Search Results for: label/Australia

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade

September 28, 2013 by Fran Leave a Comment

John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens whilst you are making plans.” Man alive, is that ever true! Probably the only time I have agreed with a scouser.

You trundle along, thinking you are making progress, then life, or more specifically people, throw you a curveball. I suppose the challenge is in how you react. I probably threw mum a curveball this week. By casually dropping into our regular Skype call that she is coming to Australia in March next year. Yes, I told her, rather than asked. You see, ever since I was moving out here, and the whole time I have actually been here, she has been saying she will visit. But she prevaricates. And she let’s all sorts of stuff run through her head. About how hard the flight will be. She will never be able to do it. Etc etc. Blah blah blah.

So, I took the proverbial bull by the horns and made the decision for her. I’m thankful to report that she took it very well. After a period of going a little dizzy and needing some fresh air, she returned to the little iPod screen they were Skyping on (yeah, seriously!) and said she would love to come.

She now needs to get her head around it being extremely warm in March, and start picking up summer clothes bargains in the autumn sales in the UK.

Mum, Mosman awaits.

It is now September. Which can only mean one thing. Well, probably a few actually, but only one that I am going to blog about.

The start of Oktoberfest. Yes, you read that right. I’ve never really understood why by the great German beer festival that bears the name of October actually starts in September. But there you go. It gave us a great excuse to go the Bavarian Beer Cafe in Crows Nest and join in the celebrations.

And celebrate we did. I think. After much strong German beer, and the barmaid rigging the tombola so we got free shots, the night seemed to pass in a little bit of a blur. Did somebody say mortalled?

Thank you Victoria, we will be back. But we probably won’t wait until next September.

In a less inebriated fashion, answer me this. How often do we praise the tax man? Not often, right.

However, I must take my hats off to the good ladies and gentlemen of the Australian Tax Office this month. Submitting a tax return is mandatory for everybody in Australia. What a bloody pain I thought. However, I did the right thing, completed all the necessary forms, and off it went. Imagine my surprise when some weeks later I got a whopping refund in my bank account! Those are the kind of curveballs you can throw at me every week.

So, being the prudent Yorkshireman (NOT tight) that I am, the majority got squirrelled away for a rainy day. And yes, it does rain a lot here. The remainder I decided to spend on a good old-fashioned shopping trip. The Xmas booze cupboard got fully stocked, and I even treat myself to a (very) early birthday present. Bosh!

The question is, will it last??

The other thing of note this month was the pending expiry of my passport. Something that I couldn’t leave unaddressed. So having attended my appointment at the post office, and handed over the best part of $300, I was left for a disturbingly worrying period where I was unable to travel anywhere but within the confines of Australia. Granted, they are very, very big confines, but I still felt like I had a bit of cabin fever coming on until I received a parcel in the post that contained my new, 10 year, electronically chipped UK passport. How I breathed a sigh of relief.

I do have a weekend jaunt to Byron Bay next weekend (the long bank holiday) for which I don’t need the passport, but I’m always looking to my next overseas trip. My passport has turned out to be my most reliable friend. The one that never lets me down. I want this relationship to continue.

Have passport, will travel

I should finish this missive on a sporting theme. But rather than address the recent football scores (or rugby for that matter – bloody South Sydney and the Burgess brothers), I will just touch on the rather excellent news that Fox Sports have just this week announced. From this weekend, they have signed a deal and will show live games from both the Spanish La Liga and the Italian Serie A. Could my weekends get any more perfect? Well, actually, probably. A little bit. But, now I can have orgiastic sport filled weekends, the likes of which starts for me in about 30 mins with the Newcastle Knights taking on Sydney Roosters for a place in next weekends Grand Final.

Then we have Chelsea v Spurs, followed quickly by Man Utd’s game versus West Brom. I will have a little time to sleep, then it is Real Madrid early in the morning. Oh, and just to finish the weekend, I get to watch the progress of ex United player Paul Pogba in the live Juventus match.

