Basirk in Australia

The continuing adventures of Chris Bassett

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2003-04-12 04:05:58 I'm starting to think with an Australian accent. Is that a bad sign?

Just realised I've not really been very, erm, decriptive about my thoughts and feelings. The ladies have been e-mailing me questions like, "What made you go to Aus", and "How do you feel now that you're there". Incedentally, the lads have been e-mailing me questions like "How cheap are houses out there", "How's the ornithology going", and "What's the beach like?"

So, just for the ladies, here goes.

The surf is great and the beach is really clean... oh sorry.

I did this Oz thang because I thought it would be a great laugh. I've not done anything like it before, but I know lots of other people have and without exception they all enjoyed it. I also feel somewhat envious of poeple who have experienced this kind of thing. The money was there and the timing seemed about right. By the time I actually left work I was very much into the idea, and was fully commited to it.

Now I am here and I'm not looking back at all. Yes, it is a holiday, but it is also a life changing experience. I am conciously trying to be more the sort of person I want to be, if that makes any sense. Deep. There is also the possibility that I could get some work here which would be great. I've never worked abroad.

Although I still get anxious about what I am doing from time to time, generally I feel excited by the things that I will be seeing and doing. The feeling I got when I saw Sydney Harbour, the bridge and the Opera House was amazing. You see those pictures all the time on TV, but actually being there is something else. I touched the white tiles of the Opera House - did you know some are shinier and smoother than others?

There you go. Not too gushy I thought.

Well, it's getting dark and I've only a few minutes of surf time left. The logs might get a bit sparse from now on as I'll be moving away from the civilised areas and going into the perilous unknown.

Wish me luck!

2003-04-12 03:20:12 First off, thanks for all the e-mails quys and gells. It's good to know we're not forgotten!

Secondly, sorry for the gap in updates. The last few days have been somewhat hectic.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... We have a van! It's a Mazda E2000, built in 1985, 2L pertrol. It's done about 260,000km (!), has a gearbox like a bag of bolts, but is otherwise fine. We've spent the last 3 days or so kitting out the inside, which had already had some "camper conversions" done to it. We now have two compartments in the back - that is my space and Stu's space. Because the van is quite long there is also space just forward of the compartments for general faffing, or eating, or card playing, or whatever. It was actually quite funny doing the mods. We were in a multistory car-park with the back door up, sawing up stuff. People kept rubber-necking as the drove by.

Here's the down side - it's beige. Still, I can now say that I've owned (well, part owned) a real scooby-doo van (ish). Hmmm. It cost around 1700 quid which really isn't that bad as we also got lots of camping stuff thrown in - yay!

I drove around Syndey! Unlike London, the traffic actually moves! In fact, it was less busy than Southampton, for which I was very grateful.

The crossings/junctions here are weird. The traffic can get a green light, but may still have to give way to pedestrians who also have a green man. Don't let that catch you out fellow explorers!

We're heading out of Bondi tomorrow. The van is now fully provisioned, and we have an adequate tool kit :) The first port of call will be the Blue Mountains which is just SW of Sydney. We want to get in and out of there before the Easter holiday rush. From there we'll be heading up north to do some fossicking (around Glen Innes) - really looking forward to that!

I hear it snowed in Soton. Bad luck chaps ;)

To anyone else who might be thinking of following in our mighty foorsteps, here's a few pointers for getting started when you first arrive in Oz.

1. Get a bank account.
ANZ Bank is goos as charges are less. You'll need 2000 AUS$, which you can probably get as a cach advance on your credit card (some charges will be made for this). You should open the account as within the first 2 weeks of arriving, as after that it gets more complicated. You will probably need 2 forms of id to open an account - passport and driving license is good. You won't get a credit card on your account - just a debit card. The card can take up to 2 weeks to arrive.

2. Get a Medicare Card
Go to any Medicare centre and say you want say you want a Medicare card. You fill in a short form and the card is sent to an address of your choice within 4 weeks. The card allows you access to the Aus medical system including GPs. You'll also get some of your medical costs paid for.

3. Get a Tax Fund Number
You'll need this if you will be working, as you'll get charged less tax on your wages. I think you need a bank account before you can get the Tax Fund Number. You can fill in the form online, or go to the Tax thingy building which is right at the base of the AMP Tower in Sydney (in the same block).

