chrisnlou

Jun 20 2007, 01:00 PM

How was the jetlag from this end?

bigAPE

Jun 21 2007, 12:30 AM

What's the commute time from Geelong to CBD?  Is there a train service or only road?

NTH SHARMAN

Jun 21 2007, 10:56 AM

Just wondering Matt :blink:
How long does the thin train take :pmsl:

Neil....................... :mate:

Bookie

Jun 21 2007, 11:17 AM

I am experimenting with chelsea buns and lardy cake at the moment, although getting different results from when I was in UK. I think the flour is not as good.
That's my excuse anyway!

OzTennis

Jun 20 2007, 08:27 PM

[

Some more Geelong (admittedly around Eastern Beach!).

Kaz and Malc

Jun 22 2007, 04:35 AM

Bookie

Jun 21 2007, 11:17 AM

I am experimenting with chelsea buns and lardy cake at the moment, although getting different results from when I was in UK. I think the flour is not as good.
That's my excuse anyway!

Hey Sue

Another happy home baker :D I love baking cakes and biscuits at home, I know I'm a bit sad :rolleyes:

Do you think it might be the butter that makes your results taste different. It just wasnt the same as English butter. Its more like whipped up margarine?

I'm definitely going to experiment out there because the ozzy cakes were all european and plasticky ;)

Karen :waving:

Quote:

 

Sorry Lorraine for hijacking your thread!

Nagiboy

Jun 22 2007, 08:07 PM

Quote:

 

Sorry Lorraine for hijacking your thread!

Now I've been called many things in my life but Lorraine is a new one :lol:

Matt :Beer:

Kaz and Malc

Jun 22 2007, 05:04 AM

OzTennis

Jun 20 2007, 08:27 PM

[

Some more Geelong (admittedly around Eastern Beach!).

Thanks for the Geelong threads Oztennis :thumbsup:

Do you know, they were really really helpful.

I've got a very weird feeling inside.

I'm getting very excited about Geelong and surrounds.

Nagiboy: we could well be neighbours :mate:

Cheers

Karen :flower:

Quote:

 

I'm getting very excited about Geelong and surrounds.

Nagiboy: we could well be neighbours 

Nagiboy

Jun 22 2007, 11:15 PM

Quote:

 

I'm getting very excited about Geelong and surrounds.

Nagiboy: we could well be neighbours 

Sssshhhhh otherwise everyone will start to want to come out this way :D

Nagiboy

Jun 20 2007, 08:41 AM

For my 500th post I thought I would give a summary of our recent reccie, fill in a few gaps that my rather drunken post "drunken post" failed to cover, and also summarise the positives and negatives that we experienced, and that helped us make our decision as to whether to move to Victoria or stay where we are in the UK.

On day 9 of our reccie we checked out of the Frankston Big4 and headed off to stay with our friends in Clifton Springs on the Bellarine Peninsula. Our journey would take us on the Nepean Highway through Mount Eliza, with a quick exploration of the estates and a look at Half Moon Bay and Canadian Bay. Back on to the Nepean and into Mornington again for a quick look around the estates before taking a leisurely drive along the Esplanade through Mount Martha and down towards Safety Beach.

Our opinion on Mount Eliza, Mornington, and Mount Martha - lovely places but as we looked round there was something that just didn’t click for us. We can’t quite explain it but they were not for us. - I had previously said the price tag attached to the area put us off, but on reflection this is not the case.

Back to our drive we continued along Marine Drive/Point Nepean Road stopping off at various beaches so that we could all have a run around Posted Image (click the miage to open slideshow), passing through Rosebud and reaching Sorrento for a bite to eat. I have to admit that the drive from Mount Martha to Sorrento was lovely and passed through some great places where I could see myself retiring to. I’m not saying that they were full of old people just that I wouldn’t mind seeing out my final days in places like them.

Sorrento was a great place with what looked like some lovely cafes/restaurants, although I picked what turned out to be a rather average place for lunch before catching the ferry over to Queenscliff. Sue (Scouser) had described Queenscliff to me as the place that time forgot.

I must admit that my initial impression as we drove through it was pretty much the same , I was expecting tumbleweed to pass in front of the car at any given moment, but then Kath pointed out that the buildings were really just great examples of old buildings and that the place was actually quite modern.

By this stage Sam was getting very excited at the prospect of seeing “his girlfriend” ( they are both only 4 but we have already had talk of a wedding) and so we headed straight for Clifton Springs and our friends Fran & Keith’s house. I think the kids had thought they had died and gone to heaven. After 11 days of very few toys they had a whole house full to play with. The kids nearly outlasted us grown ups and didn’t get to bed till nearly 11pm. I also got my first taste of playing on a Wii - very addictive.

Day 10

We were given a tour of Clifton Springs and Drysdale, where we had a lunch in a local café that served great chocolate milkshakes. I must admit my first impressions as we drove and walked around were that this was a very quite backwater without much going for it.

In the afternoon we visited Ocean Grove with what looked like great surf beaches , and Barwon Heads, which had a nice play area and beach on the Barwon river. Next stop was Port Arlington. Even though it was a late in the day and cloudy you could still see the skyline of Melbourne’s CBD. Posted Image (Click image again) We thought the beach area was lovely and enjoyed a stroll along the pier where we watched the numerous fishermen and women catching what we have been led to believe were baby Salmon. ( Not sure if the same type of Salmon you get in the northern hemisphere).