I might be gone for some time…

Musings from Mosman

May 9, 2016 by Fran Leave a Comment

Welcome to the latest update from the Yorkshire Expat, where we will spend some time talking about how the year is progressing so far (very well, since you asked), what is on the horizon (quite a bit actually), and whatever else springs to mind as I’m writing.

If you didn’t know, but I will assume you do, it is May already. We have passed the fourth, so no Stars Wars jokes here. Or is it Star Trek? I can never work out the difference between the two.

Looking in the rear view mirror, at the calendar, it never ceases to surprise me at what is already in the dust behind us. Where did the previous 4 months go? A full third of the year over already. Only 230 days to Christmas. Did any body else buy some Christmas crackers (bon bons in local parlance. No, I don’t understand either. They are crackers for gods sake) and cards in the January sales?

The biggest story of the year so far is the recent move to a new apartment. When I say move, I use the word loosely. More of a shifting. Just up the road. About 500 meters. Why would you do that you ask? Well, certain criteria had to be met. A second bathroom, for the overseas visitors bringing chocolate from the UK each year. Tick. A larger balcony to be able to make the most of the weather, allowing for al fresco dining. Tick. Still within walking distance of our favourite cafés, restaurants, and bars. Tick tick tick.

Now, as we weren’t moving far, in our wisdom we decided not to hire a van like normal people. We would use a car we were hiring for a trip to Mudgee (wine country, which was amazing), and just make a few trips. The hiring of cars is made very simple with the concept of “GoGet”, where you join up, receive a magnetic card, check the website for a car parked near you, book for any duration starting from 30 minutes, then turn up, swipe the card on the windshield, get in, and drive. Simple.

Driving through Mosman with a mattress hanging precariously out the back of the car, avoiding police cars, and looking a tad ridiculous. Multiple trips were made either side of Easter weekend, by which time we thought we would be done. We weren’t. Being only about 500 meters away from the new digs, we figured we could easily move the remaining bits on foot. And it would be easy. It wasn’t.

We looked at each other on a dark Tuesday night, with the dawning realization we still had lots to carry. And thus, doing what needed to be done, we traipsed through the streets of Mosman looking like Syrian refugees, carrying gas bottles for BBQs, mops, clothes horse, vacuum cleaner, and lots of other detritus. What happened to the so called de-cluttering, before moving? As always happens. It gets left til it’s too late, and all your shit comes with you to the new place.

In the lives we now find ourselves living in, the necessities are somewhat different than they were for our parents generation when they set up home. Their “wireless” was probably a big, dusty, brown hunk of a thing that sat on the mantlepiece, spitting out weekly episodes of the Archers. Or stirring speeches by Churchill. Ours is a little white box with flickering green lights. When it works. Which is another story.

We took the opportunity when moving home, to move broadband providers. This was driven by the fact that the rights to show the live English Premier League games (every single one of them) have been bought by Optus, with Foxtel (the local SKY) losing out. In readiness, a move to Optus broadband followed. Quickly followed by nothing but problem after problem with the reliability of the service. Our wi-if is patchy, at best. I am going to get very annoyed if the same problems start occurring during live football matches. At godforsaken hours of the night. If I was a project manager, oh, I am, I would be flagging this as my biggest risk to Optus being able to satisfy the thousands of subscribers wanting their weekly fix of the beautiful game.

Recently, we had a public holiday (you would call it a bank holiday in the UK), ANZAC day, where we took the opportunity to have a long weekend in the country again. This time in the Hunter Valley, where, conveniently, there are shit loads of wineries. This makes me happy. Also, like Mudgee, we booked somewhere quiet and remote. This time, very remote. The weekend involved lots of wine tasting. Lots of cheese tasting. Peace. Quiet. And a hot tub.

