First few days in Australia

[HadEnoughofJuju]

I am going to try and remember as much as I can because the last couple of days have been an absolute blur and (I think) we are still very emotional and raw at this stage but we are doing well under the circumstances. The Eager2Go family have been here since December and seem to have settled quite nicely and have really been great to us. We made friends with them at a coffee club meeting in Pretoria around this time last year and seem to have just gelled really well. They have made this landing really soft for us and there are no words to thank them for what they have done for us or to express what it means to us. There have been so many things that have just fallen into place over the last couple of months that we know that we are meant to be here and that we are following the right path.

We left Johannesburg International Airport (yes, I still refuse to call it that other name) on Saturday evening at around 17:50 on a Qantas/SAA code sharing flight. We weren't really sure if we were going to be able to fly because of the fact that we were on concession tickets and had to take what we could get but by grace there were 38 open seats on the flight so the ground host just booked us in and gave us our boarding passess. We were also lucky enough to get three seats next to one another.

It was a very long, exhausting and stressful flight. The Qantas staff and service were great but I was unfortunate enough to experience that typical old selfish, self centered attitude (with a heavy dose of self entitlement thrown in) that so many South Africans have. The TV screen on my seat (and this will happen to me of all people) was broken so I decided that because the three seats behind me were empty that I would move and use one of them, when I got to them the who was sitting with his wife and daughter in front of me had moved and was sitting in the middle seat of the three. I asked him if he would mind me sitting next to him so that I could get a bit of entertainment in. Believe it or not this responded with a VERY disgruntled attitude and told me that he was planning on sleeping across the three seats and he was highly irritated while telling me this. I lost my cool a bit but just walked away and decided to ask his wife if she would mind me sitting in the aisle seat because I figured her daughter was sitting in the middle so it would be open. Should have know better with a for a husband. She promptly told me that they would be using all three seats (nice, pay for three and use six ). I am afraid that my opinion on that one is, if you come to Australia with that attitude then well please get back on the plane and go right back to South Africa and stay there, this wonderful country is not for selfish jerks you.

Clearing customs was an absolute pleasure. We were handed passenger cards during the flight to fill in on which you declare any medication, food or other items of interest. We said yes to the food stuffs and medication (because we were carrying our 6 month supply of prescription meds as well as some other prescribed medication). The first customs official checked our passports and asked what kind of medication and food we were carrying and we told him about the prescriptions and sealed chips and chocolates and he stamped our passports and waved us on through. The second official at the screening section only asked about the food and we gave him the same response and he said enjoy your stay and exit through lane 8. No bags were opened or checked and everyone was very friendly.

Having flown on concession tickets we could not pre-book any connecting flights from Sydney to Brisbane so there was no shuttle from the international terminal to the domestic terminal for us so we had to buy tickets and use the airport train. This was an entertaining exercise with 2 adults, a 5 year old, 3x24kg bags, 3 hand luggage bags (which were the maximum size and packed to their maximum weight capacities), 2 backpacks and a camera. I have no idea how people with 2 bags per person and more than one child do this.

Once we got to the domestic terminal my wife and daughter literally stood somewhere in the middle of the departures hall while I ran from airline counter to airline counter looking for the best deal. This is where I experienced that true Australian friendliness and helpfulness. I first asked at Jetstar ($349.00 per ticket, not in our budget), then I went to Tiger Airlines. I explained to the very pleasant lady that I needed to get to Brisbane and how much luggage we had. Tiger Airlines tickets are cheap because they don't have any checked in luggage included. She explained to me that we would have to buy checked in luggage which would cost $70.00 per 15kg bag and $20.00 per kg over that. Avery quick calculation revealed that luggage alone would cost $250.00 per person, add $76.00 to that for the air ticket and suddenly Tiger Airlines is not so cheap. Believe it or not she suggested that because of the weight that I goto Virgin Atlantic (who by the way are the only airline in the domestic terminal that accept cash) and buy tickets there because they have checked luggage as part of the ticket price.

There were more surprises waiting for me at the Virgin counter. I again explained my predicament to the very pleasant lady behind the counter who proceeded to tell me that they were bumping passengers up to earlier flights to fill them up and that she could book me on the cheapest flight and then simply move me to an earlier one at no extra charge. I would however have to pay an extra $35.00 surcharge because I was booking at the airport but was told I could avoid that by going over to the free Telstra internet points and simply booking online (we could not do this because there was no credit card). All in all it cost us $522.00 for the three of us to get to Brisbane and we pretty much booked, paid and boarded. We arrived in Brisbane at around 17:40 to find Dave standing waiting for us (having collected our luggage which was easy to spot being the only three bags that were cling wrapped).

