Insider tips

[Antoinette]

The cheapest is probably a bungalow in a smaller caravan park. Belair: $80/night. 1 dubble bed and 1 bunk. Table, kitchenette and shower. Linen costs extra. Very small. Will be hard to live there with 2 children and 11 suitcases. Must book in advance. Top bunk probably has no railing so for small children put matress on floor.

We could not find place there or in Mount Barker caravan pak so we asked the Tom-tom for suggestions. The first place it took us was Handorf resort (near mount barker where we were). Nice big bungalow that has 2 doublebeds, 1 single and 1 bunk. En suite shower. Kitchenette. Linen included. Fresh towels, soap, coffee, tea every day. $100/night. Laundry. Nice, relaxing surroundings. It is not a long term thing but that is about as cheap as you will get. Unless you are prepared to go really small or do without a kitchenette.

It took us two weeks to look at, decide on and secure a rental. If you want to get one quickly, use http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsear...p;t=ren&cu=

They are all on there. And you must use it. The agents here work differently. Agents from surrounding towns will also market properties in Mount Barker. If you walk into an agent in say mount barker and ask for a list of rentals in mount barker they will not include the properties marketed by agents of the same agency but other offices. Weird, not like South Africa. Here an agency sells franchises and the offices are basically in competition with one another.

VIEWINGS ARE MOSTLY ON WEDNESDAYS so if you land on Saturday get your ducks in a row. Get a SIM card and get connected on the Monday(Can get SIM card and wireless broadband from a Telstra office instantly- just need your passport), look at properties and choose the ones you like, phone the agents to get viewing times and go otherwise you might end up waiting till next week. Some agents will show you properties during the week. Have your rental pack ready. And offer $10/week more than the asking price. You must chase up the agents. Fill in the application and give everything to him/her right there. It is hard, cause your head feels funny and the last thing you want to do is stress more but really it is good advice. We did it with the two places we liked and we got both 24 hours after handing in our applictions. Dress up, put make up on and tell the children to behave when you go to the viewings.

Get a GPS. We bought a Tom-tom One and it has been well worth it. Hungry? Choose Macdonalds. Need to go to all the car dealers? Choose car dealers near you and it lists all of them in and around town in order of proximity. Need to go to a mall. Choose shopping mall. It knows more than the locals and it is always friendly and ever willing to help. And if you have to be at one viewing at 3:30 and another at 3:45 you can just sit back and let the tom-tom take you there

We are moving into our rental tomorrow. I wanted to buy the children hamsters for their new home but hamsters are not allowed in Australia. Have to settle for a rat. I thought they were vermin.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Edited September 18, 2008 by Mara

[Annette]

Excellent Antoinette. You sound so level-headed and relaxed - and then you still have time to advise others. Great! And a satnat is a MUST. My husband calls his Annette

[Numbawun]

Thanks for that Antoinnette - Very helpful ! Are the rentals generally furnished or unfurnished ?

[Antoinette]

Ah, Anette. I learned through trial and error and now I am just paying it forward. It saves a lot of money (boggerollies) if you can get your rental in the first week.

The rentals are not furnished. In mount barker half have curtains and the other half have blinds. They do not come with dishwashers. The modern small 3-bedroom houses sometimes do not even have space for a dishwasher. It is definately a step back for me!

In the yellow pages there are companies that offer short-term rentals of household stuff. We were so lucky and blessed with the most fantastic friends and their friends who all pitched in and now we have 3 inflatable matresses, a perfectly good washing machine that was standing in somebody's garage (an Australian, a friend of a friend of a friend - really just gobsmackingly absolutely unbelievably fantastic), microwave etc. One matress does have a wee bit of a puncture but my 4 year old doesn't seem to notice that he wakes up on the floor. Selfs 'n TV. En 'n 2002 bottel chiraz wat soos liquid gold afgaan.

Anette, ek stress soos ek lanklaas gestress het. As ek geweet het van die marathon wat vandag gehardloop is het ek ingeskryf want ek sou hom gewen het ek is so van die adrenalien (wel die veteran class at least). Vandag het ek vir die eerste keer weer vir 'n vlugtige oomblik soos 'n mens gevoel. Maar dit was gou-gou weg. Om met 2 klein kindertjies, wat soos orkaantjies is heeldag, die ding te doen is hoog op die skaal van stress. Ek is ook nie meer in my twenties nie en om van huis te verander is vir my omtrent so stressvol soos wat dit vir 'n kat is. Ek gaan nog ietsie in die LL skryf oor wat die ding aan 'n vrou en haar verhouding met haar man doen.

As julle niemand hier ken wat kan help nie, bring ten minste opblaasmatrassies saam. Ek het 'n lekker groot elektriese braaipan gekoop by die eerste beste meubelwinkel vir AUD50 wat, maal met 7 maar net R350 is, wat goedkoper as 'n Bauerpan is en baie beter werk.

Moenie worry nie. 'n Goeie vriendin van die forum het vir my gese "don't sweat the small stuff". 'n Mens pas rerig gou-gou aan.