It’s not what you know it’s who you know

Good news people - I have a job! Both me and Suz have secured roles as Geologists. The job came from an introduction made by an old friend of mine called Jimbo; he’s been living out here for four years now and started on the rigs himself. What a legend he is. I’ll be working on a gas rig off the coast of Melbourne and start in about three weeks time. In between now and then I have to do medicals and survival training which includes being submerged in a helicopter and escaping! Exciting stuff right? The company fly me from Perth to Melbourne where I transfer to the ‘copta’ and go to the rig. I’ll stay on the rig for two weeks then come home and have two weeks off. My role, in layman’s terms, will be to keep a diary of all the rock samples pulled up from the drill hole. This diary will then be sent to someone to interpret and decided where to drill next, ‘left a bit, right a bit, ohhhh gas!’. Just think Liv Tyler in Armageddon, well kinda. 

So change is a foot these next few weeks what with our new jobs and then our current rental is about to expire so it’s time to find somewhere new to live. In our quest to find a new home one thing is clear; we do not want to live in Northbridge anymore. This means that we get to explore areas of Perth night and day and hang out in places, look conspicuous, talk to locals and generally try and get a feel for a place. There are a few places we’ve been already - Freemantle, Mandurah, Cottesloe and Scarborough; all are really nice (all coastal locations). Learning on the job, we have a couple of boxes that need ticking: air conditioning and WiFi are a MUST. Australia is HOT and public internet/dongles are SH!T.

We went to Freemantle the last time we were here. It’s a port and home to Little Creatures Brewery where you can sit and try a variety of wine, beer and cider. Although we liked it there I don’t think its a place we’d call home. It has a day-out feel to it with its market and Irish dancing pub and feels a little touristy. 

Both Cottesloe and Scarborough are beach-front towns. Cottesloe is quiet and expensive - it has a golf course, need I say more? Picturesque none-the-less and great to visit on summer weekends but not a place to set up shop. Scarborough is a bus ride away from the city, takes about 20-30 minutes and a taxi costs $30 - we know this because we missed the last bus home which goes at 7pm on Sundays! It has a huge beach amphitheatre which provides shade and hosts regular beach parties. There is a good selection of restaurants and has a young vibe to it but it just didn’t feel right to be our home.

Mandurah was a place Suz saw and fell in love with on the TV; she had to go. It was the weekend of the Mandurah Crab Fest and so we thought what better a time to get acquainted with the place? The train from Perth takes about 45 minutes to reach Mandurah; a place made up of a spaghetti junction of canals meeting the Indian Ocean. It is absolutely beautiful there. The canals are not your English type, they are sparkling and clear and home to the most stunning boats moored at the back of mini-mansions. The canals are such that you can have a dip in them, so we did, and we were even honored with the company of wild dolphins. We ate crab (obviously its the Crab Fest), strolled up and down the East and West banks and watched the sunset whilst listening to a live band play Bob Marley renditions. Paradise.  So, we have our first viewing tomorrow with a list as long as your arm to see in the coming weeks!  

Departure and arrival

Everyone who knows me knows that I like to party. All I can say is, scrap my birthday I think I may just have to emigrate to a different country every year as I have never celebrated so much than in the lead up to my departure to Oz. Gosh, anyone would think that all my friends were glad to see the back of me!

As the final days in England came to close and I had said all of my ‘goodbyes’ it still didn’t feel like I was actually leaving for a long period. Saying bye to the little ones (Kari, Nari and Marley-Moo) and KoKo was the hardest as they didn’t understand and I knew I’d be missing out on vital things like first steps and words - from the kids that is. My loved ones sent me off in true style though, with an amazing party, excellent food, extensive gifts, copious amounts of rum and positive vibes. If I didn’t already know, I do now - my friends and family are truly amazing.

The journey started on 29 February (leap year day; superstitiously a lucky day to start something new) yet didn’t end until 2 March. Everyone knows the flight to Oz is a LONG one - this trip totaling 26 hours. The first flight wasn’t bad as it was a night flight but the second was a drag. The best part of the journey was the stopover in Hong Kong. That airport has to be one of the best in the world with free WiFi and every single shop you can imagine. I somehow resisted buying anything (I had my eye on a pair of Gucci sunglasses but managed to walk away!) but couldn’t pass up on some authentic Chinese noodles.

On arrival into Perth, at 8am, the temperature was already 25 degrees. Apparently the heatwave was the week before when temperatures soared to over 40 degrees! I’d like to point out that the season is Autumn. A taxi from the airport to the city takes around 30 minutes and costs about $40. Richard, the landlord, met me and Suzanne at what would be our home for the next 8 weeks. He was an older gent with a calm nature - I hope that he remains like this! I’d secretly been feeling really apprehensive about the apartment as Suzanne had trustingly left the house hunt to me and the website where I found the place didn’t have a lot of pictures. It is also really expensive so I was hoping it lived up to the description...

Our apartment is a two bedroom, two bathroom, two balcony(!), converted warehouse in a secure complex in Northbridge. It has some minor faults, like the knobs on the cooker don’t work properly and the outside bulbs have gone but overall it’s great - a perfect retreat after long, job-seeking days. Northbridge is a hub of restaurants, bars and clubs and home to China Town! It is about a 15 minute walk to the CBD and there is a bus from the end of our road that takes us to Scarborough Beach which is about 20 minutes away.

Having stayed in Northbridge previously we are very familiar with the area - we already have a favorite Chinese Restaurant! Traditionally in Perth, Sundays are Dim Sum Sundays and so we embraced local tradition on our first Sunday and plan to continue to embrace this. If I was looking like a boiled dumpling before I can only imagine that before long I will look like a fried one (same shape, only suntanned!).

The first week was a set up week. We trudged through town, back and forth to the bank, the tax office and the Medicare centre to lay down the foundations of our Aussie life. Within a week all these things were done and we’d arranged interviews at three separate recruitment consultants to secure some much needed employment.

Finally, it was Saturday and what better way to conclude our first week of being Aussie’s than with a BBQ and so off we went...