Country No.4

I first visited Australia in 1988. It became the fourth country on the list of those I’ve visited. I was flown to Sydney on 16 November by Procter & Gamble for a series of interviews after being shortlisted for its graduate intake program. At the time, I’d just finished the final exams required to complete my Bachelor of Management Studies at Waikato University. The US giant flew me and one other candidate across the Tasman to meet its senior executives and determine which of us would fill the single position on offer.

The company put us up in a hotel for three nights. We then endured two days of meetings, psychometric testing, and interviews at its Villawood campus in Western Sydney. I recall being taken for dinner at The Rocks one evening and enjoying a meal in one of the original sandstone buildings at Campbell Cove. It was quite the introduction to Sydney dining with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge as a backdrop.

I decided to extend my stay for another three nights at my own expense. I booked a homestay room with a couple living in Hunters Hill. I then spent my time exploring Sydney’s most iconic sights, including Bondi, Manly, and the recently opened Harbourside Mall at Darling Harbour. I also booked a day tour to Canberra and experienced my first taste of the Australian capital. I must admit that, given all this occurred in the pre-internet era, I don't know how on earth I managed to book a homestay.

Procter & Gamble offered me a sales role in New Zealand, rather than a graduate placement. I wasn’t surprised. During my final interview with the Managing Director, I expressed uncertainty about what I wanted to do with my career. At the time, I decided I’d be honest about my motivation on the basis that if they hired me, at least all parties knew where they stood.

However, I wasn’t interested in spruiking the benefits of soap and toothpaste to regional pharmacies. Instead, I flew home on 22 November, ready to spend a year working full-time on a friend’s dairy farm. My time on the farm ultimately set me on a path that saw me return to Australia 15 months later.

Little did I know that, as I flew into Sydney for a six-month training course in February 1990, my life would never be the same again. 33 years later, I never could have imagined that my graduate interview would become the first of hundreds of flights I’d eventually make in and out of Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport. This blog only captures a handful of them.

Sadly, I didn’t take any photos during my time in Sydney. As a result, I’ve scanned a few old photos of me at university to illustrate this post. I don’t see this guy spruiking acne cream anytime soon.

Galston Gorge

The road through Galston Gorge is one of the most unusual roadways in the Sydney region. It takes cars from the wide streets of Hornsby down a narrow winding road punctuated by numerous tight hairpin turns deep into a narrow bush-clad gorge. At the base of the gorge an old one-way wooden bridge takes you across Tunks Creek, a tributary of Berowra Creek to a second concrete-arch bridge that crosses Berowra Creek itself. On a good day a journey through the gorge takes about 20 minutes.

The road’s bends are so tight and steep that the traffic over 7.5 metres in length is banned. However, at least three vehicles annually become stuck. So far this year, two such incidents have been reported. On February 8 the Gorge road was closed for more than four hours after a trailer carrying five horses became trapped. A month later a coach, well over the length restriction, also had to be rescued. Despite these hazards an average of 5,000 vehicles traverse the road each day.

I’m fascinated why a road through the middle of nowhere was ever constructed. The original wooden bridges were built in 1891, with the bridge crossing Tunks Creek still in use today. The bridges were built before the road was completed, by hauling each wooden beam through the bush with horse teams. The road itself was finally opened in 1893.

A little research reveals that the road was the championed by Matthew Charlton, a stone-cutter and boat-builder who lived on the banks of Berowra Creek. He was seeking a timelier route to the Hornsby railway station for his goods, as were a growing number of orchardists and farmers in the nearby Dural region. Prior to the opening of the road, most produce was transported to Sydney via Berowra Creek.

Water transport often began its journey from a tidal bay along the creek called Berowra Waters. A pioneering man by the name of Jack Smith established a boat shed here in 1898. The shed still stands today. In 1900, another road of tight hairpin turns was built down to boatshed from Berowra railway station. A hand-operated punt would then take vehicles across the water to a second road winding its way up an opposing valley to Galston.