This (not the hot tub) got me thinking what it would be like to have a tree change? If this is not a term you are familiar with, I would usually call it a sea change. Up sticks, quit the busy city life, and move somewhere quiet, living a life far removed from the current one. Maybe make cheese. Keep animals. Open a little coffee shop. Etc, etc. You get the picture. One of the challenges is picking the right place. Getting the balance between social and solitude right.

For example, as much as I like Darwin, a very small place on the northern coast of Australia, I’m not sure I’d want to be ensconced there for any length of time. Subsisting on a diet of titties and schnitties may not be everybody’s cup of tea. And whilst Gulgong, near Mudgee in central NSW, does the best Rogan Josh in the whole of Australia, could I live in a place that only has one street, and you had to eat curry every day? Well, thinking about it…

So for now, the sea change remains a pipe dream. One that I continue to percolate on.

Maybe it will brew into something on my upcoming holiday, or vacation, as they like to say where we will be heading. A road trip up the west coast of the US ticks some long held boxes personally (Big Sur anyone?), as does finally getting to Canada. A place I have been threatening to visit since making friends with a Kelowna local, whilst travelling Australia many years ago. This year I will finally get to Canada. More specifically, to Vancouver. This is a trip that fills me with great excitement.

Will there be pics? You bet. Will there be a few American cheese burgers involved. Without doubt the burger spreadsheet will be getting updated. And will it all be captured in a future blog. You can count on it. Just keep reading.

What has been happening through Autumn?

April 26, 2017 by Fran Leave a Comment

So many things seem to have happened since we last spoke that it is hard to think where to begin. If i was a better write than I am I would write in a nonlinear fashion, dropping crumbs all over, then bringing them all together at the end. Like a literary masterpiece. However, you don’t have Hemingway. You have me.

In the spirit of seeing as much as we can, within Australia, a couple of weeks ago we took an early mark from work, and headed downtown, to our usual car hire place, and from there headed off to Kangaroo Valley. Somewhere new. For a couple of nights.

In Friday afternoon traffic, Kangaroo Valley is almost 3 hours south of Sydney, in an area called Shoalhaven. We have been down this part of the world previously, having once spent a great weekend in Jervis Bay with friends. Kangaroo Valley is a little further inland, through the picture postcard village of Berry. And if you know of Berry, you know of the “Famous Donut Van” in Berry. Needless to say, we got ourselves acquainted.

Talking of “famous” food outlets, Kangaroo Valley has it’s own. Not wanting to be outdone, there is the “World Famous Pie” shop, something I was not going to miss. And my oh my. The pie was outstanding. Best I have ever had. Period. If it wasn’t for the pre-holiday health kick I am about to embark on, I would have brought enough home to fill up the freezer.

Despite the name of our home for the weekend, ironically, we saw very few kangaroos. Not as many as we see when we visit our favourite spot in the countryside, Mudgee. I had been teased with the prospect of seeing wombats in the wild, but despite trying to make myself invisible, and wait for them to come out in the evening, the reclusive little blighters never showed their cute, fat little faces.

Our accommodation was a perfect little cottage, called “The Hammock”, with an open fire that we got roaring in the evening. The temperature drops a lot when the sun goes down, and when I saw the open fireplace I was in my element. I am not sure what it is about fire, but getting it started becomes an obsession. Then keeping it going becomes hypnotic. Hearing the fire crackle, feeling the heat, watching the flames, with the alcoholic effects of a few large, full bodied, glasses of red wine (bought from the local winery, some 20 minutes from the cottage) it was a heavenly evening.

We were soon back in the real world, back in the city life, so why not make the most of it. As we had been away so recently, we decided to remain closer to home for the Easter break, and instead booked one of our famous city “staycations”. We seem to be getting around most of the hotels in Sydney, and Easter saw us staying at the Old Clare Hotel, in Chippendale. On the site of the old Carlton and United brewery. For UK readers, it is where your Fosters lager used to come from. The area has gone, and is going, through massive regeneration, and is fasting becoming one of the places to be in Sydney.

