Maruska

Pet lover, that`s easy:wink:. Diving/swimming with dolphins, private zoo "behind the scenes" experience, diving course ( lots of fish lol) . Farm stay, cowboy style. If you`re anywhere near by this, this could be really, really good : http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/experiences/natural-encounters/animal-encounters/turtles.cfm?ref=qtu&gclid=Cj0KEQiA3bymBRC19IrD7O_NrYsBEiQAb2dpA9VdGB7t9JpVJ1-oDs_8W4sl3GAL3GQXrHE9i9GpOhkaApuV8P8HAQ

Hi, thinking about this for the weekend. I have a 4.5 years old, according to the website is fine for children 4 and over. The walk has been open for a while but the ziplines just opened in December. Any personal experiences? It`s about 220 $ for the 4 of us so not cheap but looks fab. http://www.illawarrafly.com/activities/zipline-tour-and-activities/

1)Jenolan caves ( in Blue Mountains) 2)Royal National park a) ferry from Cronulla to Bundeena in RNP, nice beach, kayak hire, aboriginal rock carvings b) drive to Audley in RNP, visitor`s center with nice café, rent a canoe and paddle up the Kangaroo Creek, maybe a hike 3)Symbio zoo last 2 are about an hour drive south of Sydney, that`s where we live, I am sure there are a lot of places in the north that someone can tell you about

It took us 6 weeks from arrival until our son started school. We came on June 1st, had a look at some of the school we had in mind, found a rental. School needed a rental contract to prove that we live in the catchment area. He started at the beginning of the term which was, I think, somewhere around July 12th. I do know some people in the same school who started renting in the catchment zone and moved out once children were already enrolled, it doesn`t seem to matter if you do that after the initial proof of address in the catchment zone.

I can relate to that :cute:. We were aiming for Queensland but when the QLD Health took a hit and they started firing employees, husband got a job offer here in Sydney. QLD health also didn`t seem keen to offer him a position appropriate to his education and experience ( based on 2 interviews where he was offered a RN job at a starting rate for RN ). He only had 1 interview with NSW Health and he was accepted for Clinical Nurse Educator, same job that he was already doing in the US. We love NSW, so many beautiful places just within easy reach of Sydney, only been here for 6 months though so we just barely scratched the surface. Planning to go to the Blue Mountains in 3 weeks. Royal National Park, the Illawarra, Eurobodalla coast we did visit and they were spectacular. Only issue I find is the (un)affordability of real estate. We would love to stay but I think we will have to move out of Sydney if we want to own a property again.

I loved the Daintree rainforest, visited for a week in 2013 and hoping to go back and stay a bit longer. My local favorite is the Royal National park south of Sydney, about 20 min. drive or 20 min by ferry from Cronulla.

We`ve been here for 6 months now and it flew so fast :shocked::smile:. We toured 3 schools when we came plus 1 school that wasn`t on our initial list and we ended up liking that one the most! We live in Cronulla now and our son goes to Cronulla South. Only downside is that I`ve got a job in the city ( was asked for interview about 2 weeks after arrival) but no huge deal, train station is 10 minutes walk but it takes 1 hour to reach the city. I have the option to transfer but I really like the job, the place, the people so I will stay there for now. We are really spoiled for choice regarding activities. Cronulla itself is beautiful and the beaches are great. We go almost every weekend to explore that Royal National Park, kids are able to do about 5 km hike at this point but they are growing and we will stretch that :wink:. People are very nice, friendly and welcoming. Both children made friends easily. We still don`t know whether we will stay in this area for good ( crazy real estate prices make Sydney in general unaffordable for us and we think that eventually we would like to own a property again) but for now we are very happy here.

Great post, looks like you are settled already:cool:. Have fun!

I`m interested as well. Colleague suggested Balmain park but I feel it might still be too crowded :frown:

Went to the memorial /flower area in Martin Place today when going off work. It was eerie in a way, and very touching. There were all kinds of people form all walks of life, just coming together to honor the victims. Yes, I saw Muslims too . They brought flowers just like everyone else. I think their community doesn`t really need to feel unsafe as most people recognize this attack for what it is - a tragic deed by a lone, mentally unstable ISIS wannabee.