A century later, the area’s commercial heritage has been superseded by more recreational pursuits. It’s now a popular boat launching spot, offering picturesque picnic locations and a popular fish cafe. However, the ferry service remains in operation, plying the creek 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Family for dinner

My parents have dropped into town for a long weekend.  After a week of rain they've timed their arrival to coincide with four days of sunshine and Summer temperatures.  Garry and I have filled their time with a variety of tourist highlights including lunch at the Fish Markets, an evening at the Sydney Theatre Dance Company, lunch in Manly by the water and a leisurely walk across the harbour bridge. 

Their visit was also a great excuse to ensure our apartment refresh was finished in time for their arrival.  As a result we successfully entertained both sets of parents on Friday evening with a gala BBQ dinner.  We even used our trip to the Fish Market as an excursion to collect fresh seafood for dinner.  I even found time before heading to the airport to dash to the florist and buy flowers for our entrance lobby.  Our extended family dinner was a roaring success and everyone praised our refresh efforts, including Garry's garden lighting.

Lunch at Manly on Sunday was spectacular.  We dined at Hugo's on the ferry wharf.  The restaurant gave us the best table in the house right on the waterfront with uninterrupted harbour views.  We also squeezed in a quick wander to the beach before heading home on the ferry.  The timing of our departure proved fortuitous as rain began falling as we docked at Circular Quay.  This was the only respite in the otherwise perfect weather during my parents entire visit.

Today we caught the train to Milson's Point and walked across the Harbour Bridge soaking up blue skies and sunshine.  A light lunch at The Rocks and a stroll around the bay to the Opera House completed our excursion.  As always the views in every direction was simply stunning, reminding me yet again how pleased I am to be back in Australia.

It's here!

Our final apartment refresh purchases are about to arrive. Over the last couple of days we’ve been contacted by the company manufacturing our new window blinds and the retailer supplying our new outdoor lounge suite. Both suppliers are delivering their wares a week ahead of schedule. The suite arrives tomorrow while our blinds will be installed on Sunday. We’re thrilled that everything will be in place before my parents visit in ten days time. They’re in town for a long weekend to see the fruits of our labour (and see for themselves how boldly we’ve burned a hole in our wallets). Stay tuned for more images. For now I’ll leave you with a wonderful rainbow over the SCG and a look at our refurbished home office balcony.
 

Some finishing touches

Our apartment refresh reached another milestone this week. After week of searching and driving all over Sydney we’ve found the perfect outdoor furniture for our main balcony. Even better, we took advantage of the end-of-Summer sales, and saved thousands. Our shopping spree has netted us an outdoor dining suite, an outdoor lounge suite and enormous BBQ. With luck it’ll be delivered by early-April.


Our dining suite was floor stock used to shoot photographs for next season’s catalogue. It’s delivered next week. We’ve been promised a catalogue when it comes back from the printer. However, you can see last season’s range in white, above. Our table is the same style but has a light tan frame with charcoal coloured slats. The chairs also have a tan frame with white fabric. We’ve bought the six-seat version. To give us additional seating capacity we’ve also ordered a smaller two-seat version. It will live on our bedroom balcony and move any time we need additional table space on the main balcony.


The lounge suite we’ve bought looks identical to the one you see above. The cushions are covered in the same chocolate brown tone but we’ve bought a sofa, two armchairs and a coffee table that doubles as a sun lounger. It was marked down 25% but we managed to get delivery and scatter cushions thrown in for free. We’ve been promised delivery by April 7. The frame is constructed from artificial wicker and aluminum so it should survive life on our balcony without problems.


The new BBQ is Garry’s pride and joy. It was floor stock and the last in the store. We got it for a bargain and talked the store into throwing in a filled gas cylinder. Garry then decided we could save the delivery charge if we partially dissembled it and carefully fitted the pieces into our tiny rental car. After several attempts we finally managed to squeeze it into the car with millimeters to spare. I still marvel at this feat as it has to be the largest BBQ I’ve never set eyes on. Needless to say Garry’s fired it up at least twice since we got it home.