The hotel is on Kensington St which has become a restaurant hot spot, which also incorporates “Spice Alley”, a fascinating blend of old and new, housing numerous excellent Asian eateries. Definitely worth a visit, if not an overnight stay, if you are in the neighbourhood.

And with all the eating and drinking that has been occurring, virtually non stop since Christmas, there has been the inevitable addition of a few pounds around the waistline. If you love food and fine wine as much as I do, who said bon vivant?, you will know that it is not a one way street. You have to put the effort in to keep from blowing up like the Michelin man.

I continue with my gym work, and weekly 5 a side run out, but have added something else to my repertoire. Dynamic Pilates. Yup, you heard right, I have started doing pilates. The kind where you lay on what looks like a torture bed. Or something you may have read about in 50 Shades of Grey. All springs and straps. With less pleasure. I’m assuming about the pleasure, of course, having had no experience of anything you may have read in any of EL James’s “best sellers”.

It is amazing how fast an hour passes when doing pilates, focussing the mind, breathing in tune to the exercises, compared to time spent on the treadmill in the gym. I’m not afraid to say I loathe running. Unless it is on a football pitch. Running, for runnings sake is not what i was created for. And the time I spend knocking out a few kms on the treadmill seems to drag in comparison.

That said, needs must. So, for the next few weeks, my aim is to shift my “winter coat”, in time for my European summer. Alcohol canned (which means abstention, not drinking tinnies) for a month. Exercise upped for the month. And no treats in between (after I have eaten all my Easter chocolate).

Wish me luck friends.

P.S. voting in Australia is compulsory for all citizens, which now includes me of course. So this month also saw me casting my first ever vote here in Australia, in the local by election. This Yorkshire lad is already making his contribution.

P.P.S. In the last couple of weeks, the government has announced sweeping changes to how you achieve citizenship. Seems I got in just in time!

My little love affair with Mudgee

January 13, 2020 by Fran Leave a Comment

Mudgee, in the time before the drought, and the bush fires. When my love affair with Mudgee started — Beautiful Mudgee, in the time before the drought

Driving up the highway it was clear to see that there had been bad fires. Both sides of the Castlereagh highway, the fields were scorched. Razed. Fields of green had become fields of black. It didn’t take too much imagination to picture how scary this must have been, just days ago, as bush fires ripped through the region. This fear was made real when Sharon at the cellar door at Burundulla vineyard shared a video on her phone of a Mudgee local and his partner driving through at the exact moment the fire jumped the highway. Frightening, even at a distance of some days. Even the roadkill, so prevalent on drives through the country, look to have suffered in unimaginable ways.

Coming to Mudgee, in the midst of the bush fire disaster taking over large swathes of Australia, family and friends understandably had lots of questions. Is it safe to travel to Mudgee? Is Mudgee affected by the bush fires? Are the Mudgee wineries affected? We are able to answer these, and other questions, including what there is to do in Mudgee and the surrounding towns. Where to stay, and why it is now more important than ever to visit regional towns like Mudgee, when every dollar spent in local businesses is critical. My little love affair with Mudgee was to continue.

My love affair with Mudgee started at Lowe Wines. — Lowe Wines – a firm favourite

We had come to Mudgee to escape the madness that is New Years Eve in the city. In the years I have lived in Sydney I have, like hundreds of thousands of others, joined the crush around Sydney Harbour. Trying to get a birds eye view of quite possibly the best fireworks display in the world. So, whilst I know first hand how impressive this spectacle is, I also know that I no longer want to spend the last day of any year down there again.

If there is an antithesis of the new year carnage on the Harbour, it must be the little country town of Mudgee in regional New South Wales. I have previously written about celebrating my Australian citizenship in Mudgee. Insulated from the city of Sydney by a 3 and half hour drive, up through the Blue Mountains, once here you could be on a different planet. A planet blessed with abundant wildlife and some of the best wines you will taste. The difference now, sadly, is that due to the changing climate, the vines are at risk, and I’m saddened to hear from locals that the animals are just giving up. Just laying down to die. Through lack of water, and lack of green grass to graze on. The heart breaks.