4. Get some wheels
Go to the Kings Cross Car Market. It's a short walk from the Kings Cross train station. You get loads of useful info and chances are you'll get lots of extras (camping gear, mattress etc) with your vehicle. Once you have your wheels, you'll need to register it. This is important as it will make selling your wheels easier. There's lots of things to consider when buying a car/van, and there's a useful info sheet available at the car market that covers it all. If you wheels have NSW plates, you can register them straight away in Sydney (you need the RTA building in Elizabeth Street) Alternatively, any RTA place will do - I think there is one in Bondi Junction. You'll need your driving license to register.

5. Get a surfboard dude!

2003-04-06 21:02:03 Forgot to mention in the last log that we saw some bats in the Royal Bontanic Gardens in Sydney (a really great place). There were *thousands* of them hanging upside-down in the trees. They were the size of rabbits - I kid you not. Their wingspan was over 2 foot!

Did the coastal walk between Bondi and Bronte yesterday which quite good. The surf was amazing - must have been over 12ft high as the mad-surfer-dudes were dwarfed.

My tan is being perfected, but is currently in the transitionary red/pink stage.

Going to look for a car/van today. That should be fun :)

2003-04-05 02:13:12 It's been a busy couple of days. I got my Medicare card, which was surprisingly painless. After walking up to Bondi Junction from Bondi Beach we found the main bus and train terminal. In the complex was a Medicare centre, and within 10 minutes we got our temporary Medicare numbers. These are needed in case we need to see a GP or get medicine. I couldn't see the NHS being that efficient some how.

What with all the showers lately, I thought I'd invest in a rain jacket. The "outdoor camping" shop I went into had an intersting and very helpful shop assistant who told us about all the intersting places to go and visit. I'm sure I'll forget most of the places, but some I think I can remember including a great place to go fossicking (digging for cool stuff like gems). "There be gems in there hills, Prospector!". I bought a book he kept refering to which has some good maps and other info. Maybe I'll make my fortune away from Computers afterall...

Anyway, we got a train into Sydney from Bondi Junction ($3, clean and on time - sound unfamiliar?) and walked into the heart of Sydney. This is one cool place! There's a lot of greenery around the city and the whole place looks clean and open (unlike London). We walked to Harbour Bridge which is an incredible construction! It is awesome the way it looms over the whole city. We climbed up one of the stone pylons (towers) at one end of the bridge for a better view of the harbour and weren't disappointed. Quite spectacular, and it only cost $5 :)

Next stop was the Sydney Opera House which is just around the corner from the bridge. It's quite shiny. Not in the same category as the bridge in the "awesome" stakes, but quite impressive nonetheless (is that one word?)

I should probably mention that the day before last the weather was really quite crap. Blowing a gale (I think literally) and monsoon rain. I swear the weather here is more changable that back in Blighty, and that is saying something.

The only thing that really needs to be done now is get a Tax Fund Number so that I can work without paying stupid tax on my earnings, and get a car. The TFN I'll get when I start working (it can be done online) and the car I'll do next week. We're torn between getting some kind of van that you can kip in, or get an estate type car with a couple of tents. Will keep you posted.

2003-04-02 21:35:54 The weather is, ummm, wet. It's raining! Warm, but raining. Apparently there was a bit of a drought in the summer, and now it's making up for it. Flippin El Nino thingy. Sydney gets more rain than elsewhere, so I'm hoping that as we drift North the rain should make way for sun. Fingers crossed.

With the successful purchase of a mobile phone SIM card, I thought I'd get adventurous and open a bank account. That's done, so all I need to do now is get a tax number and medicine card. Not sure how to do the latter, or even what it's for, but apparently we should have one. The tax number is needed for when I get a job, and we definately need to go to Syndey to do that.

Hope everyone is well back home. I'm quite disappointed that we haven't been invited to any barbies yet, but give the weather that's probably a good thing. I have indulged in a quantity of VB and Toohays to help with the jetlag, with posiive results. I think I may have jetlag for some time though ;)

2003-04-01 22:45:36 I'M HERE!

That was one long flight! Didn't really sleep for 48 hours. Crashed at the hostel yesturday at about 6:00pm and got up at 11:00am the next day. Oops.

Did some body surfing on Bondi beach yesterday which was a most excellent laugh. Now getting the essentials sorted like SIM cards for phones, bank accounts, Tax numbers etc. Haven't dragged ourselves into Sydney yet - saving that for tomorrow :)

Damn these keyboards - keep hitting \ cos the enter key doesn't go up to the second row. Wierd.

Well I've got lots to do, so I'll sign off for now. You guys should now that it did rain a bit yesterday, and it might do again today. But who cares when it's 25 degs in the shade :) Hope you're all ok. Missing ya already.

2003-03-29 09:38:10 This is the last time I'll have access to a PC before I go. We fly out tomorrow at 10:00pm. After all the months of waiting, I can't believe that I'm actually going tomorrow!

