Life in quarantine (Melbourne)

[North to South]

17 hours ago, Lavers said:

So finally free, went straight to the beach and were greeted by a couple of dolphins

So glad you've managed to get through the past month and now I'm sure it's a distant memory.

I love the beach, particularly West Beach and up to Henley.  As someone who's itching to get there, here's a few places I like.

There's a lovely little cafe at Halllet Cove that does some great pizza and sliders and it's just a nice spot to sit any time of the day watching the ocean.

Henley Beach South is great and there's a greek restaurant there called Estia.  It can get busy, but the food is great.

Port Noarlunga South has a great beach and probably my favorite in Adelaide.  It's a bit of a drive from the CBD, but my daughter loved it when we were there last.

The Tree Climb is worth a visit and they do a smaller one for the little ones too.

Adelaide Central Market is amazing and one thing I can't wait to get back too.

Getting into the Hills is lovely - Stirling is really nice and Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens is great too.

My daughter loves the slush from McDonalds and at 99 cents always keeps the small ones happy

I have always found IGA supermarkets good as they have local produce along with the basic essentials.

 

Effectively, anywhere is great and whilst it may not have the glamour of Sydney or Melbourne, it has everything you want with a certain charm too and I just wish I could get on a plane tomorrow and get back there, but sadly I have a few things to tie up here before I can do that...

Do enjoy and keep everyone posted on how you're settling in :)

[Lavers]

13 hours ago, North to South said:

So glad you've managed to get through the past month and now I'm sure it's a distant memory.

I love the beach, particularly West Beach and up to Henley.  As someone who's itching to get there, here's a few places I like.

There's a lovely little cafe at Halllet Cove that does some great pizza and sliders and it's just a nice spot to sit any time of the day watching the ocean.

Henley Beach South is great and there's a greek restaurant there called Estia.  It can get busy, but the food is great.

Port Noarlunga South has a great beach and probably my favorite in Adelaide.  It's a bit of a drive from the CBD, but my daughter loved it when we were there last.

The Tree Climb is worth a visit and they do a smaller one for the little ones too.

Adelaide Central Market is amazing and one thing I can't wait to get back too.

Getting into the Hills is lovely - Stirling is really nice and Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens is great too.

My daughter loves the slush from McDonalds and at 99 cents always keeps the small ones happy

I have always found IGA supermarkets good as they have local produce along with the basic essentials.

 

Effectively, anywhere is great and whilst it may not have the glamour of Sydney or Melbourne, it has everything you want with a certain charm too and I just wish I could get on a plane tomorrow and get back there, but sadly I have a few things to tie up here before I can do that...

Do enjoy and keep everyone posted on how you're settling in

That's brilliant thank you, we are going to get a car tomorrow or Monday then we can start having a good look around.

Then I suppose I best start looking at jobs

A lady recommended gorge wildlife as it's a good place to hold a koala.

Then my wife has found out that one of her old school friends lives in Strathalbyn on a farm, so she has said that the girls can go and have a ride on her horses.

So far so good

[Amber Snowball]

45 minutes ago, Lavers said:

That's brilliant thank you, we are going to get a car tomorrow or Monday then we can start having a good look around.

Then I suppose I best start looking at jobs

A lady recommended gorge wildlife as it's a good place to hold a koala.

Then my wife has found out that one of her old school friends lives in Strathalbyn on a farm, so she has said that the girls can go and have a ride on her horses.

So far so good

Good to hear you are getting out! For me, probably not you, your month of quarantine has flown! 
The thing that really foxed me initially driving in Aus was the park with the flow of traffic, no crossing the road to park facing it and then crossing back across when you leave thing, Took me ages to remember that. Now I’m back in the UK I struggle with the idea I’m allowed to do it!
Also, when turning at lights on a green light pedestrians crossing the road on the side road can sometimes have right of way! Caused a few issues both as a pedestrian and driver in the early days!

You might be all across these things and more easily adaptable than me!

Have fun!

[Curly]

Hi Lavers

Gorge is a really good park and you don’t have to pay to hold Koalas there like you do in Cleland.  It’s a good place to go and help out the community after the bushfires there in the summer. 
 

I would also recommend Monarto zoo. You will have a nice drive out there and it’s more of a safari park where you get on a bus to take you around the park. 
 

I think Brighton is my favourite beach and good to spot the dolphins and seals as they like to get the crab baits from under the jetty. 
 

like Amber mentioned be careful with certain road rules. I copped a $65 fine for parking on the wrong side of the road when we first got here
 

Oh and so the kids don’t have all the fun you should go up to McLaren vale and get some tastings done. Most places have big grounds for the kids to run around too. 

[Lavers]

I'd seen on here about parking with the flow of traffic which was a good job, I've also noticed the amount of filter arrows at lights...it madness.