Finally, inside the apartment I’ve been spending my evenings working on the new staircase joinery in our entrance lobby. Unfortunately the custom woodwork I ordered was poorly installed. I arrived home one evening to a scene that almost made my blood boil; two immaculately crafted joinery pieces had been literally butchered by crude saw cuts and other unsightly flaws. Repairing the damage involved a ten-day remedial project. I meticulously prepared paper templates, cut and glued new sections and finally painted the entire ensemble. The result is now much like the image I’d been carrying in my head.

I almost forgot to add that we've successfully secured the services of a cleaner. Incredibly the cleaning lady we had five years ago was still available. She'd even kept the same mobile phone number. Juilet was thrilled to hear from us and immediately made herself available to clean and iron once a week. She's easily the most efficient, thorough cleaner I've witnessed. Life in Australia is definitely falling back into the same familiar rhythm.

Hello Saab

We heard today that our Saab has finally been released by Australian Quarantine. However, we were forced to pay for a comprehensive steam clean before they'd sign-off the paperwork. Garry's now making plans to collect it from the warehouse next Tuesday. With luck it'll be back in our garage by next weekend.

I've also found just the car I'd love to get as a second city run around. It's the Peugeot RCZ coupe. You can see a photo of it above. I've been told its the poor man's Audi TT; a car I'd been fantasizing about until now. I think I've found a huge incentive to save hard for the next year or so!

The big reveal

It’s done! Our relocation back to Sydney is complete. We’re about to unpack the last box. After more than a month of painting, repairing and unpacking our apartment finally feels like home again. We’ve reached a point where Garry’s been filling his day finishing minor handyman jobs rather than painting ceilings and finding new homes for the contents in dozens of boxes.


Here in all its glory are a few photos of our almost normal home. You’ll see the new carpet adoring our internal staircase, the new feature wall and the painstakingly assembled TV bed. You’ll also see the joinery that went in yesterday at the base of the stairs (yet to receive a coat of paint) and the bookcase wall I’ve assembled in the spare bedroom. Our new blinds have yet to arrive and we’re still searching for the perfect outdoor dining suite. I hope you’ll agree it’s all starting to come together. Home sweet home.

250 boxes are on their way

We heard yesterday that Customs and Quarintine have inspected and released our household effects without incident. Tomorrow the removal company will finally deliver our worldly goods to the apartment. No doubt the next couple of days will fly by in blur of cardboard and bubble wrap. We had more than 250 separate boxes and furniture items removed from the house in London. Three months later I can barely remember half of what was packed. Stay tuned for an update on this final phase of our relocation.

Customs confirmation

We've heard today that Customs will be inspecting our household contents this Saturday or Monday next week. Assuming there are no complications we're hope to have it delivered to our apartment by the middle of the week.

Our refresh continues apace. Garry finished painting all of the doors on the top floor of our apartment today. He's only got the kitchen ceiling and staircase balustrade to do and the entire place will have been completely. We could have a complete home within seven days.

On less positive note, we've discovered that the driver who collected our car for shipment to Australia drove through London's congestion charging zone and never paid the standard fee for doing so. As a result, while we were travelling back to Australia a penalty notice was sent to our former address, followed by a further fine when we failed to respond to this notice.

It seems that the matter has been handed to the county court and baliffs are now involved. We're understandably furious that this happened and are waiting for our removal company to resolve the matter. The entire incident has left us wondering if our UK credit record has now been trashed.

Mission accomplished (almost)!

Last weekend we broke the back on our floor to ceiling refresh of the apartment. As you can see from the photo above it’s been chaos in the living room for most of the week. However, I can now report that we’ve all but finished painting the top floor of our apartment. I’m also relieved to report that our chosen colour palette seems to have worked. Incredibly, even the original (and rather cheap looking) kitchen finish now looks somewhat smarter. Garry has a few minor paint jobs to complete such as painting the doors and the kitchen ceiling. We’ll then be ready for our furniture. There’s no word yet as to when Customs will release our household contents. We remain hopeful it’ll be sometime this week.