We had a leaving party last night, starting in Chutneys on London Road (Southampton) and ending up in Brannigans. Thanks to everyone who came along - I'll miss all of you loads, so make sure you come out and visit! Special thanks to Rachel who's been super smashing with helping out. You're a star, petal ;)

There was nearly a tenner left in the kitty from last night, which I've pocketed and plan on spending on duty-free booze and sunblock. Cheers guys :)

2003-03-23 04:57:11 1 week to go.

One of the reasons I am going to Aus is that the weather here the UK is crap. Would you believe it - the last week has been beautiful sunshine, and it's set to last for another week! You wait, I'll come back after a year and it'll be one of those freak years when in rains all summer.

2003-03-15 18:04:16 Getting panicky now. I've still got loads of things to pack. There's piles of rubbish bags in the garage and a number of half filled boxes. I'm putting most of my stuff into storage which is rather pricey, but there's not a lot of choice available to me. My car's going into storage also. You'll probably hear a lot about my car in later logs :)

There's lots of loose ends here, like the insurance claim on my car (not my nice car, the other one - and it wasn't my fault, ok!), and they've all got to be sorted or passed onto someone else before I go.

Another problem I'm having is condensing my clothes down to a rucksack-full. I've already got rid of half my clothes, but deciding what comes with me and what stays isn't easy. I won't go into the details, it's not worth your time.

And another problem is dust. I'm alergic to it and some swine's been dumping spadefuls of the stuff around my room. You really wouldn't believe how much dust is on my desk. I didn't know it was there until I started tidying. Tidying junk is a bad move. You're just making work for yourself in the long run. I had no choice, but you do. Of course, if you have a girlfriend who's handy with the Pledge, you won't know what I'm talking about and that's just smashing for you.

It doesn't really matter what I write here. It's not like anyone is going to read it anyway. Wible Wobble Winky. Look, I spelt wibble wrong and I don't care!

In the words of Monty Python, "Sorry, this is getting far too silly". You see what stress does to you! Mooooo!

2003-03-14 21:42:04 I've just completed the weblog code. It's 2:45 in the morning! The timestamp lies.

I'm going to Australia on the 30th March! Isn't that just the best thing ever! I'm going for a year and I only have a vague idea what I'll be doing.

Need sleep. More comprehensive entries later - promise.

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To contact me and express your profound appreciation of this site, use this e-mail address: auslog@basirk.com