The effects of the changing climate is evident everywhere. Each time we have visited Mudgee in the past, as we broach the hill and descend in to the valley near Windamere dam, we are usually greeted by a lush carpet of green. As far as the eye can see. Green fields stretching out and away as far as the mountains that surround this beautiful little town. This year we audibly gasped as we were met by a landscape that could have been from Australia’s desert. Colours that would not have looked out of place on a long drive through the Nullarbor. Every shade of brown, only punctuated by black. The tell tale signs of the fires. Apart from the trees that have managed to keep the majority of their green leaves, the ground was dry as a bone. Mudgee was in the middle of a very long drought.

My love affair of Mudgee continues, even through the latest drought and bush fires. — The dry landscape of Mudgee

In the middle of this drought, and as the fires raged, tourists stayed away. A town like Mudgee relies heavily on the influx of visitors that spend money in local shops and at the cellar doors. If businesses are to survive, tourists need to keep coming. And so, having made sure we were not in danger, we drove to Mudgee to “reset our senses”, to borrow the tagline of the local tourist board.

My little love affair with Mudgee continues with the discovery of Tom's Cottage in Wilgowrah. — Tom’s Cottage – Wilgowrah

Our senses were going to be reset at “Tom’s Cottage” in Wilgowrah (www.wilgowrah.com.au), a short 5 minute drive from the centre of Mudgee. A self contained cottage, with sweeping views of the Mudgee hills, we were in the right place to quietly celebrate the end of the year together, and to chat through our hopes and dreams for the year ahead. The cottage is nestled in the gardens of the heritage listed Wilgowrah homestead, and is their first offering. Plans are underway to convert a small nearby church in to accommodation which will make for a very unique stay. One evening, take the 4 wheel drive buggy up the hill, with a bottle of wine, and have a picnic, watching the sunset.

Each stay in Mudgee is unique, even just for the pace of life there. No traffic lights. You heard that right. Can you imagine it? And after being there a while, especially coming from the city, you start noticing the absence of something. It takes you a while to realise you have not heard a car horn in the time you have been here. It has sadly become part of everyday life in Sydney, even if a driver has the temerity to take more than 2 seconds to move once the lights have turned green. City people must be in such a rush.

Slowing down in Mudgee, we took the push bikes out. Very little traffic. No car horns. And a very flat landscape. Cycling down country lanes was such a pleasant experience, stopping to chat to the local goats and horses. Every kilometre we cycled we promised ourselves another glass of wine.

Cycling through the country lanes of Mudgee

That was a lot of wine, starting at a cellar door we hadn’t previously visited. Elephant Mountain wines (www.elephantmountain.com.au) have not had a cellar door in Mudgee for very long, with the vines being in the neighbouring town of Lue. The cellar door has been in Mudgee for just over a couple of years. In my opinion, it is a very welcome addition. Having discovered the wonders of Pinot Gris in New Zealand, I was very pleasantly surprised to taste one of such quality here in Mudgee. Needless to say, some made their way home with us.

Elephant Mountain cellar door, now in the heart of Mudgee. — Elephant Mountain cellar door

Talking of quality wines, next up was one of our favourite vineyards in Mudgee. Lowe wines (www.lowewine.com.au) have made us feel very welcome each time we visit the cellar door. The very first time we visited we were supplied with a seemingly endless amount of wine. On a tasting. Which effectively means it is free. However, this is hospitality at its best as what often happens, and it did on that first visit, is that we get to taste how great the wine is, we end up slightly tipsy, and then buy almost every bottle available when we leave. Everybody is happy. It is just this kind of hospitality that keeps us returning time and again to Lowe. Oh, and did I mention that they do an awesome grazing board?