Temperatures hit 30C in Sydney on Sunday. Unfortunately the air-conditioning unit for the top floor broke down last Thursday and no repairman was available until today. As a result, our final painting blitz had to be conducted in the sweltering heat. We sweated buckets the entire day. I’m hoping we’ve also lost a few extra pounds in the process. Since our return to Australia I’ve been forced to take my belt in two notches. A few more months of daily exercise and healthy eating should see us trying on clothes we’ve not worn for years.


We’ve also made progress on a number of other apartment refresh activities. Here are a few highlights:

• While the air-con repairman was here today Garry arranged for a new, modern control panel to be installed. The panel downstairs was replaced a couple of years ago when the downstairs unit failed. It makes the original panels look rather cheap and nasty. Our new panel will be installed this Friday.
• Today we had the carpet deep cleaned upstairs. It’s made an incredible difference. I’ve gone from hating the carpet to feeling I can live with it for a couple of year.
• Tonight Garry’s surfing the web looking for new colour coordinated faceplates for our light switches and power points.
• I also want to tile the chipped and worn splash back in the kitchen. This should also give the kitchen a slightly smarter look. We’ve yet to find the right tiles so this job hasn’t progressed.
• Last Friday I had a joiner come in to quote for minor alterations to the base of our staircase. Hopefully this will all be in place before the end of March.
• Last week I placed an order for new blinds throughout the property. They should be also here some time towards the end of March.
• Finally, the cable guy came in on Friday and connected us to the network.

Piece by piece we’re slowly getting the house in order.

Once our furniture arrives the next project we’ve lined up is the purchase of some modern outdoor furniture. We saw some impressive dining suites several years ago just prior to our move to London. We’ve no idea if the warehouse we visited is still in business. As for outdoor seating, three years ago while walking the streets of Berlin I saw a stunning sofa and chair suite. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t make a note of the brand or the store it was in.

However, I had a brainwave a couple of weeks ago. Using the magic of Google Maps and Google Street View I located the store in question, surveyed its website and finally tracked down the missing brand name. As luck would have it there are two retailers in Sydney that sell this product. The power of the Internet is amazing. I’m now dying to see if this furniture really is as perfect as I’ve been fantasizing all these years. I’ll let you the verdict.

Refreshing news

Four weeks after arriving back in Australia Customs remains in possession of our household contents. We heard early last week that it began processing shipments that landed a week before our own. With a little luck, our house lot may be released next week. 

The delay is proving very fortuitous. It’s given us plenty of time to give the entire apartment a thorough refresh. Two weeks ago Garry boldly took on the project of repainting the entire apartment; both stories from ceiling to floor. We completed work on the lower floor last Monday, just in time for the carpet layers to install the new carpet the following day. It looks stunning.

Attention has now shifted to the top floor. Over the weekend Garry finished the final coat of paint on the master bedroom and today he had a go at putting a final coat on our new feature wall. We’ve painted the stairwell wall that links both floors a stunning terracotta colour; a British Paints shade called Outback Sunset. The effect is impressive. 

Garry also gave the main balcony a thorough clean yesterday and so this space is also starting to come together again. Later this week we’ll start work on the final two rooms; the living room and the kitchen. It’ll be a mammoth job as both rooms have high ceilings and plenty of surface area to paint. 

Tomorrow we're getting the windows in this space measured for some stunning modern blinds we’ve discovered. The bedrooms are being dressed in the Luxaflex Luminette Privacy Sheers while the living area will receive a new Luxaflex range called Pirouette. They’ll take five weeks to arrive and are guaranteed to bankrupt us for months. 