2003-04-12 04:05:58	I'm starting to think with an Australian accent. Is that a bad sign? Just realised I've not really been very, erm, decriptive about my thoughts and feelings. The ladies have been e-mailing me questions like, "What made you go to Aus", and "How do you feel now that you're there". Incedentally, the lads have been e-mailing me questions like "How cheap are houses out there", "How's the ornithology going", and "What's the beach like?" So, just for the ladies, here goes. The surf is great and the beach is really clean... oh sorry. I did this Oz thang because I thought it would be a great laugh. I've not done anything like it before, but I know lots of other people have and without exception they all enjoyed it. I also feel somewhat envious of poeple who have experienced this kind of thing. The money was there and the timing seemed about right. By the time I actually left work I was very much into the idea, and was fully commited to it. Now I am here and I'm not looking back at all. Yes, it is a holiday, but it is also a life changing experience. I am conciously trying to be more the sort of person I want to be, if that makes any sense. Deep. There is also the possibility that I could get some work here which would be great. I've never worked abroad. Although I still get anxious about what I am doing from time to time, generally I feel excited by the things that I will be seeing and doing. The feeling I got when I saw Sydney Harbour, the bridge and the Opera House was amazing. You see those pictures all the time on TV, but actually being there is something else. I touched the white tiles of the Opera House - did you know some are shinier and smoother than others? There you go. Not too gushy I thought. Well, it's getting dark and I've only a few minutes of surf time left. The logs might get a bit sparse from now on as I'll be moving away from the civilised areas and going into the perilous unknown. Wish me luck!
2003-04-12 03:20:12	First off, thanks for all the e-mails quys and gells. It's good to know we're not forgotten! Secondly, sorry for the gap in updates. The last few days have been somewhat hectic. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... We have a van! It's a Mazda E2000, built in 1985, 2L pertrol. It's done about 260,000km (!), has a gearbox like a bag of bolts, but is otherwise fine. We've spent the last 3 days or so kitting out the inside, which had already had some "camper conversions" done to it. We now have two compartments in the back - that is my space and Stu's space. Because the van is quite long there is also space just forward of the compartments for general faffing, or eating, or card playing, or whatever. It was actually quite funny doing the mods. We were in a multistory car-park with the back door up, sawing up stuff. People kept rubber-necking as the drove by. Here's the down side - it's beige. Still, I can now say that I've owned (well, part owned) a real scooby-doo van (ish). Hmmm. It cost around 1700 quid which really isn't that bad as we also got lots of camping stuff thrown in - yay! I drove around Syndey! Unlike London, the traffic actually moves! In fact, it was less busy than Southampton, for which I was very grateful. The crossings/junctions here are weird. The traffic can get a green light, but may still have to give way to pedestrians who also have a green man. Don't let that catch you out fellow explorers! We're heading out of Bondi tomorrow. The van is now fully provisioned, and we have an adequate tool kit :) The first port of call will be the Blue Mountains which is just SW of Sydney. We want to get in and out of there before the Easter holiday rush. From there we'll be heading up north to do some fossicking (around Glen Innes) - really looking forward to that! I hear it snowed in Soton. Bad luck chaps ;) To anyone else who might be thinking of following in our mighty foorsteps, here's a few pointers for getting started when you first arrive in Oz. 1. Get a bank account. ANZ Bank is goos as charges are less. You'll need 2000 AUS$, which you can probably get as a cach advance on your credit card (some charges will be made for this). You should open the account as within the first 2 weeks of arriving, as after that it gets more complicated. You will probably need 2 forms of id to open an account - passport and driving license is good. You won't get a credit card on your account - just a debit card. The card can take up to 2 weeks to arrive. 2. Get a Medicare Card Go to any Medicare centre and say you want say you want a Medicare card. You fill in a short form and the card is sent to an address of your choice within 4 weeks. The card allows you access to the Aus medical system including GPs. You'll also get some of your medical costs paid for. 3. Get a Tax Fund Number You'll need this if you will be working, as you'll get charged less tax on your wages. I think you need a bank account before you can get the Tax Fund Number. You can fill in the form online, or go to the Tax thingy building which is right at the base of the AMP Tower in Sydney (in the same block). 4. Get some wheels Go to the Kings Cross Car Market. It's a short walk from the Kings Cross train station. You get loads of useful info and chances are you'll get lots of extras (camping gear, mattress etc) with your vehicle. Once you have your wheels, you'll need to register it. This is important as it will make selling your wheels easier. There's lots of things to consider when buying a car/van, and there's a useful info sheet available at the car market that covers it all. If you wheels have NSW plates, you can register them straight away in Sydney (you need the RTA building in Elizabeth Street) Alternatively, any RTA place will do - I think there is one in Bondi Junction. You'll need your driving license to register. 5. Get a surfboard dude!
2003-04-06 21:02:03	Forgot to mention in the last log that we saw some bats in the Royal Bontanic Gardens in Sydney (a really great place). There were thousands of them hanging upside-down in the trees. They were the size of rabbits - I kid you not. Their wingspan was over 2 foot! Did the coastal walk between Bondi and Bronte yesterday which quite good. The surf was amazing - must have been over 12ft high as the mad-surfer-dudes were dwarfed. My tan is being perfected, but is currently in the transitionary red/pink stage. Going to look for a car/van today. That should be fun :)
