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Posted By Skippy Maidment
Well, we're now 3 months into our permanent vacation to Australia and I'd like to confirm the fact that there are some ripper snakes and bugs out here.
Large spiders galore but it's the tiddlers that you have to look out for, cockroaches that are big enough to climb stairs 2 at a time, 8' carpet pythons (my boys' school has 2 in residence)and a host of weird and wonderful bugs in the garden.
BUT it is wonderful and we've never once felt threatened by these creatures.....Aussie drivers on the other hand are a completely nuts and much worse than French or Italian drivers. And they do it in bigger vehicles.
The H & S laws and Standards are virtual straight lifts of UK stuff although the Workcover comp system is a strange beast. I was offered, and accepted, the first job I applied for which was in my field. No trauma at all. Oh! and safety officers are whats known as 'certifiable'. In order to practice you have to undertake a 9 day course and 5 yearly re-applications (following a 2 day update)for your 'card'.
The wages are lower but most things are slightly cheaper. The benefit of having petrol at 40p a litre is somewhat dented by the fact that you have to drive everywhere and so will use heaps more of it. Taxes are higher.
The huge differences are the weather (it's a Wintery Brisbane today at 26degrees, hot & sunny), the vast space and the much more improved quality of our lives.
So, to those who emailed me asking for advice on migration - go for it!! It's met all of our expectations so far.
To those who called me a turncoat, mad unpatriotic and other things "How's the weather in the UK?". I'm off to our local sub tropical island on my boat with family and a BBQ and a pack of XXXX to meet some friends and have a swim after work.
Just letting you all know that's all.
Skippy aka Bryn
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Posted By Timothy Capner
Dear Skippy
Rub it in why dontcha!
Have fun and keep us posted.
Cheers
Tim C
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Posted By Rob Todd
Bran,
So what's your new e-mail address Taff boyo. Got the Fell' bit ta for the help - I promise not to walk around with a clipboard! Moving jobs in October.
So how do you do a risk assessment on spiders and other varied dodgy wildlife?
rob
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Posted By Marc
Hi,
Could you please let me know what kind of regs they have over there for governing FLT operating, also do they have anything similar to our RTITB
Marc..
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Posted By Stuart Nagle
Bryn.
Nice to hear you've settled in and got your toes into the sand, so to speak.
Weather hear (Southeast UK) has been nice and hot too, although guess whats forecast for the coming weekend!!! well it will save me watering the plants eh!!
Now going out onto the patio (equipped with patio heater - and some cold fosters) at 20.30 hrs, so shall be thinking of you sweating away whilst I'm downing a cold one.
Hope the family is settling in as well as you seem to be....
Regards...
Stuart Nagle
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Posted By Richard Spencer
Bryn – so you’ve decided to become a Banana Bender (nickname for Queenslanders)
That means you’ll be supporting the reds at the state of origin and drinking fourex beer (they reckon the four xxxx is because Queenslanders can spell beer ha, ha!)
You seem to be right at home, goodon’ya mate. Well you’ll now have to ‘slap on the sunscreen, put on the shades and slap on a hat’, because the sun can get fierce, particularly if you’re not accustomed to it. You’ll be right, my three kids grew up in Queensland they had a ball. My oldest is a high school teacher in Jurien Bay WA, the youngest is a medical scientist at the Monash medical centre in Melbourne and the other guy stayed in Qld and is living in Kallangur, which is about 30minutes north of the city.
I also have a good friend working on the Gold Coast and he bought property back from the coast and toward Brisbane.
Personally I spent 5 years working in Gladstone and 2 years working in Cairns far north Qld. I worked for Queensland Transport Marine Division as a Shipping Inspector out of the Cairns office. Most days were monitoring the catamaran’s going too and from the reef. So equipped with ‘docksiders’, shorts, tee shirt, dive bag and brief case I went to work monitoring the safety requirements of these vessels and their crew. I would monitor the vessel on the way-out about 1 ½ to 2 hours depending on where it went, complete the inspection at the pontoon on the reef, do two dives, get full seafood lunch, and chat with the master on the way back to Cairns, “ah those were the days”.
When you get a chance in the coming years, take a trip to Cooktown and the Daintree it’s quite interesting.
There are some nice island holiday resorts also and not that expensive if you have a family, for instance around the Whitsunday’s and here are lots of hotels in Cairns and Townsville.
Although for me as a keen SCUBA diver I prefer the Reef and Cairns. I remember back in 2000 being on a reef drift dive on the outer reef and being followed back to the boat by a white tipped reef shark. At the time I didn’t know it but the dive master who was ahead of me saw it come to the back of the boat and check me out.
Well what they say in the advertising blurb is “Ah Queensland beautiful one day, perfect the next”.
I’m sure you’ll ‘give it your best shot’.
Regards
Richard
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