Finalising schools
This week has mainly involved finishing off the school applications, getting Laura and Caroline into Forest High for the final term of the year (starting 16th Oct) and Rebecca into primary - Allambie Heights Public School - for one term before she also moves to Forest next year.

We have visited both schools several times over the last few days to drop off various forms for the schools and for our registration with NSW Educational Authority, who we have to pay an annual fee to for each student, as we are temporary residents. That's all in hand now and the great thing about both schools is how friendly, welcoming and helpful the staff have been - all the girls can't wait to start!

We also visited our new house yesterday to meet the owners and find out a bit more about how things work and also to buy a few of the white goods from them - fridge/freeze, washing machine and tumble dryer etc. The house seemed bigger on second visit and we can't wait to get in next week. Just hoping that our container clears customs in time for the move!

We took a walk around the Long Reef headland this afternoon in warm sunshine - very scenic around the golf course with lovely views up and down the coast. Met our first Westie that we've seen since getting here, then saw a group of 4 walking together!

Sue

End of the week
The last few days have been busy so today (Sunday) was another 'holiday day' although the weather was hot - over 30c, which was an unseasonably high temperature and accompanied by a high wind. We stayed around the house for the morning and then took a walk along by Narrabeen Lagoon in the afternoon (with Sue driving the car for the first time) and then we all walked down to Warriewood Beach at the end of the day before it got dusk (around 5pm).

Yesterday had started early with collecting the car and dropping off the hire car. The new car is the first sign that we are here to stay and good to have this as a 'runaround'. We also went into the City in the afternoon to visit the shops and it was remarkably quiet for a Saturday. Stopped at Balmoral for fish & chips on the way home.

We are also more relaxed this weekend after having heard on Friday that we had secured the rental house in Forestville that we had seen on Thursday and loved - good size, unusual modern design, quiet residential location and, oh yes, a pool! Would have been great to use that today!

Clive

House hunting
Today was the next round of newspaper ads for rented properties, but there wasn't much new from Saturday and there was nothing to see today, although 2 appointments were made for later this week. There are details of properties on the main website for the area and this is a good way to view more details online and plan appointments, although the good ones seem to get snapped up quite quickly.

We've registered here to get updates for new properties going online, but we're still trying to decide which areas we want to live in and also which schools are going to be best for the girls. We are in some state of limbo at the moment as we are sometimes waiting for phone calls back and so having to wait around the house, so we're not being tourists and don't feel settled yet either!

Sue

A day of rest - then onwards...
Yesterday (Sunday) was the first day of 'being a tourist' for us as there was not much that we could do. We drove down to Manly and went up the North Head first of all, with great views across the harbour entrance and to the city. Every glimpse and view of the city skyline is impressive each time, either from a snatched view down a street or from this viewpoint.

We then went into Manly for a walk along the beach front and to the Wharf to get some food, before returning on a drive through some new areas back to our base at Narrabeen.

Today was back to the tasks in hand, with a visit to the first school we wanted to see - Forest High in Frenchs Forest. There was a 'meet the principle' hour at the start of the day, so we had a tour around and a talk from the Principal for about 30 minutes. The school looked quiter run-down initially but it grew on us and Laura and Caroline seem quite keen on this one as it's similar to Beacon in the UK but smaller and possibly more welcoming.

Then we made our first trip to the city to visit the bank to activate our account and get hold of the money we've transferred so far. This was an easy and relatively quick process and we also had a walk around the city centre for a while before heading back home via the ferry to Cremorne Point, where we had parked the car.

Clive

House hunting begins
Today was the first day of looking for a house to rent. The system is quite different here, in that the majority of real estate agents don't have details in their offices to view, but they put everything on one main website and also place adverts each Saturday and Wednesday in the local paper with viewing times for each property - usually for about 30 minutes at a set time.

The result is that everyone looking for a house scans the papers on the 2 days, then visit the houses that they are interested in. The advantage for the real estate agents is that they don't have to keep showing people around at different times, and that people visiting a property get the added pressure if they like it of seeing others viewing it at the same time!

We identified 6 properties for today at different times and planned our route around. It was a good way to start viewing different areas (all of which are liveable in) and also to get an idea of what was possible for our budget. We saw a range of different properties and prices but nothing was perfect. There was a 'designer house' in Harbord which looked great but had already gone the previous day, which we only discovered when we looked around. However, in hindsight it would have been far too small for us.

So, an interesting start and good to see some different properties. Some had some attractive elements, such as a great view, or lovely living space, but none we saw today was perfect. Still, there's next Wednesday to look forward to!