When our friends went to pick up their eldest child from school Kath went along to have a look around. Now this had not been pre arranged, but the Assistant Principal dropped what he was doing and quite happily showed off the school’s facilities. Kath was impressed with the large adventure play area within the playgrounds, the sports facilities which knocked spots off what is available locally to us in the UK. She was most impressed with the computer suite which comprised of about 30 very up-to-date pc’s all with TFT screens.

That evening we spent at a restaurant where the kids play area was covered by CCTV which meant us grown ups could enjoy a chat and a meal whilst making sure the kids were safe and happy by watching the them on the TV.

Day 11

Eastern Beach, Geelong and the shopping centres.

Out of everywhere we saw/visited during our reccie we are both of the opinion that Eastern Beach was our favourite. It was just lovely, everything about it. The kids really enjoyed the play park and we thought that the whole waterfront was wonderful and the Bollards are a quirky bonus.

It was whilst we were at Eastern Beach that Kath commented for the first time that Australia could be home and to be honest I felt the same. Now I know Geelong is not to everyone taste as some say that it is ruined by the industry that is on view., but in our opinion this is not the case. Yes it is there in the background but it does not spoil the view or feel of Eastern Beach.

I think the best way to describe Eastern Beach is to let you view pictures of it….
Posted Image



As for the shopping centres - well they were shopping centres which are pretty much standard where every you go, however the major difference we noticed between UK and Oz ones was the lack of gangs of youths hanging around wearing hoodies and looking intimidating.

That evening our friends were having a house party , not sure if it was for our benefit or not, but we met lots of really friendly people, who were genuinely interested in us and why we were considering moving to Australia. By the end of the night we had been offered so much help and advice (including a 7 berth caravan to stay in if we ever needed it.) and had drunk so much VB, that I decided it would be a good idea to make a post on a BV.

Day 12

After spending most of the morning recovering from the night before we headed out to Torquay. A pleasant half hour drive and we were there. A bite to eat at a nice bistro and off to a large adventure play park where the kids released more of their endless supply of energy and I twisted my ankle jumping off a platform to rescue Leah who had hurt herself. The play park overlooked the beach along Surf Coast, and in my personal opinion appeared to be nicer than anything we had seen on the Mornington Peninsula. A quiet night followed, with a pizza from the local takeway, where they served the largest pizza I had ever seen, a monster at 2ft by 1ft.

Day 13

We spent the morning having a closer look around Clifton Springs/Drysdale taking more time to explore the estates and what was on offer there, in terms of houses for rent/sale, and land for sale. There were some very nice houses with good bay views (well they were good from our car - so can I only imagine they were better from the houses’ balconies) and then for our final afternoon we headed back to Eastern Beach. Not to be put off by a little bit of rain, we had a quick bite to eat at The Beach House restaurant, before the kids hit the play park again. We then took a stroll along the waterfront to the Carousel, which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. To finish off our trip I treated the family to trip on a seaplane , which was a first for all of us. We had a 15 mins aerial tour over the salt works, picked up the route along the Barwon River, flying over Kardinia Park back out over the bay before landing. Everyone fully enjoyed the quick trip, although Sam then wanted to go on the helicopter ride to see how that compared.Posted Image

Day 14

Very early rise (5am) to get to the airport for 7am to catch our flight back to the UK via Singapore. Returned the hire car to the airport and forgot to fill the tank up as we actually left later than we intended to, and the b*st*rds stung me for $2.20/litre for them to fill the car back up.

We liked Melbourne Airport, well as far as airports go, but were very disappointed with the flight from Melbourne to Singapore. (Singapore Airlines). We felt as though the stewardesses ignored us, they were very slow in responding when we called them for something, perhaps we were just spoiled on the flights over….erh NO!! Usual service was resumed for the flight from Singapore to Manchester.

Confession now … I treated myself at Changi Airport - bought myself a Tag Heuer watch (always wanted one since I was knee high to a grasshopper.) but have since found out that it was absolute bargain compared to the price I would have to pay for it in the UK.


So were we glad to return to the UK , well yes and no. A major difference became very apparent to us when we clearing customs. We were greeted by perhaps the most miserable employee of HM Customs there has ever been. We just about got grunts out of the woman concerned. Kath commented on how she had noticed that Australians returning to Aus we greeted with “Welcome home” from the Australian customs officials.




WHAT WE LIKED

Melbourne CBD and the skyline
The attractions in the city from the Aquarium to Eureka Tower
The helpful staff on the public transport
The Botanic Gardens
The kids playgrounds that are everywhere in the suburbs
The size of the properties that are available
Being so close to the beach
The food
The winter weather ( it felt like summer)
The ease with which we were able to set up a bank account and the speed with which the ANZ got a named bank card sent to us ( 3days)
The friendliness of the people in general


WHAT WE DIDN’T LIKE

The supermarkets (at first) - but we think it is a case of us having to adjust our way of shopping - probably for the better
The ovens with a bar/heater at the bottom
The crap heaters in the Big4 at Coburg
Jetlag

WHAT WE LOVED

The Bellarine Peninsula
Eastern Beach at Geelong
Clifton Springs/Drysdale - the more time we spent there the more it grew on me and the more I saw the attraction of living some quiet but within very easy driving distance to some wonderful places.
Drive in bottle shops


A FEW THANK YOUS
Fraser and Rachel, and Gary and Sue for taking the time to meet up with us and showing us around the areas where they live. Sue (Scouser) thanks for the offer and sorry we couldn't make time to meet you.

Eltham - I still feel that from the moment we visited Eltham our reccie took an upwards turn and made us realise that Melbourne definitely had something to offer us.


So what are we going to do next…..

As soon as the house sells, book one way tickets, say our goodbyes and settle in Clifton Springs/Drysdale.

We really can’t wait.