First steps over The Ditch

So they let us in on The Other Side. Only just…

Arriving in Oz, some things which stand out in our minds so far, are:

- The ‘wintry’ conditions in the Sunshine State – blue skies, hot sun, early-mid 20degsC temps! OOoooh such hardship! It's tough, rough, bitter stuff - winters Down Under!!!
Sunblock in winter.....doesn't seem quite right!
By the way, we've noticed that the Spring Blossoms are already out....or maybe they never went away...?!

- Along the same lines – being dressed in T-shirt, shorts, and jandals, and seeing people all rugged up in their woolly scarves, and heavy overcoats! Crack up.

- Hot water tanks on the OUTSIDE of houses. Cf. Hot water cylinders inside houses (in NZ or Canada) so that the warmth of the hot water cylinder can be used in airing cupboards etc.

- Raucous crows! No gentle cockledoodledoos for us here!

- Strawberries, watermelon, and other delicious tropical fruit abundantly available in June (that surprising wintertime thing again!).

- Free left hand turns on the road (apparently, you can always tell who the kiwis are in Oz, cos they give way to those turning on their right! It’s all backwards to the Northern hemisphere of course...)

- Credit card facilities often with ‘sign only’ instead of a PIN. The 'cashless' society isn't as prevalent here as in NZ.

- “Gidday Mates!”- Lil L was obviously mulling over this greeting the other day. He asked his dad, “Dad, if you say ‘gidday mate’ for a guy, would you say ‘gidday WOmate’ for a girl?!!”

- Grocery trolleys/carts that have obviously been replaced since we lived here years ago, but which obviously have never had their steering problem addressed. These have to be the WORST shopping carts in the world. You can’t steer them in a straight line, and if you have a bit of a slope in the carpark, it makes for good upper bodybuilding and entertainment for everybody else.

- Lots of space everywhere – outside and in. Apartments are very generous in terns if size and space.

- Wonderful, wonderful parks everywhere. Lots of walkways, bikeways etc. The weather truly lends itself to a great outdoor lifestyle.

- Fluctuating petrol prices depending on petrol company and location - you gotta know the best places with the best prices!

- Great aircon in all the cars. A life essential.

- Big variety of ants – all of which BITE!

- A fascinating dichotomy of laidbackness vs bureaucratic rigidity.

- Amazing cellphone deals.

- Huge malls, great variety of shopping. Back to the familiar names of Myers, David Jones, Coles, Big W, Target....

- "The Sunshine State....beautiful one day, perfect the next"! No kidding!

There will be more, I’m sure! This is a good start though....

On a more personal front, we have been here just under a week, but it does feel longer than that. We have enjoyed walking K to and from work (5-10mins across the park) and are starting to revisit some familiar haunts. Still lots of admin to do – can’t sign up for lots of things till we get a more stable address, so that is somewhat of a priority.

The Ozzie adventure continues....