Been good walking around as you get to take things in a little more, I've also noticed that the green man at a crossing doesnt give you enough time to cross the road

Another things is that the Aussies think I'm Scottish or Irish hahaha do they think that the only english accent is like the queen?

I was taking the girls to the zoo next friday for my little girls birthday, so I will just get the yearly membership as that will allow us free entry into Monarto zoo as well.

I shall have to look at McLaren vale Curly haha

[Amber Snowball]

2 hours ago, Lavers said:

I'd seen on here about parking with the flow of traffic which was a good job, I've also noticed the amount of filter arrows at lights...it madness.

Been good walking around as you get to take things in a little more, I've also noticed that the green man at a crossing doesnt give you enough time to cross the road

Another things is that the Aussies think I'm Scottish or Irish hahaha do they think that the only english accent is like the queen?

I was taking the girls to the zoo next friday for my little girls birthday, so I will just get the yearly membership as that will allow us free entry into Monarto zoo as well.

I shall have to look at McLaren vale Curly haha

I always thought there was a lot of street furniture in the way of signs and instructions! No time to read them all when driving! 
 

I was frequently asked if I was from Liverpool.

I was born and raised right by Heathrow.
 

I gave up in end and just said “yes, south Liverpool “

.  Not a total lie!

Have the best time Lavers, I’m excited for you!

[Curly]

The green man goes so you can start crossing the road and then it starts flashing red which you can still walk on but not meant to start the crossing when it’s flashing. I know a few people who have been fined for walking across the road on a red man. 
 

I’m from North Wales and always get asked if I’m Irish. It’s funny because being from the UK you can generally get every accent and know where they are from but there is very little accent difference here in Aus. 
 

We have the family pass for the Zoo and you only have to go a few times for it to be beneficial. You should have a walk around the Botanical gardens while you are there. 

[Amber Snowball]

12 minutes ago, Curly said:

The green man goes so you can start crossing the road and then it starts flashing red which you can still walk on but not meant to start the crossing when it’s flashing. I know a few people who have been fined for walking across the road on a red man. 
 

I’m from North Wales and always get asked if I’m Irish. It’s funny because being from the UK you can generally get every accent and know where they are from but there is very little accent difference here in Aus. 
 

We have the family pass for the Zoo and you only have to go a few times for it to be beneficial. You should have a walk around the Botanical gardens while you are there. 

I have sympathy with the accent thing now. Having lived in Oz for 13 years I now find it hard to differentiate between a lot of accents. Completely lost my ear for it.

[Marisawright]

9 minutes ago, Amber Snowball said:

I have sympathy with the accent thing now. Having lived in Oz for 13 years I now find it hard to differentiate between a lot of accents. Completely lost my ear for it.

If you're interested in languages, it's interesting to see how hard it is for Australians to identify accents.    In the UK, we're exposed to a huge range of accents from childhood, British and foreign, and we get used to identifying them AND understanding them.  Australians grow up hearing Australian and received pronunciation, and not much else, so their ear isn't attuned to accents at all.  

[Amber Snowball]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

If you're interested in languages, it's interesting to see how hard it is for Australians to identify accents.    In the UK, we're exposed to a huge range of accents from childhood, British and foreign, and we get used to identifying them AND understanding them.  Australians grow up hearing Australian and received pronunciation, and not much else, so their ear isn't attuned to accents at all.  

Makes sense.

Didn’t expect to develop it after a relatively short time there! I really struggle now placing where people are from. The celtic areas can be particularly interchangeable to me!

[Ausvisitor]

House went on sale today so we will be joining you out there very soon Lavers. Keep a tinnie cool for me...

[Dorsetbrit]

Hi lavers you said that you took your play station in to quarantine with you, did it all work ok? Presumably HDMI is ok just the plug would need a converter I guess? We have now booked our flights and will be leaving uk on 1st November. Looks like quarantine will still be in place. Had a removal company round today so starting to think about what we can take with us to keep us all entertained as well as all the things we need to live with until the container arrives. It’s all gone mental since booking the flight. 3 months to go.

[Aussiebird]

46 minutes ago, Dorsetbrit said:

Hi lavers you said that you took your play station in to quarantine with you, did it all work ok? Presumably HDMI is ok just the plug would need a converter I guess? We have now booked our flights and will be leaving uk on 1st November. Looks like quarantine will still be in place. Had a removal company round today so starting to think about what we can take with us to keep us all entertained as well as all the things we need to live with until the container arrives. It’s all gone mental since booking the flight. 3 months to go.

Hi,

Can i ask please who you booked your flights with, which airport from and arrival to? 

