How's life in NZ/Aus?

shamblertine

lads whats the pollen count like in the victoria region? Is it bad for hay fever suffers?

watna

ok, I absolutely loved Melbourne. I would move there in a heartbeat if I could. Was so depressed getting back to Wellington and havng to go in to work this morning

brendansmith

Yeah its difficult not to love the place in my opinion. Id like to settle here eventually.

Zambia

watna wrote: »

ok, I absolutely loved Melbourne. I would move there in a heartbeat if I could. Was so depressed getting back to Wellington and havng to go in to work this morning

Glad you had fun watna.

What you get up to?

watna

Zambia232 wrote: »

Glad you had fun watna.

What you get up to?

Lots and lots of shopping, museums, eating and randomly wandering about the city. We went on the MCG tour as my OH is a big cricket fan which was actually quite interesting and we went out to St Kilda for an afternoon with some friends we have living in Melbourne.

FreeAnd..

Melbourne is a sweet spot alright - I would definitely love to live there at some stage in the future. Personally I much perferred it over Sydney but would like to spend a few months working in both to judge properly

Zambia

watna wrote: »

eating and randomly wandering about the city.

When I first got here I had to do lots in the CBD I loved actually wandering around doing just that.

Little Collins st and Little Burke st being two I liked.

watna

Just found out that partners of New Zealand citizens can also get partnership visas for Australia too.

Very interesting.

Crumble Froo

*gasp*

you're not thinking of leaving, are you?!

watna

Crumble Froo wrote: »

*gasp*

you're not thinking of leaving, are you?!

We were very very taken with Melbourne and OH might be able to transfer the last year of his PhD to the university there. We're thinking about it anyway.

hussey

Sunday session down the rocks last night, and best thing is no work monday!

Mellor

hussey wrote: »

Sunday session down the rocks last night, and best thing is no work monday!

Well for some, i'm currently in work dying

hussey

Mellor wrote: »

Well for some, i'm currently in work dying

I sent a text to a work mate at 10 this morning with the words 'enjoy'
I can be a right pr*ck sometimes!

Overland 2 Oz

watna wrote: »

Well, well well. Our very own NZ and Aus forum!

To start us off I thought I'd make a thread for general/off-topic chat. Feel free to drop in to us and tell us how you're getting on, are you homesick, having a difficult time?

If you have specific questions about travel or visas etc please start a new thread. This is for random chat.

I'll start.

Man, New Zealand is cold.

---

Hey,

I'm sorry if this is not the right place for this but here goes:


Looking someone to share the expense and the time to Drive to OZ. The plan is to take off in a Toyota Landcruiser 4x4 around August or October next year.

The route will consist of the following: (Excuse the spelling)

France - Germany - Czech Republic - Slovakia - Hungary - Romania - Bulgaria - Turkey - Georgia - Krygyastan - Azerbaijin - Turkmeinistan - Kazachastan - China - laois - Cambodia - Vietnam - Thailand - Malaysia and ship car to Austrailia.

It's a journey of a lifetime however there are some large costs associated with it, including kitting out the 4x4, feul and accomadation amonst other things.

To cut down on ur costs, I will be paying for the landcruiser (But not modifications) and to cut down on hassle i have already done alot of the prelimanry planning such as budget, maps, visa research and much more.

All of the above such as time of departure, route, and all aspects of the trip are negotiable and open for discussion as this is going to be a team effort.

The trip will need to be approx 4/5 months and longer depending on the route and chill time. Accomadation will be a mix of tents and hostels / hotels.

The ideal person must be open minded and eager to experience new cultures with a real sense of adventure

Let me know if your are interested and u want to ask questions - i will gladly answer,

reply by email to -

the_big_drive2010@yahoo.com

kind regards

David

The_B_Man

i'd love to do something like that! Maybe on the way home!!

a friend of a friend just recently arrived in Oz after doing this. took them longer than 5 months tho i think. then they only get about a month here in oz, which is a pity.

It'd be some craic tho!

Crumble Froo

watna wrote: »

We were very very taken with Melbourne and OH might be able to transfer the last year of his PhD to the university there. We're thinking about it anyway.

noo! you can't leave before we get to meet up!

melbourne is quite awesome though. if twasnt so far from a surfable beach, i could totally live there. though i dont do well in the heat, but beside a surfable beach, there's an obvious escape from it

Zambia

Mate we are just folks living in Oz. Sounds like a fantastic trip I would love to go!!!

However the wife, mortgages, rent, car payments, Boss and lets not forget the cat say no.

If I where you i would be looking at the cars section under mechanics. You have 4 seats I would fill 3 with Mechanics.

Best of luck

Overland 2 Oz

The_B_Man wrote: »

i'd love to do something like that! Maybe on the way home!!

a friend of a friend just recently arrived in Oz after doing this. took them longer than 5 months tho i think. then they only get about a month here in oz, which is a pity.

It'd be some craic tho!

---

Yeah I'm sure there are loads of people out there that want to do it but a mix of current economic climate and responibilities -

Soucing someone or even two people will more than likely be difficult task -

Any ideas how i can get the word out there?

I was thinking about settin up a website page but for obvious reasons,mainly work,i dont want everyone to know -

thanks guys

Zambia

Try the Toyota Owners clubs.