2003-04-05 02:13:12	It's been a busy couple of days. I got my Medicare card, which was surprisingly painless. After walking up to Bondi Junction from Bondi Beach we found the main bus and train terminal. In the complex was a Medicare centre, and within 10 minutes we got our temporary Medicare numbers. These are needed in case we need to see a GP or get medicine. I couldn't see the NHS being that efficient some how. What with all the showers lately, I thought I'd invest in a rain jacket. The "outdoor camping" shop I went into had an intersting and very helpful shop assistant who told us about all the intersting places to go and visit. I'm sure I'll forget most of the places, but some I think I can remember including a great place to go fossicking (digging for cool stuff like gems). "There be gems in there hills, Prospector!". I bought a book he kept refering to which has some good maps and other info. Maybe I'll make my fortune away from Computers afterall... Anyway, we got a train into Sydney from Bondi Junction ($3, clean and on time - sound unfamiliar?) and walked into the heart of Sydney. This is one cool place! There's a lot of greenery around the city and the whole place looks clean and open (unlike London). We walked to Harbour Bridge which is an incredible construction! It is awesome the way it looms over the whole city. We climbed up one of the stone pylons (towers) at one end of the bridge for a better view of the harbour and weren't disappointed. Quite spectacular, and it only cost $5 :) Next stop was the Sydney Opera House which is just around the corner from the bridge. It's quite shiny. Not in the same category as the bridge in the "awesome" stakes, but quite impressive nonetheless (is that one word?) I should probably mention that the day before last the weather was really quite crap. Blowing a gale (I think literally) and monsoon rain. I swear the weather here is more changable that back in Blighty, and that is saying something. The only thing that really needs to be done now is get a Tax Fund Number so that I can work without paying stupid tax on my earnings, and get a car. The TFN I'll get when I start working (it can be done online) and the car I'll do next week. We're torn between getting some kind of van that you can kip in, or get an estate type car with a couple of tents. Will keep you posted.
2003-04-02 21:35:54	The weather is, ummm, wet. It's raining! Warm, but raining. Apparently there was a bit of a drought in the summer, and now it's making up for it. Flippin El Nino thingy. Sydney gets more rain than elsewhere, so I'm hoping that as we drift North the rain should make way for sun. Fingers crossed. With the successful purchase of a mobile phone SIM card, I thought I'd get adventurous and open a bank account. That's done, so all I need to do now is get a tax number and medicine card. Not sure how to do the latter, or even what it's for, but apparently we should have one. The tax number is needed for when I get a job, and we definately need to go to Syndey to do that. Hope everyone is well back home. I'm quite disappointed that we haven't been invited to any barbies yet, but give the weather that's probably a good thing. I have indulged in a quantity of VB and Toohays to help with the jetlag, with posiive results. I think I may have jetlag for some time though ;)
2003-04-01 22:45:36	I'M HERE! That was one long flight! Didn't really sleep for 48 hours. Crashed at the hostel yesturday at about 6:00pm and got up at 11:00am the next day. Oops. Did some body surfing on Bondi beach yesterday which was a most excellent laugh. Now getting the essentials sorted like SIM cards for phones, bank accounts, Tax numbers etc. Haven't dragged ourselves into Sydney yet - saving that for tomorrow :) Damn these keyboards - keep hitting \ cos the enter key doesn't go up to the second row. Wierd. Well I've got lots to do, so I'll sign off for now. You guys should now that it did rain a bit yesterday, and it might do again today. But who cares when it's 25 degs in the shade :) Hope you're all ok. Missing ya already.
2003-03-29 09:38:10	This is the last time I'll have access to a PC before I go. We fly out tomorrow at 10:00pm. After all the months of waiting, I can't believe that I'm actually going tomorrow! We had a leaving party last night, starting in Chutneys on London Road (Southampton) and ending up in Brannigans. Thanks to everyone who came along - I'll miss all of you loads, so make sure you come out and visit! Special thanks to Rachel who's been super smashing with helping out. You're a star, petal ;) There was nearly a tenner left in the kitty from last night, which I've pocketed and plan on spending on duty-free booze and sunblock. Cheers guys :)
2003-03-23 04:57:11	1 week to go. One of the reasons I am going to Aus is that the weather here the UK is crap. Would you believe it - the last week has been beautiful sunshine, and it's set to last for another week! You wait, I'll come back after a year and it'll be one of those freak years when in rains all summer.
2003-03-15 18:04:16	Getting panicky now. I've still got loads of things to pack. There's piles of rubbish bags in the garage and a number of half filled boxes. I'm putting most of my stuff into storage which is rather pricey, but there's not a lot of choice available to me. My car's going into storage also. You'll probably hear a lot about my car in later logs :) There's lots of loose ends here, like the insurance claim on my car (not my nice car, the other one - and it wasn't my fault, ok!), and they've all got to be sorted or passed onto someone else before I go. Another problem I'm having is condensing my clothes down to a rucksack-full. I've already got rid of half my clothes, but deciding what comes with me and what stays isn't easy. I won't go into the details, it's not worth your time. And another problem is dust. I'm alergic to it and some swine's been dumping spadefuls of the stuff around my room. You really wouldn't believe how much dust is on my desk. I didn't know it was there until I started tidying. Tidying junk is a bad move. You're just making work for yourself in the long run. I had no choice, but you do. Of course, if you have a girlfriend who's handy with the Pledge, you won't know what I'm talking about and that's just smashing for you. It doesn't really matter what I write here. It's not like anyone is going to read it anyway. Wible Wobble Winky. Look, I spelt wibble wrong and I don't care! In the words of Monty Python, "Sorry, this is getting far too silly". You see what stress does to you! Mooooo!
2003-03-14 21:42:04	I've just completed the weblog code. It's 2:45 in the morning! The timestamp lies. I'm going to Australia on the 30th March! Isn't that just the best thing ever! I'm going for a year and I only have a vague idea what I'll be doing. Need sleep. More comprehensive entries later - promise.