Thank you xx

[Dorsetbrit]

Hi,
Can i ask please who you booked your flights with, which airport from and arrival to? 
Thank you xx

I booked with Qantas, they only go once a week from Heathrow and there was talk of cutting all flights by half so figured the Australian owned company only going once a week wouldn’t have their flights cut. That’s the theory any way.
Flying to Sydney.

[Aussiebird]

11 minutes ago, Dorsetbrit said:

I booked with Qantas, they only go once a week from Heathrow and there was talk of cutting all flights by half so figured the Australian owned company only going once a week wouldn’t have their flights cut. That’s the theory any way.
Flying to Sydney.

Ah ok, i didnt realise they were flying from UK.  We need to book 3, one way flights to Perth, will check if they fly there.  Did you get good prices?  What day are they flying?

Edited July 30, 2020 by Aussiebird

[Dorsetbrit]

Ah ok, i didnt realise they were flying from UK.  We need to book 3, one way flights to Perth, will check if they fly there.  Did you get good prices?  What day are they flying?

I’m sure they fly all over and have been for a long time now. There’s three of us, two adults and a child around £1800 all in. They don’t like one way as they like to have the return seat filled so you tend to get screwed a little. I didn’t think it was bad really and the prices have stayed the same for a few months that I’ve been looking. You must have a visa and can’t be a holiday visa I think that’s still banned.

[Aussiebird]

5 minutes ago, Dorsetbrit said:

I’m sure they fly all over and have been for a long time now. There’s three of us, two adults and a child around £1800 all in. They don’t like one way as they like to have the return seat filled so you tend to get screwed a little. I didn’t think it was bad really and the prices have stayed the same for a few months that I’ve been looking. You must have a visa and can’t be a holiday visa I think that’s still banned.

That's not a bad price at all.  I noticed just now looking on the Qantas website flight schedules  are operated by Emirates, not sure if you are aware of the covid test you have to do when flying with Emirates?

My husband has got a Partner Visa 309/100.

 

 

 

[Lavers]

1 hour ago, Dorsetbrit said:

Hi lavers you said that you took your play station in to quarantine with you, did it all work ok? Presumably HDMI is ok just the plug would need a converter I guess? We have now booked our flights and will be leaving uk on 1st November. Looks like quarantine will still be in place. Had a removal company round today so starting to think about what we can take with us to keep us all entertained as well as all the things we need to live with until the container arrives. It’s all gone mental since booking the flight. 3 months to go.

Yeah it worked fine, I got 5 single socket adaptors of amazon for £12 I think, then I got a strip adaptor with 4 sockets in for around the same amount. All sockets worked fine.

Definitely kept my eldest busy.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Lavers

[Dorsetbrit]

That's not a bad price at all.  I noticed just now looking on the Qantas website flight schedules  are operated by Emirates, not sure if you are aware of the covid test you have to do when flying with Emirates?
My husband has got a Partner Visa 309/100.
 
 
 

No I wasn’t aware of this, something you need to do before hand or at the airport? I’ll look on website see what it says. To be honest I’m happy to do whatever it takes.

[Aussiebird]

1 minute ago, Dorsetbrit said:

No I wasn’t aware of this, something you need to do before hand or at the airport? I’ll look on website see what it says. To be honest I’m happy to do whatever it takes.

It has to be done so many days before the flight, must obviously be a negative result, a certificate must be obtained.  Only a selection of places it can be done in UK, they are private clinics, i think the cost is £150 per test. 

[Dorsetbrit]

No I wasn’t aware of this, something you need to do before hand or at the airport? I’ll look on website see what it says. To be honest I’m happy to do whatever it takes.

Seems strange as you have to quarantine for two weeks where your get tested twice.

[Aussiebird]

6 minutes ago, Dorsetbrit said:

Seems strange as you have to quarantine for two weeks where your get tested twice.

Yes it is.  Hopefully as the flights are through Qantas, you may not have to do the tests pre flight. Great you haven't got to apply for the g2g pass too!

[Dorsetbrit]

Yes it is.  Hopefully as the flights are through Qantas, you may not have to do the tests pre flight. Great you haven't got to apply for the g2g pass too!

What’s a g2g pass?

[Wanderer Returns]

2 hours ago, Dorsetbrit said:

Seems strange as you have to quarantine for two weeks where your get tested twice.

If an airline has brought in the test then I would've thought that is was primarily for the protection of their staff and passengers.

[Toots]

10 hours ago, Amber Snowball said:

I have sympathy with the accent thing now. Having lived in Oz for 13 years I now find it hard to differentiate between a lot of accents. Completely lost my ear for it.

Australians usually think I'm Irish but here in Tassie there are many Scots so when they hear me speaking they usually say "Oh, which part of Scotland are you from?"  I hear a lot of accents from all over the UK in our area.