Clive

Day 2
Today's task was to buy a new car. We need to get this sorted out quite soon as we only have the hire car for just over a week, so we toured around the main car dealers area on the main Pittwater Road area near Manly.

We had been looking at the type of cars on the road and had decided to go for a Honda CRV - a small 4x4 car, as we really didn't want to get into this 'set', but many cars on the road are this type and also the girls wanted another car where they could sit high. We visited a number of dealers but ended up at the main Honda showroom which had a number of used CRV's at a decent price, so we put a deposit down and arranged to collect it in a week's time once the hire car term had expired. So, first job sorted!

Clive

Moving - Part 2
We've just completed our first full day in Australia after having flown over yesterday (and the day before). After having spent the night at Lesely & Dave's in Maidenhead on Monday, we set off soon after 8am to get to Heathrow - Lesley and Daniel took the five of us and luggage up in 2 cars.

Once at Heathrow, we met Simon, who had arranged with his contacts to 'fast track' us through the check-in and security stages - much appreciated but quite embarrassing as we jumped the queue with our luggage. The flight left on time, soon after midday and 12 hours later we were in Singapore after a good flight, helped by having 8 seats between the 5 of us.

After a very brief stop-over in Changi Airport, we were off again for a 7 hour flight to Sydney which started to take its toll with tiredness and boredom. Next time we may well split the flight with an overnight break, but we wanted to get there quickly and this was certainly the quickest way of doing it.

Although we arrived at 7pm, it was dark at this time of year and, once the customs process was completed, we collected our hire car and drove through the city, over the bridge and up the coast to our rented holiday house. We found it easily enough and were there within the hour, where the owners were waiting for us and we ended the day with some champagne (left for us) and pizza (bought on the drive). More about the house later...

Our first day greeted us with blue skies and sunshine, which was fortunate as there had been unseasonal heavy rain and winds over the previous few days. We walked down to the local beach first thing and discovered lots of small 'plastic bags' along the beach. We later discovered that these were 'bluebottles' (aka Portuguese Man of War) and Sue was fortunate to avoid a painful sting since she picked one up to inspect it!

We then took a drive around the areas where the main schools are located that we need to choose from. The roads around this area are generally wide and free-flowing, so it was easy to get around and great to be back in the area. Looking forward to the next few days, weeks, months...

Clive

Leaving Crowborough
This was the day we left Crowborough, 11 years and 1 week since we arrived. There was lots to sort out - trips to the dump, furniture to be collected by Karen and Suzanne, or returned to Marissa & Fred and Peter & Marion. The house also got a good clean, ready for the tenants who are expected to arrive in October.

We then packed everything up and crammed it into the car ready to drive to Maidenhead. It wasn't too sad to leave the house, despite spending 11 years here, as the last few weeks had been spent with minimal furniture so in some ways it was a relief to go at last! We left around 3pm (school time) and had a good journey to Lesley & Dave's, where a fun evening was spent with some reminiscing and games, but there wasn't much sleep during the night!

Sue

Our leaving party
Last night was our leaving party and a great send off prior to our departure this week. We'd spent the day getting the village hall in Rotherfield ready for the evening, which kicked off at 7.30. It was also the evening of the Crowborough Carnival, so some people couldn't arrive until later, but most started turning up soon after the start and there was a constant stream of friends appearing.

It was great to have a party where we knew everyone and the girls also had a good number of friends there. Clive and I were so involved with everyone throughout the evening that we hardly had anything to eat or drink, but there was plenty of dancing and also trying to chat to everyone there.

The disco went well, catering for the youngsters in the first few hours and then, after most people had eaten, the band - The Upbeat Beatles - came on and played a great show. The music was great to dance to and the quality of the band was excellent as they involved everyone and all ages. So many people said how much they had enjoyed the party and how it was one of the best they'd been to, plus we felt that it was a great send off.

The music finished at 12 and by the time everyone had gone and some clearing up had been done, plus the DJ had packed all the gear away, we left about 2am with our ears ringing and some great memories of a wonderful night. There are a sample of photos posted here.

Sue

One week to go...
We leave Crowborough on Monday next week and there's quite a lot to sort out before then, including final preparations for our leaving party on Saturday which we're all looking forward to in some ways, but it will also be the last time we will see many of our friends, so it will also be a night tinged with sadness!

Today is also a significant date - apart from being my xxth birthday. It's also 11 years to the day since we moved to Crowborough, and 6 years to the day since I 'officially' launched my business, having left paid employment a week before and having been on a short holiday. Easy to remember all these things!

Clive