We have arrived in Australia

[polly]

We had chaos trying to get everything ready to get on the plane. Even ended up taking stuff in a black bag and buying a suitcase on the airport. Once through, though (checked in 17 bags! :omw:), everything went well. The biys got a bit emotional and cried a bit about their friends. We broke the rules and let them phone their friends just before we got on the plane. From there everything went GREAT! The backspacks worked out well. The kids gravitated towards the sticker packs and books I got them. They work the best on the plane. No crayons and stuff that can fall. I also packed a few juices (more for Alyssa than us), but we all drank a lot before we took off. The flight was delayed as they had to load more fuel (and unload some commercial stuff to make space), but that gave Alyssa a chance to run up and down the aisle. She loved it. For take-off, we put her in her carseat. They allowed the seat on when we asked because it is built to Europeean Union standards (luckily still had the sticker on). She was rather relaxed in her seat and I put "Horton Hears a Who" on, without sound. She liked watching the noise and we chatted to her and sang to her a bit. She finally fell asleep on the flight. The boys were veyr well-behaved too. Chris and hubby sat in front of us. It worked so well I think because the boys weren't seated next to each other We also met osme great poeple on the flight. They even gave us contact details. Also met some "Afrikaners" also emigrating, to Canberra, Adelaide, etc.

It was quite emotional seeing the countryside (Aus) going past below us. We flew along the coast and it was wonderful. Quite something to see. When we came to Sydney, we flew over huge forests. They were gorgeous. Sydney is also amazing from the air. The layout is so unusual, but gorgeous. GOing through customs was a little rough, just because we had so much to carry and the trolleys are smaller than the ones in SA. The kids were also tired and the walk is long. The customs people were really friendly and helpful. (Lost two bags, so hope they find them soon, since we packed the nappies in one of them...)

Went over to Qantas Domestic with a shuttle (Qantas provides it luckily). There we checked everything in again. Hubby bought us each a cooldrink, then we got on the plane (about 10 minutes after arriving at domestic, so it was close ) The younger kids both fell asleep almost immediately. When Adriaan woke up, we had just landed. He started putting on his seatbelt again, preparing for takeoff! He missed the whole flight! IT was night, so unfortunately we didn't get a view of Melbourne from the air. It was a long walk agian, but got all our baggage (you have to pay for a trolley at domestic ) Luckily hubby's colleagues came to help and we packed some stuff in their car. The house is gorgeous, nothing like we are used to. The gardens look a little weather-beaten here, but then you walk through the door... We immediately felt comfortable.

Today we woke up at 1pm (Aus time ) Got out by about 3, then took a drive around to see the area. We are about 500m to the ocean. The kids were pointing out landmarks I had pasted into their books (so I guess it was a success ) We saw about 5 parks in 10 minutes. Looks to be very child-oriented. ALso made a quick stop on the beach (cold and raining here), but the children were enchanted. MOstly ALyssa! She kept on running up and down the sand. SCREAMED when we took her back to the car. Summer is gonna be fun

Also did some shopping at Coles, prices not too bad if you look at what your salary in $ is and don't convert everything to R. PS take a $1 or $2 with to get a cart, it is used as deposit and you get it back when taking back the shopping trolley. Bought the kids some sweets, they really wanted to try something that comes from Aus. They were pointing out everything that is the same as SA (the Kellogs cornflakes was a nice surprise for them and the Pampers nappies made me happy )

Hope now, 8:35 pm here. Alyssa is sleeping. Boys are watching a dvd. Gonna set the alarm tomorrow, so hopefully we will get into routine by Monday when hubby goes to work. Using his pc to quickly send you all this update.

Will let you know how things go. I am surprisingly happy being here. Everything is so calm and relaxed. The kids are going to need to learn to tone down their behaviour a bit. The wildness of Africa is showing

Edited July 19, 2008 by polly

[NikkiH]

Welcome to Melbourne Polly

Not the best weather at the moment but it wont be too long until it starts warming up.

All the best and I hope to see you at some of the social events

BTW there is a social on today in Box Hill today if you are feeling up to it, bring and braai and watching the Rugby.

Edited July 19, 2008 by NikkiH

[CandiceM]

Welcome to Aus Polly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So glad you all got here ok and its wasn't too hectic. Wishing you guys all the best, settling in over the next few weeks. Its quite exciting starting to do all the exploring:)

Candice

[Sheila2oz]

Hi Polly

Welcome to Australia I hope you will enjoy it here. It is a beautiful country with so much

oppurtunities.

Good luck with the settling in and keep us to date.

Cheers vir eers

Sheila2oz

[Queensland Girl]

To Polly and family

I have been following your story for a number of weeks, and can well understand the trauma you are going through.

Good luck in our wonderful country and may all your dreams come true.

[Enrica]

A mighty warm welcome to Oz Polly. may all the families dreams come true.

Good Luck

Cheers

Enrica

[Bob]

Polly!

Good to have yet another South African on board . . . . . and don't let the "wildness of Africa in your kids" worry you in the least.

My three kids were pretty "feral" (wild and untamed) in their day, with some stick-in-the-muds turning their noses up at them, but I'd put any of my three against the best they can and compare their personalities.

Each of my kids have turned out great people and good people to know.

Anyhow . . . . . . .. Welcome to your future, matey!

Edited July 19, 2008 by Bob

[Clueless]

Hi Polly

You sound very happy! Take a few days to get use to the time zone change and relish in your surroundings, YOU ARE HOME!

