to Marwell Zoo alone then you can realise what brilliant value it is. It seems that Sydney is very tourist orientated and price their tickets accordingly.

Many of my friends have been interested to know about the spiders. Well, so far apart from the usual daddy long legs I have only seen one creepy spider. It was called a Whitetail and can cause minor problems if bitten. It was however nowhere nearly as large as I had imagined it would be. I had in my mind visions of hand sized spiders lurking in every corner. Not so. The main problem so far for me has been the ants that insist on coming indoors to feast. Adrian however discovered a brilliant product called ‘Antrid’ which as worked a treat.
I will note that as we have arrived mid winter we have not yet been subjected to the summer flies, spiders and snakes. So, we have all that yet to discover. Nice!
I have been told that snakes are common around our parts due to the bushiness of the area. The Diamond Python is often seen as well as the Red Bellied Black Snake and on rare occasion the Eastern Brown snake. The trick with snakes is to announce your arrival and they will soon scatter off. Keeping ones garden clear is also a hindrance as they will not be able to hide in long grasses. As far as the infamous Funnel Web Spider is concerned, the same applies. Keep the garden clear and always wear gloves when gardening. I have met a few Sydneysiders who say they have not in all the years of living here ever seen any of the above. It is however good to be prepared and knowledgeable about all the creepy crawlies. I am actually quite excited about all the ‘dangerous’ wildlife. Its exhilarating being part of real nature again. It never impinged on my life in South Africa and I doubt that it will do so here.

We were lucky to be offered half a day’s cultural framework workshop by Adrian works. A lovely man came to our house and informed us about all things Australian. The history, their values, how to deal with them. We both learnt a few interesting things. Ozzie family members please let me know if you concur with the following:
1) Australians are among the worlds most direct of people. South Africans are apparently even more so. I reckon I will get along just fine here. What do you think? ;)
2) They value their private time and weekends are family orientated. They don’t like to bring work into their home lives.
3) They have low level of fatalism in their thinking. i.e.: they see a direct link between their own actions and their good or bad fortune. I can see that I am going to get on with them just fine in this regard.
4) They value rules and regulations and organise their lives by them. I have to agree. I have not seen a single person speed here. They stick to the rules like glue. I have to say it is very refreshing to drive at the speed limit. In the UK and especially SA one always felt compelled to speed due to other people driving up your ass.
5) Despite differences in wealth, Australia sees itself as a classless society. One does not have to keep up with the Jones here. They couldn’t care less if you drive an old banger. In fact, in my meetings with people at the park, not one person asked me what I did for a living or what my husband did. They just don’t seem to be bothered. It’s so refreshing.
6) Australians do not like people who brag or show off. They call such people tall poppies and they like to ‘cut’ them down to size. As a result the boss is someone who will sit anywhere at the boardroom table and leads mainly by suggestion, friendly encouragement and never by ordering.
7) They believe in a ‘Fair Go for All’.

The above were refreshing things that I did not know about the Aussies. I feel that I think in the same way too and hope that my transition to Aussie living will be easier than my transition into UK living. I am a very easy going people orientated person and I believe it wont take me long to discover a few friends. Luckily I am not too reliant on others for my happiness.

Although we live in such a beautiful area with so many benefits it doesn’t really feel any different to living in the UK or SA. At the end of the day we all live in a house, eat the same meals, go shopping, watch the same TV programs, go swimming at the local leisure centre etc… Its our routines that define us. We can make it as exciting or boring as we want to.
In my new life here I plan to make use of the good weather by being outdoors plenty. I want to relearn the guitar with Adrian as a hobby and explore a different area each weekend. I want to be an exciting mother for my children and as a result I have limited my time on the computer to an hour in the evening when they are in bed. The computer was such an addictive compulsion for me in the UK. It was so refreshing to be disconnected for so long and in return I connected. Limiting television is always a bonus. I have however joined the Lovefilm equivalent here called Quickflix as I really enjoy a good film.
Adrian has sorted out our office room and will be putting up our dartboard shortly. I look forward to beating him at Killer. I practised heaps in SA and my folks even bought me a set of professional darts.

I believe that Australia is a land of opportunity. A friend of mine who lives in Canberra was the only applicant for a job at Air Traffic Services. They almost had to beg her to take the position which was very well paid. There are just not enough educated and experience people in certain parts of the country. I recently decided to enter a competition in our local newspaper. I had to write a short poem about my love of jazz. To my surprise, I won. In the post I received two tickets to a day festival in the Hunter Valley wine region. The name is Jazz in the Vines. Now, I wonder if all people who entered 'won' two tickets or if I was one of a very few who entered the competition or perhaps my poem was the best? Who knows. I doubt very much that I would have won this in the UK. There are soo many people one has to vie against to win anything. Another fantastic thing about Oz is the fact that you can go to the most beautiful nature spot and you will be one of a few people (if any) there. In the UK one has to grab a sun filled day, queue in horrendous traffic to get to a beautiful nature spot and then fight with the crowds that are already there for a parking space. I think having space is a major plus. Australia is home to only about 22 million people. Compare this to 62 million who live on a tiny island in Europe. Madness!

Well, I reckon that is enough of what I have been up to for now. I will keep you posted with more news. Elly starts her new school tomorrow. She is super excited and will no doubt be up really early tomorrow.

I love you all heaps and I do actually think of you and miss you. Sometimes I will be listening to a piece of music or eating a memorable something and I will suddenly think of you and feel a pang in my heart. Just know that you are loved, always.
p.s) I tasted Kangaroo meat and its soo yummy! Very soft and tastes a bit like lamb. Also, its very healthy and organic!