In the heart of Mudgee, the Pipeclay Pumphouse restaurant — Pipeclay Pumphouse restaurant

Suitably stuffed from an afternoon at Lowe, we save our next food experience for the following day. Our first visit to the Pipeclay Pumphouse restaurant (www.pipeclaypumphouse.com.au), out at the Robert Stein winery. From the outside it looks like a tin shed. One that graces many a paddock across Australia. Inside is where the magic happens. You can look forward to a spectacular menu and first class service. We opted for the tasting menu but you would be just as happy choosing from the excellent a la carte options. As you would expect, the wine list is made up of a selection that are made right there on site. We chose the 2019 Riesling and it was superb. Hints of mineral, lemon and lime, and a very smooth finish. Luckily for me, it wasn’t my day to be the designated driver.

Food at the Pipeclay Pumphouse in Mudgee — The food was delicious

Food. Wine. Rest. Relaxation. You truly do get the opportunity to reset your senses when you spend time in Mudgee. Life slows down to a very enjoyable pace. Nothing is urgent. Nothing is rushed. Is it any wonder that I have a little love affair with Mudgee? Each time I leave, I feel like I leave a piece of myself behind. I am always driving away wondering when I can be driving back. Next time I visit, I hope to bring a little rain with me.

Hello Perth

March 24, 2020 by Fran Leave a Comment

Life is what happens whilst you are making plans - quote from John Lennon

“Life is what happens whilst you are making plans”, is a quote attributed to numerous people, amongst them, John Lennon of Beatles fame. Never has this aphorism been more true than in recent days.

Over a year in the planning, yesterday should have been the day we were filled with nervous excitement. Wondering what the next 12 months would hold as we embarked on the trip of a lifetime. A round the world travel adventure, sipping cocktails on deserted Filipino beaches. Swimming in the tropical shores of Thailand. Exploring the best of Europe in a campervan, and checking out the best of the vineyards. On to Canada to explore the Rockies, before brushing up my Spanish in a language school in Central America.

Well, you know the rest. Like all of you, our lives have been disrupted by events that are impacting the whole world. Humanity is being tested like never before. Lives are being changed irrevocably. New phrases are entering the lexicon. “Social distancing”. “Self isolation”. Lockdown has become a part of everyday life.

When you are going through hell, keep going - Winston Churchill

As society slowly learns to adapt to a time where we can’t see our loved ones for fear of making them ill. And jobs are lost in their thousands as social distancing means a loss of our social lives, and with it many people’s incomes. I suppose we still have a lot to be thankful for. Rather than setting off with the whole world being our oyster, we are learning to adapt ourselves.

At the end of our travels we had made the life changing decision to uproot our fabulous life in Sydney, and transport it to beautiful Western Australia. Specifically to Perth. A place we have visited a number of times and love. A place where the sun seems to constantly shine. That Margaret River, one of my favourite places in the world (in part due to the wonderful wineries and beautiful beaches) is on the doorstep of Perth, may have something to do with our choice.

Fast forward to Sunday, and with the announcement that Western Australia would be closing its borders on Tuesday afternoon, we quickly jumped on to the Qantas website and booked ourselves on a flight out. The next day. And here we are. After a flight of just under 5 hours, and a time difference of minus 3 hours from Sydney, we are safely at an AirBnB in Perth.

This is day 1. What day 2, and subsequent days hold, we don’t know. We have a week booked in our accommodation. And we need to sort out what to do after that. We don’t yet know if we will all be in full lockdown as the UK now is. We do know that across Australia all pubs, restaurants have had to close, with cafes only allowed to do a takeaway service. Importantly, the bottle shops are currently excluded from the closures so are able to stay sane through drinking copious amounts of wine. And more importantly, there is a bottle shop conveniently located a short walk from where we are staying. If a wider, New Zealand style lockdown is put in place, we will just have to find somewhere we can stay a little longer, and head out for a large supply of food and the elusive toilet roll.