Horrible.What`s wrong with some people :mad:.... I work 2 minutes away from there and had a colleague picked up our morning coffee from Lindt`s yesterday. Martin place is always so busy, kudos to the police for the speedy evacuation, must have been very difficult to get so many out of there so quickly. I am worried that they aren`t making any demands..... hope that all the hostages make it out of there safe.

Cronulla

I needed both FBI and state. We lived in the USA for 8 years though so not sure if there is any difference if you only spend a short period of time there.

Just want to wish you strength and good luck in this awful situation. The fact is, your family unit is you, your husband and your children and you`ve got to stick together and stay strong. I don`t have an experience like yours because my parents were really supportive but I unfortunately do have a personal experience of being used by a manipulative family member (grandparent) to get her own way when I was child and a teenager and it was awful. Awful enough that I felt immensely relieved when she died - I was already living abroad but glad for my parents to finally be able to live without that nasty poisonous woman around. I would NOT let your children be exposed to this kind of environment under any circumstances. You are probably feeling like an emotional wreck right now but I think, based on what you wrote, that it`s time to start out fresh .

When you are in Cairns, I would recommend taking a trip to the Daintree rainforest. You can go on a crocodile spotting boat trip, forest hike, visit tropical fruit farm, eat home made ice cream.. Lots of wildlife around, very pristine, untouched place

:shocked::swoon::cry: no Nessie????!!!!!!!!

We had multiple discussions in our ED about preparedness, what equipment to use, how to take samples of blood etc. Our ED is quite likely to attract travelers from surrounding hotels and cruise terminal as we are in the center of Sydney.

I don`t pretend that I am an expert on Ebola. I am a nurse working in an emergency department - therefore a possible first point of contact with infected patient - so I did research what`s available about Ebola quite a bit. 1) 50% fatality was recorded in the past outbreaks, this one is far from over and we will be able to determine what the fatality rate was afterwards 2) I don`t agree that it`s difficult to spread the virus. As mentioned on here, the virus is transmitted via bodily fluids. I have an info from the infectious diseases control that the virus can survive out of body up to 7 days, in the right conditions. Imagine just one sick person going to the toilet on an airplane, vomiting there ( droplets are going to go to the floor, the flush button, the nappy changing table), then going back to his/her seat without washing hands, touching backs of other seats, utensils, table..... How many people are using the toilet after him, how many wash their hands really well? Right now, after the 2 Texas nurses became infected even though they knew they are dealing with Ebola and used protective equipment, there are questions whether the virus could have mutated and became transmitted airborne instead of droplet ( droplets fall to the ground, airborne stays suspended in the air and can be inhaled). 3) I do believe there is no reason to panic but at the same time, people need to be aware that there is a real possibility of infection and how to protect themselves

Hi, you will need to present personally to AHPRA once they send you the eligibility letter. The letter will give you the latest date you have to come to the office in person to verify your identity. It's one year fro the time you are eligible for registration ( at least that was the case in 2012-13). We didn't have a PR at that time and asked for extension which AHPRA wasn't willing to grant. At the end we took a vacation and validated the license rather than having to go through the registration process again.

The photos are fabulous! Now I can't wait to visit Tassie .

It's dark already so no photo but it's pretty awful in here too. Sun shines like crazy in the morning, lorikeets are loud, everything is green ( except flowers, they assault my eyes with all different colors). I don't know how long will I be able to bear it.... ))))

Sounds like you had a lot of fun and great time with the family, don't know why am I only able to see the last picture . We might be going for about a week in December.

We`ve only been here 3 months but I really like the primary school that my son goes to. Class size is 18 children in 1st grade. Teacher is very involved and approachable, kids obviously love her . There is a good vibe about the school. They have lots of special activities that are either part of the curriculum or optional. When we moved to Australia we toured 3 primary schools and I would have been happy to send my son to any one of them. I do think that it depends quite a bit on where you live, if you choose an established suburb with a lot of families on the higher end of socio-economic scale ( AKA expensive) , you are almost certainly going to be zoned to a better performing school with more resources than schools in poorer areas.

Congratulations :wubclub:

Good for you :smile:. Some more restaurant exploring is on the horizon?