6 month Aussiversary.... (photo heavy)

**Joob joobs** · 11-06-2012, 08:25 AM

Can't believe that 6 months ago today we were heading from Glasgow to Brisbane (via Hong Kong). The time has flown in and while finances were a struggle at first, despite this we have had a ball and are loving every minute... despite the weather being remarkably Scottish like at the moment!

The hardest part has definitely been missing friends and family. However in the past 6 months we've had my mum visit for 4 weeks and o/h's mum and husband for 2 weeks! O/h's aunt and uncle will be over nearer the end of the year too. Think we've had more visitors here than we ever had in Glasgow!

So I thought I'd give you guys a wee update on what we've done... and as I take photos of everything (so my o/h tells me!), I thought I'd give you guys literally a 'snapshot' of our time here in Aus. Apologies to any of you guys that have me on Facebook... you'll have seen these all before!

If there is anything that you wanna ask fire away!

We used Crown Relocations for the shipping of our stuff.
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They guys who came to pack our things up were excellent - quite partial to a cuppa and a biscuit! They were scheduled to pack up over 2 days but had to come back on the 3rd day because of hurricane force winds! We went with a shared container and despite Crown assuring us that the container would go before Xmas, it didn't actually leave until 7 January - much to my dismay. They eventually managed to get it on another ship at some point in the journey and it arrived with us at the end of February which was a huge relief. And even better... there were no breakages! For insurance we went with Insureyourmove.com.

The dog had left a few weeks earlier and we used Pet Travel Services, based in Dunfermline. Can't recommend them enough.
http://www.pettravelservices.co.uk/

On 11 December 2011, we left Glasgow to fly (via Heathrow) with Cathay Pacific.
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No problems with the flights. Seats were fine, entertainment was good and food was tasty. They were also about £350 each cheaper than Emirates!

...We stopped in Hong Kong for 3 nights which was excellent and I'm so glad we did. Trailfinders got us a good deal and the hotel was lovely.
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**Joob joobs** · 11-06-2012, 08:27 AM

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**cartertucker** · 11-06-2012, 08:33 AM

What a lovely post, congrats on 6 months in Queensland ~

**Joob joobs** · 11-06-2012, 08:37 AM

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I had pre-booked a 6 week holiday rental in Graceville before we arrived.
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This was booked via stayz.com.au and I'd thoroughly recommend them. It's called Graceville Gables and the owners were really helpful. They had the fridge stocked with bread and milk etc for our arrival, they came round to cut the grass when needed, provided ant rid when we had a problem with ants in the kitchen and brought round a vacuum cleaner for us to use after we asked if there was one in the house (dog losing his winter coat!)

The fist few days are a bit of a blur, but we sorted out things like bank cards, TFN, mobile phones (started with Optus, I'm now with Vodaphone and o/h is with Telstra).

Did a bit of city sightseeing in the first few days too.
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**Candygirl** · 11-06-2012, 08:42 AM

Glad you have settled into your new life in Queensland. Great update and even better when we get to see pics.

Loving your pics, especially the one of Victoria Peak. We have been there three times and never managed to see through the fog, so you were incredibly lucky!

**Joob joobs** · 11-06-2012, 08:46 AM

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We had Xmas in Brisbane, which didn't much feel like Xmas to be honest. We were invited to dinner with the brother of our Glasgow neighbour which was lovely as we'd only been in Aus for a week and didn't know anyone.

On 28 December Oakley was released from quarantine and despite having lost a tooth at some point since leaving Scotland, he was none the worse for wear.
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We had to register him with Brisbane City Council and he can only go off-lead in certain parks and beaches but he's loving it over here too (apart from being scared from the possums!) The dog parks here are great and have free agility equipment and poo bags.
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Our first New Year in Aus... was... quiet...
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**Joob joobs** · 11-06-2012, 08:51 AM

We found a really good Indian restaurant in Graceville, the Ceylonne Inn. The food is delicious and the staff are always really friendly. I think there are others around Brisbane too, including one in Toowong.
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**Joob joobs** · 11-06-2012, 08:57 AM

I was lucky enough to be sponsored on a 457 visa with the same company I worked for in the UK, which included a company car. So I can't comment on the searching and buying a car over here. I miss my wee magenta Fiesta from the UK though... this one reminds me of a big 'old man' car! Lol. I also had to get used to driving a manual which I'd never done before.
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I'd recommend shopping around for your food and veg etc. We have a great butcher nearby (Oxley) and Rocklea market is great for fresh produce.
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There has also been a lot of this... since we arrived..
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