On our way...Bunbury, Western Australia

Our adventure has well and truely begun - we left Invercargill airport on Saturday 19 April and had a long trip to Perth via Christchurch and Sydney. It was good to catch up with friends at Christchurch airport and fill in some time and then a very short turn around time in Sydney meant it was a rushed time with my sister (sorry Susan!)
We arrived in Perth at 8.30pm (WA time - minus 4hours from NZ). About 8.10pm as the pilot announced he was beginning the descent into Perth we suddenly felt very excited to be on our way and it was so good to see Richard, Suzen, Katie & James at the airport. It was then about 2 hours car trip down to Bunbury and so we were very tired but pleased to be here.
We spent Sunday relaxing and then Monday we have had a big walk round to the dolphin encounter beach (no dolphins today...) then after lunch Katie & Rebecca had to look in some shops before hitting the beach. They had a great time in the waves but I have to say it wasn't tropical!


Rebecca & Katie checking out the surf at Yallingup

Added some time later...

We had an awesome time with Richard, Suzen, Katie & James and enjoyed a couple of days camping at Yallingup, in the Margaret River area. The kids (& Richard) spent many hours in the surf and Rebecca is very much at home in this part of the world!

We went to some sand dunes at Moses Rock and had a great time using the body boards to surf down the dunes.

Sand dunes

For lunch one day we visited an olive oil place and we all enjoyed tasting the various oils and dippings, this ended up with many choruses of 'Olio Bello' as we continued our drive!

Lunch continued at a chocolate factory with a yummy chocolate fondue and this was followed by a visit to the Yahava Coffee factory...not a bad way to lunch!

Chocolate Factory

On our final day at Yallingup we drove down to Prevally Beach which had HUGE waves but the kids (& Richard) didn't mind getting out into the surf! Our drive back to Bunbury took us past a venison factory so, of course, we had to stop in there for a tasting...then it was home for a swim and fish & chips on the beach.

Taking a break at Prevally Beach

Another day we visited Busselton Jetty and we walked out to the end of the 2km jetty and then a fast walk back again as it started to rain - a great spot...pity about the weather.

Busselton Jetty - the girls refuse to have their photo taken!

We had a great time with the Arthur's and it has been great to renew the relationship between Katie & Rebecca, James & Josh and, of course the adults! It's amazing how much the kids have in common...water, lego, star wars

Wearing sumo suits in Bunbury

February 2008

The theme of this month would have to be boxes...

After a very relaxing time in Cromwell over summer we are now well into the packing!

We have rented out our Cromwell house and so a majority of our furniture is up there and we have bought a shipping container which we are storing at Mum & Dad's. Over the last couple of weeks Lionel has been making regular trips down to the container with the boxes we have already packed and in between times he has been working on cleaning out the garage and packing up his office. The office is starting to look quite bare and I haven't asked how many boxes of books are in the container (some things are best not to know).

Rebecca & Josh have done well with sorting out the stuff in their rooms and they have been making lots of piles - things to keep, things to take and things to get rid of. They are doing well with the thought of shifting, mostly looking forward to the adventure, but of course also sad about leaving the farm, family and friends.

We move out of the house in 2 1/2 weeks and will spend the next few weeks at Mum & Dad's before flying out.

We will keep you updated once we hit London!

November 2007

Hi all
Flights are booked and paid for...we leave Invercargill on Saturday 19 April, 2008 and fly to Perth where we will have 10 days with our good friends (Richard, Suzen, Katie & James) in Bunbury before flying to London, arriving 30 April!

The question now is what do we take with us, what do we ship to England, what do we leave in Cromwell and what do we get rid of....

There are only 4 1/2 weeks of school for this term and so the countdown to Christmas and the summer holidays is just about on. Rebecca is training hard for her swimming with a big meet this coming weekend when she hopes to qualify for further swims at the South Island Town & Country meet in March. Unfortunately she also has some orthodontal work coming up which she is not looking forward to at all!
Joshua has his 10th birthday coming up and so he is looking forward to having some friends over - we are heading to Invercargill for tea and then a game of Lazertag.

October 2007

It is a wet cold afternoon and so I thought it must be time to update everyone.
We have received confirmation for the British High Commission that Lionel is eligible for UK Ancestry and we have received entry clearance through until 1/1/2013.
So our adventure is real!
Lionel has started a new job - a 6month contract with the local health board and so that will keep him busy for the next few months. He will get 2 weeks off over Christmas to enjoy our holiday home in Cromwell. For those of you who know Lionel - his major packing job is books and so he is beginning to think about what he is going to pack away, what to store on the shelves in Cromwell, and which (very few) paperbacks he might take with him for reading on planes.

Amanda is on the count down for the farm sale - getting stock organised etc. It is much easier with it passing on to family but there are still plenty of things to think about! My main travel thoughts in the next couple of weeks are about booking flights and starting to get accommodation sorted.

Rebecca & Josh are continuing on with school, Rebecca's swimming season is just beginning and so that will be busy over the next few months. They are both playing touch this year and so that takes care of Friday afternoons.

September 2007

Hi

Rebecca has dragged me into the hi-tech age of blogging and we thought it would be a great way to keep up to date with our travels! So please bear with me as I get the hang of this blogging business...

We are currently at the stage of applying for our UK entry clearance and I nearly have all the paperwork ready to send to the High Commission in Wellington - then the passports will be stamped and we can book our airfares. We have flights penciled in for April 18 Christchurch to Perth, we will spend 10days with our good friends (The Arthur's) in Western Australia, and then fly to London via Singapore on April 28.

In the meantime we are well into lambing on the farm and life continues here with farm, work and school!