Hanliedb Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 I would like to Ask everyone a Question We are leaving South Africa in 2 week, What is the one thing you wish you took with you to Australia? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 My STIHL Brushcutter - here they call em Whipper-Snipper. Few more tools in my luggage - packed most of my tools in boxes that took 3 months to arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 You can also read on these threads: Happy hunting! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottg Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 My wine collection - I gave it away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Hi Depends where you staying but if you feel the cold then warm clothes and leather boots and a long coat. Sydney is cold in the winter. Biltong maker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soon2BOz Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Izzy, we longed for biltong and dried sausage and even bought some really expensive biltong from a market and a deli. My husband decided to make his own biltong maker, he said it cost less than 20 dollars to make and we now have a constant supply of biltong and dried sausage. You can buy the commercially made biltong makers here, but they are quite expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chips Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Interesting thread, would like to know too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermoose Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 I think it would be rather useful to also find out what people wish they HADN'T taken with them. I'll be updating our journal on what our plans are, but the short version is that we're taking very little (which is almost the opposite answer to what I would've given you a year ago). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJVH Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 We arrived in Sydney about a month ago. Our container hasn't arrived yet, and in truth, I'm dreading the day it does arrive. If we could do it again, I would sell EVERYTHING and just start again. We sold about R75,000 worth of stuff before we left and I regret not selling more. Obviously depends on your taste, but with two young kids we have no place for fancy furniture, so IKEA, etc. is fine for us, for now. Main issue at the moment is that we take occupation of our house on March 5, but our container is only due to arrive in mid-April - that means we need to scrounge / rent / outsource / camp for 6 weeks, at considerable expense. We have a fridge coming that won't fit in the house we've rented; we have a massive set of shelves that my partner insisted on taking that also won't fit (and that we paid a small fortune to ship over); a cot that has probably cost us about R7,500 now (purchase price + shipping cost) that we could have bought here for $120... and the list goes on. What has impressed me since arriving is the amount of sales / bargains / discounted retailers to be found here. If you aren't fussy, I reckon you could comfortably furnish your new house for not very much. We bought 2 x 16 piece plain-white crockery sets for $14 from Target, for example. If you aren't fussy, aren't particularly attached to your furniture, sell it all and start again would be my advice. The only things I've seen here that are much pricier than SA are the major appliances - washing machine, etc. We spent around $5,000 shipping our goods over and I reckon for not much more, we could have simply replaced everything. Far less stressful. No waiting. No wondering if the appliance / couch / cupboard is going to fit. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermoose Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Excellent, so that's two votes for the Take Almost Nothing camp. Good news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 We decided on bringing 1/3 of a container for our beds, solid wood furniture, bicycles, tumble dryer, kitchen stuff, tools, photo frames etc. Ended up getting more that 1/3 of the container...so hubby added a few extras. Very glad we brought the stuff we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFreshStart Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 We also took WAY more than we should have. If we did it again it would be mattresses, beds and frames (only because they were new or fairly new and high quality), a few boxes of small personal items and clothes and my musical instruments. Everything else could have been, and in many ways has been, replaced here. Cheers Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendanH Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) 8 hours ago, mistermoose said: Excellent, so that's two votes for the Take Almost Nothing camp. Good news. Another vote for starting from scratch or near as damnit unless you have really, really good furniture that you want to hold onto because nice, solid, hardwood furniture is really expensive here. Oh, and if you are into that sort of thing pack your tools. Edited February 14, 2016 by BrendanH 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pell Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 I had 154 boxes of 'stuff' in my container (apart from the big pieces of furniture, beds etc.), and that was after I cut down massively before we left. I wish I had tossed the lot away and not brought it - I have unpacked maybe 20% of that and if it wasn't for items that my family considers sentimental, I would have put them out on council clean-up day long ago. Glad I brought my bed linen as it's very expensive here, plus I stocked up on Crabtree & Evelyn products, also more expensive here, and unless you make lots of money in that first year, luxury bath goods will not be high on your priority list. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberJoe Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Well, thank you for all that. I had a pretty hard time convincing my wife that we only need to take the minimum and this thread pretty much helped solve the dilemma for me. So instead of hiring a full container, I will now be able to get a MoveCube and we will only take what fits in there. The rest... Gumtree. Already started selling my old electronics and it is seriously amazing how much money you can make by getting rid of old stuff you don’t use any more. I am however surprised at how long it takes to get rid of unwanted stuff. I should have started this process way back when we were applying for our visa, but never did since we weren’t sure that they would grant us the visa. Hindsight... tsk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellykd Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 On 2016/02/15 at 6:16 AM, Pell said: I had 154 boxes of 'stuff' in my container (apart from the big pieces of furniture, beds etc.), and that was after I cut down massively before we left. I wish I had tossed the lot away and not brought it - I have unpacked maybe 20% of that and if it wasn't for items that my family considers sentimental, I would have put them out on council clean-up day long ago. Glad I brought my bed linen as it's very expensive here, plus I stocked up on Crabtree & Evelyn products, also more expensive here, and unless you make lots of money in that first year, luxury bath goods will not be high on your priority list. Hi Pell - talking about 'luxury bath goods' - this might be a silly question ...where did you pack them ? In your main luggage when you traveled or part of the container ? Thought they would tax you on brand new consumables ? Many thanks shelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhatMyles Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Most of the household stuff that we have was bought about five years ago when we got married and setting up home. Being the young couple that we were we couldn't afford real top quality. Some of it is already due for replacement, either due to wear or due to family growth (two kids now). So when we go over in about 2 years, we will only take some bed linen, curtains, 4 spoons and 4 plates, a knife and a pan. The idea is that when we leave that Sydney Airport, we will have everything we own on us! A real fresh start! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoleneW Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 12 hours ago, CyberJoe said: Well, thank you for all that. I had a pretty hard time convincing my wife that we only need to take the minimum and this thread pretty much helped solve the dilemma for me. So instead of hiring a full container, I will now be able to get a MoveCube and we will only take what fits in there. The rest... Gumtree. CyberJoe we are also taking a MoveCube with just sentimentals, kids toys and a bit of kitchen stuff, hard to believe my whole life has to fit into 18 boxes, but I'm looking forward to getting new stuff for our new life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 I was also thinking of taking a large MoveCube. My initial quote comes to around R19k, but don't forget there's a destination charge of $903! So are there any other options around the R30k mark apart from a MoveCube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pell Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 @shellykd, I packed them all in the container. Not taxed on it as it was well under $1000. Again, I didn't overdo it and I guess that's the key. A box of bath goodies won't attract the wrath of the customs powers-that-be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellykd Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 (edited) Ok Pell - thanks for clarifying that - well understood!! Edited February 16, 2016 by shellykd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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