CONGRATS!

[DKH]

Ek is SO bly julle is ok! Dankie vir die great post!

[Glenda]

It's great to hear you are already feeling "surprisingly happy being here". Welcome to Oz!

[Ready2go]

Hi Polly,

Glad to hear everything is going well for your family and you are slowly finding your feet.

Take care and all the best for the future. Keep us posted.

[Olkabolka]

Hi

I'm so glad to hear that the journey went well. Good luck with starting a new life, and please tell us about your experiences. Enjoy!

[AllisonW]

I am so glad that you and your family are there safely. Dont let your kids lose your african - ness!

Good luck!

Al

[Narms]

Thank you for such a lovely post!

Glad you and the family arrived safely. Hope everything is smooth sailing from now on.

Enjoy every moment!

Keep us posted on how you guys get on.

Cheers

Narms

[polly]

Sorry we didn't get to the meet, we are still a bit jetlagged and have no idea how to find the place

Will definitely make a plan in future since it is already a bit lonely.

Learnt a hard lesson. Don't put all your sentimental stuff in one suitcase. Of course it will be that one that goes missing (plus it contained all the nappies). It is still missing. I fear we will never see it again.

It is hard keeping contact with family and friends. We only have hubby's work phone at the moment, so we don't want to abuse it with international calls. Hard not knowing what is going on, especially with the time difference.

The jetlag is getting better. We started setting the alarm to try to keep to normal waking times. Seems to be helping, especially with the kids.

[Ungerers (Tanja U)]

Please shout if you need anything, or if you just want to have a coffee and chat.

Welcome to Melbourne.

xxxx

Tanja

[kangaroo]

Hi Polly

Thank you for your lovely post and congrats on having landed safely in marvellous Melbourne! As many of the other forumites have done, I have been following your story too and I sincerely hope that you & your family will be blessed and increasingly very happy in your new life Down Under.

Sounds like you put in significant effort and imagination with regard to preparing your kids for their new environment Don't even stress about them being 'too wild' - they sound lively, enthusiastic and curious - in other words: intelligent!

I hope you keep on settling in as well as you've been doing so far. Perhaps a good idea to get your own cell phone as soon as possible and also a landline (if you don't have one yet) - international calls to and from landlines are more cost-effective. (PM me for more detail if you like). Skype is also a winner if both sides (both you and your family in RSA) are connected.

It's also definitely a good idea to meet up regularly with other people in your area and rest of Melbourne - some truly fantastic people there!

I wish you all the very best in the meantime - with your positive attitude, I'm sure you will feel right at home in no time.

PS: Hope the missing suitcase makes a swift reappearance soon!

[lyall]

hey polly,

it si so great that you arrived safe and sound, albeit minus one suitcare...

you give the rest of us courage when we read about positive experiences, thanks. I must admit I am thankful I am not taking any children with me..maybe Im just too old, but it all sounds like a lot of work..it sounds like you manged perfectly and obviously put a lot of thought in beforehand.

...how's your dad doing?

[polly]

I haven't gotten any real updates on my father yet, which makes it harder for me I think. It is also harder than I thought to stay so close to a boat yard. MY father was an avid yachtsman and staying so close to what he would have loved, hurts too much, so I think as soon as this lease expires (the 10th), we will find somewhere to stay in a different area (currently Williamstown / Newport). We are thinking of trying to take a drive around and look at different areas. Once we have a more permanent residence, we will get a landline (and internet ).

We found a park three minutes walk from where we stay. The number of parks and safe areas for kids is astounding. Wonderful safe walkways too. The kids had a ball going to the park and playing a bit. The wind is just very cold and gusts a lot at the moment, so we couldn't stay long. The kids keep begging to go to the beach

Hubby survived his first train trip to work this morning (poor man had to walk in the rain). We took a drive to see the route. The station is just over 1km away. He loves rather taking a train than driving. He was home in half an hour. We are in zone one, so a trip costs $6. He will buy a monthly ticket once we know where we will stay. (PS can anyone tell me what these "buy from plan places" are like? THey seem a lot cheaper, so what's the catch?)

PS Hubby LOVES the Aussie humour in ads, he falls off the chair laughing every time.

[NAL]

Polly

Welcome to Melbourne....ST me if you need any assistance

NAL

[Martinp]

Hi you guys, welcome to Melbourne! I am really glad that everything went ok for you guys. Doing this with kids must be very hard but you did quite well!

Enjoy Melbourne and keep us updated of your progress!!

[polly]

Survived another day. They brought our missing bags last night and it was all there! Nothing missing. Miracles are happening all around us The sun is also shining a bit more, so the kids are looking forward to playing on the beach tomorrow.

We are going to start house-hunting tonight, see where we want to stay more permanently. We are looking at moving to the eastern side. Hubby works in central Melbourne, so anywhere around the city is fine, as long as he can take the train.

Now I have to go look for a pram. We didn't have space so had to leave ours behind in SA It is so weird not to have big chain stores around. Coles here is the size of a small P'nP

[Guest Bronwyn]

Polly if you join the library you should get free internet for about half an hour a day each. They will usually let you stay on longer if it's quiet.

Good luck and be strong.

Bronwyn

[Johnny & Rene]

Hi Polly,

Glad to hear you are coping with everything new around you.

You and your family are still in our prayers, please keep us updated on your father.

Rene

[Esthee]

Hi Polly,

Glad to hear that things are going ok with you and the family. Hope you find a permanent home soon.

Esthee