It was really nice to see a friendly and familiar face after all the travel and mission we went through to get to Brisbane. It's so worth the trouble and effort you go through in the visa process. I am going to leave it there for now because it's late and we have an appointment in the morning to buy a car so hold thumbs. This saga will continue tomorrow.

[Toitjie]

hi, its so good to read this. Thanx for the update!

[MrandMrsK]

Phew, I am tired just reading this!! Congrats on keeping your cool and getting there safely!

Keep us updated with your experiences and thank you for sharing!

[zamunda]

Congratulations!!

We are yet to move to Oz permanently, but have been travelling to Melbourne many times over the last few years. The experience we receive each time we get to one of the air ports in Oz is simply amazing (especially coming from Africa). Staff friendliness can be over whelming as we are not used to this here

This is pretty much the same where ever you go in Oz. Exceptions do exsist, but only a small percentage.

One thing we will not do is fly SAA/Quantas. The last time we did this was six years ago and never again. Even if the tickets are cheaper. the SAA air crafts are old buckets of bolts. Half the time the on board entertainment does not work. At times they have those large CRT screens that drop down from above in the middle of the centre ceiling. During our last trip on SAA the entire left side toilets stoped working Why SAA flies such old air crafts on such a popular route beats me.

[Sa2Nz2Oz]

HEOJ, good read on your first experience, its all part of the challenge! We are doing this on Friday coming but going to Hong Kong first, all our rental car, accomodation for 1st week ready and some bookings to see rental apartments. Our journey begins, your journey progresses. Good luck with following days.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Sa2Nz2Oz

[Brad76]

I can think of a few reasons why ZA Munda!

In December we flew on a qantas plane to Sydney and SAA back from Perth - chalk and cheese!.

The SAA flight was a disaster, the entertainment system was ancient and didn't work AT ALL! The plane was 1 of 2 that came off the ark, I think the other is already a window frame, mug or whatever else the metal eventually gets recycled into.

Friends of mine flew back a week later on the same plane and the plane had to cruise below the normal 40,000 feet for "technical" reasons. I will never board another SAA plane again!!!!

BTW HEOJJ, personally I hate people like that, parents probably didn't teach them any manners growing up. Should've complained to the cabin crew because technically speaking he was out of his allocated seat, surely that must present a problem! At the end of the day he had no claim to either of those seats, you've should've just sat down, what was he going to do about it!

[Maktub]

Having flown on concession tickets we could not pre-book any connecting flights from Sydney to Brisbane so there was no shuttle from the international terminal to the domestic terminal for us so we had to buy tickets and use the airport train. This was an entertaining exercise with 2 adults, a 5 year old, 3x24kg bags, 3 hand luggage bags (which were the maximum size and packed to their maximum weight capacities), 2 backpacks and a camera. I have no idea how people with 2 bags per person and more than one child do this.

Haha! Remembering me all alone like this...good memories now

Glad you have already experienced the Aussie helpfulness and friendliness!

Hope you are having fun settling in and having all these new experiences!

[Lyn]

Welcome to Australia - or should I say Welcome Home.

Happy settling !

[Joeemm]

Just echoing the others "Welcome to Australia" and the bright new adventure full of possibilities.

I'm confident you will find it an amazing place.

Enjoy the ride.

[jm01]

GOOD LUCK,HOPE ALL YOUR DREAMS COMES TRUE OVER THERE.Keep us posted on your experiances.

[deroche]

Welcome to Australia!

[KrugerRand]

HEOJ, that will be us in 8 weeks time....shudder! We have been most fortunate in that we have friends who have migrated before us and they have been and still are invaluable support in our transition to Oz. How folk emigrate without ever having been over before blows my mind....admirable to say the least!! Best of luck in finding your feet and feeling at home real soon!

[LindaandPaul]

Wishing you and your family all the best. Our thoughts are with you. Hope it is an awesome experience and that you find a nice car and rental and get your little girl settled soon.

[Jacovl]

Thank you for the update.

Wish you & your family all the best with the new chapter in your journey.

[AlBrough]

Congratulations on how far you have gone. Best of luck with your new life

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Thank you all for the encouragement and warm welcome to Australia. In a strange way it feels like we have come home. People are just so friendly and helpful and realise that you are from a foreign country and are still learning how things work. The other thing that stands out for me is the fact that there is absolutely no importance attached to skin colour. It just simply means nothing. It does no matter where you are from or what religion your are or what work you do, you are treated with respect and dignity. I have only been here since Sunday and I have already fallen in love with this country.

[zamunda]

Thank you all for the encouragement and warm welcome to Australia. In a strange way it feels like we have come home. People are just so friendly and helpful and realise that you are from a foreign country and are still learning how things work. The other thing that stands out for me is the fact that there is absolutely no importance attached to skin colour. It just simply means nothing. It does no matter where you are from or what religion your are or what work you do, you are treated with respect and dignity. I have only been here since Sunday and I have already fallen in love with this country.