Also try getting toyota to give you a deal if you slap some signage on the car.

There are several Large toyota dealers in Melbourne. Try emailing them to see if they would be interested in the venture.

However I would not give you a cent if I did not read the crew CV's and where sure you could pull this off

Claasman

Anyone know where i would get bottles of bulmers, or magners as it would be called here, in christchurch?
havent been out there yet, would i only get in in a pub, or could i get it from an offie? thanks

Crumble Froo

just back from dunedin for the weekend. just wasnt long enough. at all. i could easily spend a month down there i reckon. absolutely beautiful beautiful awesome place.

pclancy

Claasman wrote: »

Anyone know where i would get bottles of bulmers, or magners as it would be called here, in christchurch?
havent been out there yet, would i only get in in a pub, or could i get it from an offie? thanks

All my local offies in Wellington sell Magners so I'd assume the same in Christchurch.

jank

France - Germany - Czech Republic - Slovakia - Hungary - Romania - Bulgaria - Turkey - Georgia - Krygyastan - Azerbaijin - Turkmeinistan - Kazachastan - China - laois - Cambodia - Vietnam - Thailand - Malaysia and ship car to Austrailia.

Sounds like a great route but I am not too sure you will be able to get into Georgia. Also I dont think you can drive from Vietnam to Thailand directly

The_B_Man

I'd be more worried about the stopover in Laois!

Claasman

Thanks for that pclancy, looks like i will have to head in to the city for a few bottles. I was dying for a pint of it there a few days ago... You doing much flying up in welli these days? I havent been back at it myself since the intro flight. I cant plan a thing with work and stuff, so i dont want to block buy lessons upless i can do them regularly.

pclancy

The_B_Man wrote: »

I'd be more worried about the stopover in Laois!

As long as they dont get stuck in traffic in Abbeyleix they'll be grand

invisiblewill

Hi David,
Sounds like an awesome trip. I was originally planning to do something similar to that on a motorbike but due to the time and money having to put into it I cancelled it, instead I'm currently about to start a 5month tour of Oz on a motorbike.

Have you checked out Carnet De Passage? Also China will be super expensive since you have to pay a guide to come with you each day you are in the country (this is only if you're bringing in your own vehicle).

Also be wary of Vietnam, bikers are not allowed to bring foreign bikes in the country, so you have to leave them at the border and rent a bike to tour Vietnam. Not sure if it's the same for 4WD.

Check out http://www.horizonsunlimited.com there's 4WD info there aswell.

All the best!
Will

Overland 2 Oz wrote: »

---

Hey,

I'm sorry if this is not the right place for this but here goes:


Looking someone to share the expense and the time to Drive to OZ. The plan is to take off in a Toyota Landcruiser 4x4 around August or October next year.

The route will consist of the following: (Excuse the spelling)

France - Germany - Czech Republic - Slovakia - Hungary - Romania - Bulgaria - Turkey - Georgia - Krygyastan - Azerbaijin - Turkmeinistan - Kazachastan - China - laois - Cambodia - Vietnam - Thailand - Malaysia and ship car to Austrailia.

It's a journey of a lifetime however there are some large costs associated with it, including kitting out the 4x4, feul and accomadation amonst other things.

To cut down on ur costs, I will be paying for the landcruiser (But not modifications) and to cut down on hassle i have already done alot of the prelimanry planning such as budget, maps, visa research and much more.

All of the above such as time of departure, route, and all aspects of the trip are negotiable and open for discussion as this is going to be a team effort.

The trip will need to be approx 4/5 months and longer depending on the route and chill time. Accomadation will be a mix of tents and hostels / hotels.

The ideal person must be open minded and eager to experience new cultures with a real sense of adventure

Let me know if your are interested and u want to ask questions - i will gladly answer,

reply by email to -

the_big_drive2010@yahoo.com

kind regards

David

watna

Just as a heads up. Thrifty in Wellington and Christchurch are currently looking for people to drive cars/camper vans (I think) for free up North. I heard it on the radio. Could be handy if you're in NZ at the moment and want some free transport!

passive

Does anybody know any decent hostels in Perth for finding work? Have just finished a long working stint in Brisbane, Christmas in Sydney, and now I'm heading to Tassie for Falls Festival, Red Center for Touring and Perth for a couple of weeks. Savings are enough between me and the O/H to live off in all of these places, and we've our transport covered with the rail pass, but we're a bit short as regards doing anything adventurous or touring in WA, and we don't want to stretch the bank of Mam&Dad loans this soon after Christmas.

I've passed through a couple of hostels where people were offered odd job type things in the Lobby, and I got a gardening gig once from a hostel in Brisbane, so I'm just wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for a place that has a job club or some kinda scheme that might give me a bit of pocket money between my travels. Would be really grateful for any info, even a definitive "not a chance, mate!" so I know not to plan for it.

Cheers

(Edit: Will also have a week in Melbourne at the end of January, where a similar thing would be welcome if anyone knows of anything like it?)

Zambia

Yesterday I came across two things

One was Northcote A really nice area with lots of interesting shops and cafes, live music, laid back bars and food.

The other was the Astor theatre in St Kilda on Chapel st. I am sure a lot of you living near St Kilda are aware of it or have even been in. $13 per person for a double show is not bad Its a lovely old theatre and a good experience.