Mara Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Yay, glad to hear you arrived safely in Australia, hope your journey to Perth goes without a hitch.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazzn Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Glad to hear you arrived at your first stop safely. Hope the trip to Perth is an easy one 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnYellowBrickRd Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Sterkte met die voete vind...dit neem 'n rukkie maar geniet solank al die frustrasies wat AFwesig is in jul doen en late 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Last night we unpacked, bathed and were in bed before 00:00.This morning I think I had something similar than a hangover? We got up and got ready to go out to look for a breakfast-spot, when an old friend dropped in with something to eat. We were really supprised and thankfull. She dropped us of at Bayswater for our car rental and from there, we went to Westpac for our proof of residence and to Medicare. Aparantly we have to wait 2 days before they can give us a printed medicare slip. We also have to register online with Centrelink. The medicare card will be delivered within 2 weeks.Our rental is on the 9th floor and has everything we might need - linnen, dishwasher, washing mashine, tumble dryer, iron and board, blow dryer, cleaning equipment. It helps a lot to come off the plane, dead tired, to a clean, well-equipped place.Now we have to get some basic groceries, but first we 'rest our feet' a bit.I think if we figured out the busses, it might have been better to just take the bus to St Georges Terrace, where the banks and Medicare are, because parking is scarse and expensive and you may only park for 30 min. So in the end you have to run around to avoid a parking ticket.After all the walking we bought a Hungry Jack's meal and now we are resting before going to look for a vodaphone and Coles.Tomorrow it is car-hunting and we have to start looking for rentals - anyone with advice on Perth schools are welcome to inbox or comment on here. I really need assistance regarding making a decision on schools.Thanks for listening, untill tomorrow then! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 Kanniewagnie it's so great to hear you got such a well appointed rental, that must really help! Good luck for the next few days, I can't wait for the next installment :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 We went yesterday late afternoon to get a vodaphone sim and groceries. The internet apparently went offline, so we have to return today to complete the transaction. It might be that the guy just wanted to knock off, because we were there just before closing time. We went into Coles and when we came out (about 19:00), the mall were empty! Not a soul around, weird... This shopping malls are nothing like the ones we are used to, lol!Our first groceries:Dorito's 3.19 each, but 2 for 5Avo's, 2 for 4.502 x T-bone, 14.56500 g deli sausage 8Grean beans 375 g, 3.981 kg mince, 76 x Lamb chops 14.21Drumsticks 7.09Cheese 500g 4.502 l milk 2.992-min noodles x 5, 3Special on eggs 700 g, 2.50Long-life milk per l, 0.95Honey 340 g, 5Dish washing liquid 450 ml, 1.802 l sunflower oil, 6.10white vinigar 750 ml, 2.85900 g oats, 1.45White bread, 0.853 kg white sugar, 5.672 kg flour, 1.851 kg tomatoes, 6.481 kg potatoes 3.48Carrots 1 kg, 1.98Brown onions, 1.980.957 g pumpkin, 3.33500 g Nescafe blend 43, 164 Bananas, 1,1935 g dry yeast, 2.302 kg rice, 324 pack toilet paper, 10.80Peanut butter 375 g, 3.50Vegemite, 150 g, 3.30Cordial 2 l, 2.20500 ml tomato sauce, 1.50375 g weet bix, 2.89100 tea bags, 1.75Washing powder 1 kg, 4Total (some of the items we bought more than one, so total is more than sum of above): 233.42I did not have to buy salt or margarine, my good friend brought this to my house yesterday morning. There are also a lot of cleaning agents in our apartment. I bought the vinigar to clean the scale from the shower door, but saw afterwards here is some bathroom cleaning products like domestos, White King whipes, etc.I also saw last night here are cake tins and cupcake tins in the oven! So I'll be able to bake a cake for my daughter's 11th birthday. Just have to get baking powder, baking marg and icing.Tomorrow it will be off to look for a car to buy... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 We bought a Hyundai I30 at John Hughes @ Albany Rd today. We also now have cell numbers. Each day is a step closer to becomming settled again.We walked through Target a bit, but the rest of the day we just spent 'home'.The kids swam a while in the appartment's swimming pool, but the water was a bit too cold for them.Tomorrow we'll figure out the bus/train system to see what route to take to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batsie Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 You making steady progress. Congrats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SML Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Thanks for sharing. Everyone always says how expensive it is there but most of those prices are not much more than here! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozellem Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Hie, hie, in a weird way its strange how a load of strangers are reading someone's shopping list and its perfectly normal on here I am not a coffee drinker and the difference between 100 tea bags and 500g instant coffee is insane. Drink more tea! I would probably have held off on the t-bone steaks for a bit, but each to their own. Good choice on the oats and other old fashioned (cheap) stuff. I never buy any meat/chicken for more than $10 a packet. I have some crazy price threshold at $10, dont know why. I once went to Woolies on a Sunday morning, probably around 9, and found them marking down stacks of meats. Bulk buy when you see the special prices and pop it in the freezer. Round my area all the mums buy at a wholesales butcher too. These things will become clearer to you once you have properly settled and start speaking to the locals. Good job so far. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I was naughty, went to Coles again for some retail therapy: now hubby gets anxious if I go in there lol!Many items were on special - I hope it stays on special, because the regular price gives me pulpitations...2 l milk, $ 21 kg Coles spread $1.60500 g salt, $1500 g assorted creams (koekies) 4.99 120g salad mix $2500g appricot jam 2.50French classic ( brown onion soup powder ) $0.46Cake mix $2Cheerios Honey 305 g. 1.99Tim-tams200g. 3.49125 g Baking powder 2.50420 g Baby peas $1.9995 g tuna in brine 0.80Rhodes Fruit salad 825g. 2.00Only curry powder I could see: continental hot-pot 100 g. 2.99Bread 0.85Sultanas 375 g 2.50Cucumber 1.98Roast chicken 11.00 Hot dog rolls 2.00Custard powder 350 g 1.19Ok, I KNOW I bought 'a few' unneccessary items, but I reccon if you are longing for home, friends, etc, one should be able to at least enjoy a good meal and some tasty treats too, (?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) (read slowly) Oh my goodness, We went to explore the bus / train - thing.Very efficient, but be prepared to W-a-l-k a lot more than you are used to. I think my legs will look like a super model's soon!We used the online route planner to find the bus stop numbers and we walked with the gps, telling us where to go exactly (and not being scared once that someone would grab it)We took the train into the city from St Lawley, (cost $2 per ticket)Family day tickets which cater for up to 7 persons and can be used all day are NOT available during the week. Only weekends and public holidays.You touch the screen, select the ticket you want and pay ( note that max change given is 9,90, so do not pay with a too big note)We rushed into the train and grabbed the nearest pole, looking like scared weirdo's, and after a while sat down. The voice in the train telling at which station it is stopping, is a bit too soft, so you must listen carefully!We climbed off at Perth main station, where they check your ticket when you leave the gated area and we went to the Transperth Info centre where we bought two cards (non refundable $10 each) on which you can load money to simply tag on and off and makes life easier not requiring cash and change going about.The kids could not get cards, because their cards are, if I understand correct, concession cards, determined and approved by the school they will be attending.We walked to Hubby's work address for him to get the route and timing right and afterwards to Medicare to see if they could give us a slip with our Medicare number on, as the lady told us 2 days ( I phoned them this morning, but they had an automated voice saying to phone later due to high call volumes).We got a computer generated number and sat in the que for almost an hour, only to hear that our forms were not processed yet and we had to try again on Monday... Oh well, at least the seats were soft and it was airconned and no-one enterred my personal space. You see a lot of funny looking characters in there though...We walked again to the bus stop, used our cards to tag on, paid 80c per child and climbed off at our doorstep!In retrospect, we should have taken the bus first and then go to the transperth station to buy the cards and go home with the train, (purely because we wanted to experience both and the bus driver tell you exactly what is due, while at the small station, we were very uncertain about what tickets to select, with no one there to assist.)Tip, put enough water in fridge previous night and carry with. I also put crisps in for the kids, because they get irritated and tired soon.Remember sunglasses, sunscreen, hats for kids at least.We went to city beach at about 4o'clock and the kids enjoyed it very much.The people here seems so relaxed! We saw a lot of people going to the park and beach by the time we left and realised the lifestyle here is way different. We told the kids they have to remember it is not going to be like this every day, because at some point they will have to start school...We saw quite a few homeless people, which I really feel sad about. 70% of them were indigenous. Some are quite loud, shouting on the street, but people simply ignore them and hopefully they are not violent.The little alleys are littered, with graffiti and I recall one place smelling like urine. But still the city centre is by far safer and cleaner and better than Pretoria CBD.I Edited March 5, 2015 by Kanniewagnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Avg costs for Hungry Jacks 2 adults 2 kids $22.60 (cheapest on menu, 3 stunner burgers with chips and soft drinks and ice creams incl and 6 nuggets) and playground for kids compare almost to our Wimpy.Car insurance will cost us $80 monthly, but we'll look out for something cheaper, bacause apparantly you can still change within first month.Phone contract $30 is the cheapest with Vodaphone, but they do have other packages that incl a certain amnt of international calls / sms' and free vodaphone to vodaphone calls and data.Lesson learnt today: don't drive to Freemantle - there is no parking, seemingly especially over weekends. Take the train.Positive for today: 1. Secret Harbour beach is absolutely beautiful. 2. We decided to look for rentals in the Duncraig area, but I'm sure when my husband starts to work on the 16th, his SA colleagues will also recommend good areas. 3. There will be a bring & braai in Kings Park on 22 March and so far 45 families will attend.We visited the SA Heritage shop yesterday and I think that our love for SA brand products can easily cause bankruptcy!! The joy of being served in our home language was priceless, though...We still feel a bit lost ( like we miss a place of our own, and a feeling that we don't belong yet), but we know this is normal and hopefully will get better each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnYellowBrickRd Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Car insurance will cost us $80 monthly, but we'll look out for something cheaper, bacause apparantly you can still change within first month..www.comparethemarket.com.auI reckon insurance shouldn't be more than $500 a year! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 It is good to see you are settling... tell your daughter I said Happy Birthday :jester: for tomorrow! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OubaasDik Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 You must be rich Tbones AND avosI remember that for the first 6 years, the wife and I used to refuse to buy avos becasue I could get them at the robots on Ontdekkers for R230 for about 10 of them ....Those were the days 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 (edited) Ha, ha OBD Let's just say I really try to provide healthy & filling meals, because we cannot afford to get ill now.Not that my strategy seems to work, because I have a cold since yesterday. It is quite depressing opening the cupboards when the kids ask for 'something' to eat and you cannot offer them much... And nothing seems to taste the same (not even the Oros we bought at the SA Shop).I'm impressed by the size of the chicken drumsticks, but for that price, it SHOULD be!I'll pass on Tim Tams as well in future, it's vrek-duur, but I was curiousI'm surprised by the vegemite's taste - I like it! Hubby still prefers Bovril. We only bought groceries at Coles, so there might be other brands at other shops. (I could have sworn we saw I & J when we were here in 2012, but I couldn't find any now)I'm a bit disappointed with the medicare registration, because they don't give the slip straight away and said we can get it in 2 day's time. On our return, and 45 min wait, we were told to come back Monday... And they don't help with centrelink registrations. It has to be done online and I tried.... Not sure what & where. All confusing.I'll visit another branch of Medicare tomorrow in Morley, maybe they will be more helpful.I baked a cake for my daughter today and used a casserole over a dinner plate to keep it untill tomorrow. She is tearful when talking about her 'maatjies' back in SA with whom she wanted to share her birthday.I was also wondering, how long did you guys take before the kids went back to school? Our container is only coming end April and we'll probably rent from beginning May - i don't want to put them in one school and then move them to another. I thought I'll contact the head master at Duncraig Primary to ask his advise, but it is still a huge distance from Mt Lawley to there if they go earlier. Edited March 8, 2015 by Kanniewagnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I applied online for the TFNumbers yesterday. The Duncraig Primary school replied - and as I expected, they cannot enroll prior to having a rental... I'm a bit frustrated, because they have to be out of school so long.We went to Medicare/centrelink at Morley today. The service there was much better & faster than their CBD branch's. They helped us to link our Centrelink & MyGov account and we finally received a Medicare temp slip.Tomorrow Hubby is going to see his employer.One important thing left to do is to convert our drivers licenses. We went to visit a petting farm animal zoo at Swan Valley today, because it's my daughter's birthday. The heat was quite exhausting and I'm still suffering from a cold. The kids enjoyed it very much.The cake looked better than it tasted.... So here's a tip: don't buy Coles' chocolate cake mix if you're used to home baked. I'll just make custard and add ice cream - maybe it'll taste better then... Lol!Important question: please refer me to a butcher here in Perth who sells edible boerewors? Please do not tell me to make it myself. I'm not ready for measures that extreme yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 We converted our drivers licenses yesterday. We were so far the most impressed by the DOT, quick, efficient, pleasant.We were so relieved that this was done, that we 'took the rest of the day off'. ( it was my 40th birthday, after all!! So hubby made us the stake with bread rolls and salad. Thanks Hun')Today we drove way up north to Clarkson, Duncraig, Burns Beach, Mindarie, Etc just to remind ourselves of what we're looking for in a suburb. I think in the end the suburb will decide if it wants us. We saw Channel 9 yesterday about the WA rental crisis and I'm really stressing about our container arriving without us having a rental!We got our Hyundai today, just so sorry it has to stand out in the scourching heat. Damn, how we took our lovely houses for granted back in SA.Now off to realestate.com again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 The coles traditional boerewors wasn't bad at all! We were pleasently surprised.We were dead scared of the cyclone coming this way, but thankfully it passed rather unnoticeably. ( just windy and rained a bit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 The past week was rough. Hubby started work - he had good and bad days so far. Our emotions were on the low side, but started to pick up again yesterday. We applied for a rental in Duncraig, but did not hear any news yet. The kids will start school on Monday. I took a chance to pop in at school and discussed with the Principle the predicament were in regarding us wanting to stay in Duncraig, just a matter of time finding the right rental. So I got a few pieces of school clothes at the 2nd hand shop and they can start on Monday!Please hold thumbs for that rental to be approved now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SML Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 The emotional roller coaster is awful. Once the kids are in school & you have your own place it will get better. We will be hopefully joining you guys in May/June.. Hang in there! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batsie Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 All the best with the rental Kannie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 Good news! Our rental was approved and we can move in on 24 Apr. Hopefully the container will be here by then... Is anyone looking for furnished accom close to Perth CBD from 24th to 30 April? It's a stunning 2bed apmnt with WiFi and dishwasher, washing masj, tumble dryer, close to Mt Lawley train station and bus stop right in front. Let me know via PM.Kids started school on Monday at Duncraig Primary. They were a bit overwhelmed and found the change hard to deal with. We reassured them that it is OK to feel sad and that they may cry and we understand they miss their teachers and friends. yesterday they already had a better day and I hope that things will now improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batsie Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 Congrats on the rental approval. Am sure you feel relieved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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