Doesn't it make you proud to be an AUSTRALIAN!!

Just like it is the people that turn a house into a home, it is the society that turns a land into a country.

[BriD]

Congratulations!! Exciting to have finally reached the start of your new adventure. Good luck with all the settling in.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Monday was a Public holiday so we just chilled and did as little as possible. A small tip, fly on a Thursday so that you are forced to not do anything for 2 days after you land. It gives you time to acclimatise and get used to the weather, which depending on where you are, can add to the discomfort of jet lag.

We spent most of the day on Tuesday walking around Brisbane and sorting out our banking and cell phones. We first went to the Commonwealth bank and met our personal (excuse me) migrant relationship manager. She was an absolute pleasure to speak to and sorted us out with bank cards, information and even gave us coffee and my daughter got easter eggs and hot chocolate and when she was finished with that the barrister brought her a colouring book and pencils (to keep) so that she wouldn't be bored while we did our banking. I must say at this point that the service was excellent and I can recommend the Commonwealth bank and especially the Brisbane branch on the corner of Queen and Edward street in the city. The lady that we dealt with gave us all sorts of helpful advice and answered all our questions no matter how ridiculous they sounded.

The one thing about the city that freaked me out a bit was the street crossings, the traffic lights (only in some intersections) on all four sides turn red and the people just start walking in all directions. You just walk to where you want to be, whether it be diagonal, straight or a combination. I could have stood there all day just watching people cross the road.

We also had our first take away in the city, a subway combo, which was divine. We a bit of a laugh though at the counter though because as we joined the back of the queue the guy started asking us what we wanted and we were completely overwhelmed. We first had to choose our bread and there were about 6 different choices. Then came the cheese again 3 choices and then the toppings, this time there were six to choose from (capsicum is green pepper in Australian by the way). I think they realised that this was our first time and that we were "tourists" because we just couldn't keep u with their pace. The next thing I know I get three subs shoved in my hand with three empty cups and a $15 bill. I then realised that the cups were for the self service soft drink fountain. Subways make really good subs by the way.

After lunch we looked for the Telstra shop to get a prepaid sim card. They cost a whole $2 and the only thing you need to show is your Passport. Apparently Telstra are the only ones that don't require you to provide proof of residential address. WE HAVE A NUMBER YIPEEEEEE! Also bought 2 $5 recharge vouchers and recharged the phone. We carried on walking around the city a bit and all I kept thinking was how clean and safe it is. I never saw a single beggar homeless person or dustbin digger the entire time we were there and I don't think that they were hiding because we were there either.

Some of the things I learnt from the migrant banker:

1. If an estate agent or landlord wants cash from you for a rental, walk away. Believe it or not it's frowned upon to deal with cash especially if it is really large sums of money (something to do with tax evasion which is heavily frowned upon).
2. When you buy a car, if the cars salesman wants cash, again, just walk away. Same reason above.
3. Your bank card is a powerful tool in the 100 point identification process.
4. There is a first home owners grant for newly arrived permanent residents.

​That was enough for my brain to absorb for one day. Anymore and I think I would have exploded.

We also had a fun time figuring out the trains and although we didn't use them the busses. If you are going to use the public transport in the Brisbane and surrounding areas, get yourself a GoCard and load some money on it. They work much better than buying daily tickets and are also cheaper. They work on all the different busses, trains and tram services throughout Queensland.

This week so far has been rather exhausting and at the moment I am feeling a bit bewildered (after having to go out and buy a car today but that story I will leave for tomorrow) and emotionally wrecked. We also did a bit of shopping today and it was not so much the unfamiliar products that were daunting as the price of things. When you are spending converted rands, things are very expensive. Once you start earning then things aren't so bad.

[AlBrough]

I am loving your updates keep them coming!

[GideonVD]

Cool man, at least its coming along slowly

Keep it coming

PS: I can't wait to get that side..

[MandC]

All I want to know HEOJJ is: HAVE YOU TRIED OUT THE TROLLEYS YET??? LOL!!!

[HadEnoughofJuju]

All I want to know HEOJJ is: HAVE YOU TRIED OUT THE TROLLEYS YET??? LOL!!!

You will unfortunately have to wait for tomorrow's installment of my saga to find out that one.

[MandC]

You will unfortunately have to wait for tomorrow's installment of my saga to find out that one.

I cannot stand the suspense!!!!

[Mikeleigh]

Wow what an epic journey, hope you find the car you looking for, thanks for sharing the details, cant believe the non sharing passengers on the plane, Australia Fair its sposed to be.