Whilst this is a terrible time for everyone, the fact that a relatively “normal” life is returning in China does give me some hope. A glint of light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Until that light gets brighter, please adhere to the official advice that your respective government is giving you. It is very important. The less people we are in contact with, the less opportunity we give this virus chance to spread amongst us.

Beautiful sunshine on Beaufort Street in Perth — Day 1 coffee spot – Mt Lawley

Let’s all work together to keep everyone safe. Once the darks clouds have passed, everyone is invited to the virus “going away” party!

What does the future look like?

April 15, 2020 by Fran Leave a Comment

Is it really a week since my last post? They say time flies when you are having fun. Are we all having fun? Even when the world is as crazy as it currently is, we need to keep our collective spirits up, and keep looking out for, and after each other.

How are we all holding up? What is it that is getting you through all this social distancing, and self isolation? Whether it is making a scarecrow to brighten up your community, practising your Tik Tok skills, or just going on 3 hour walks, tell me your top tips. How are you keeping a positive outlook in a time when we can’t go to the pub to let off steam over a few cold ones.

Since we last spoke, 7 more days have passed, which means we are 7 more days closer to normality. Whatever version of normality we end up with after the last few months. I ask what you think the future looks like, and of course, none of us know.

Will companies realise that working from home is a good thing and that they can drastically reduce their real estate costs? Will managers learn to trust employees that they can’t keep their eyes on all day? Will employees demand that they have more work from home days as part of their working week? And one thing that I am currently writing an article about is, will we be glad to have our commute back?

The beautiful Perth skyline from the Swan River

For us, we have started the job hunt this week, and we could be in for a bumpy ride. Perth is very different from Sydney, where we previously lived, in that it is not a financial centre. A place where the big banks have a large presence. So, already the market opportunities have reduced. And now, fold in the COVID19 situation, and the job market looks even worse.

With more time on my hands I find that my mind jumps around a lot. About “that” career that I have always wanted, rather than the one that I fell into. The thing is, I still have not landed on what “that” career is. Being in Australia, and so close to world class vineyards, I have long wanted to improve my knowledge of wine, and the wine industry. Now might be the perfect opportunity to do just that. Slowing life down even further, moving to a wine region such as Margaret River, and getting a job at a winery. I could be on to something!

What you will know if you have been following the blog, is that right now our outgoings should be a lot less than we are currently paying for our new apartment. By this point, our plan was to have been in South East Asia for a couple of weeks, with our greatest expense being a beach bungalow on the coast of Malaysia.

In the ocean at Cottesloe Beach — Not Malaysia, but beautiful Cottesloe Beach

The biggest factor that would determine how fast our travel funds depleted would be whether to have one beer, or two. Now, living in Australia still, our current cost of living can not be sustained on our travel budget. And, perhaps more importantly, we don’t want to spend all our travel funds, as we see this as a hiatus, not something permanent. We still plan to do some long term travel, just as long as the world returns to normal.

The beautiful Swan River in Perth — Keeping fit, with daily walks along the Swan River

Reading the news from around the world, I think that we will be well into 2021 before we get any semblance of normality. In Australia, the message being pushed is that we should all consider domestic travel, and that will be quite some time off yet. In terms of the international borders reopening, well, I’m not holding my breath.

A pelican from nearby Pelican Lawn by Optus Stadium. — One of many pelicans we see each day by the river

For now, we will continue to explore Perth, and its wonderful wildlife. Currently, we are still on foot, and I am chipping away at convincing Victoria that buying an e-bike each, out of our travel funds, would be a good investment. It is proving a lot harder than convincing her that we needed 6 bottles of sparkling chenin blanc from Voyager Estate in Margaret River. Yes, she didn’t take much convincing at all for the wine that we are hoping will get delivered today.

We may not have jobs, but we are supporting the local wine industry, which is just as important. Isn’t it? I could be knocking on their door for a job one day.