To complete our refresh I’ve arranged for a joiner to come in on Wednesday and quote for minor cosmetic improvements to the base of the staircase. Garry is also ordering some slim-line light switch covers and new downlight covers to add the finishing touches to his repainted walls. 

Once it’s all in place we can take our time drawing up plans for a more extensive renovation in 18-14 months’ time. We reckon it’ll take us at least that long to agree on the design, secure body corporate and council approval and finally book the relevant tradesmen.

We moved back into the apartment on Friday morning. The move was totally unplanned. The night before our move I discovered I’d forgotten to extend our service apartment booking. A quick check with reception confirmed that the apartment had been booked and no others were available. We were left with little choice but to move out. 

We spent Friday morning shifting gear into our apartment and shopping at K-Mart for a list of living essentials. We’re now living in one room downstairs, sleeping on a couple of air mattresses, and watching TV nestled in bean bags. We’re now patting ourselves on the back for saving at least one week of fees in the serviced apartment, even after paying for cheap crockery and cutlery. 

We’re using a $12 saucepan and frypan set for cooking and even found a perfectly decent good steam iron for $14. Fortunately, we’d left an old table in the apartment and our new washing machine had been delivered earlier in the month, along with a TV I’d bought for the bedroom. 

We have everything we need to set up a temporary home until our household effects are released. Hopefully, life will almost be back to normal by the end of February.

Hot but happy

It’s been too long between posts! Our first two weeks back in Sydney have simply flown by. I’ve found myself drawn straight back into work with a stream of meetings, emails and conference calls. As has been the pattern for many years I’ve found myself up before breakfast most days for calls and back on the phone for a few more after dinner. Antarctica is rapidly becoming nothing more than a distant memory!

The weather has been simply glorious since our return. Temperatures have peaked in the mid-30s while Australia Day, the nation’s national holiday, proved to be Sydney’s hottest public holiday for more than twenty years. Garry spent the public day enjoying a traditional BBQ with friends while I worked as I had an American business colleague in town. However, it wasn’t all toil. We broke away for a couple of hours shortly before noon to walk across the harbour bridge and enjoy a leisurely lunch at Circular Quay.


We timed our excursion perfectly. As we crossed the bridge the annual boat regatta was drawing to a climax with vessels churning up the water in all directions. As noon approached a ceremonial gun opposite the Opera House let off a booming 21-gun salute. Lunch was then followed by a ferry ride back to Milson Point to resume working for another couple of hours.

The walk across the bridge is just the start of a new regime for myself. I'm determined to lose the "Heathrow Injection" obtained while living in London. I first heard this phrase about six years ago when a returning expat noted that everyone relocating to the UK inevitably puts on 10-20 pounds. At the time I simply chuckled. However, Garry and I soon discovered it was no laughing matter. The cold weather and indoor lifestyle in London really does encourage considerable weight gain. In an attmept to reverse the damage I've now started walking to and from work; a distance of almost six kilometres daily. Garry has also put us on a low-fat, lean meat and salad diet.

On the home front things are slowly falling into place. We took procession of our apartment mid-week once our tenants had vacated. The initial inspection proved a little disappointing. While the tenants had generally kept the place in good condition it looked tired. It’s been at least ten years since the walls were last painted and its suffered inevitable wear and tear. I think we’ve found the motivation we needed to plan our long mooted renovation!

For now we’ll repaint the entire apartment and repair minor dings. Garry has already been down to the hardware store several times to purchase trestles and painting gear. Last night we settled on colour palette. We’re planning a vibrant orange/red feature wall, soft brown and cream highlights and a brilliant white ceiling. It’s a huge paint job that’s bound to keep Garry busy for the next week.

We’ve been told by our removal company that our household effects should be released from customs and quarantine some time after February 7. The ship carrying our container safely arrived in Sydney on January 23. Garry had been tracking its imminent arrival on the Internet almost daily. We’ve also purchased a new washing machine and a new TV for the bedroom. Piece by piece our lives are falling back into place.

Shipping, shopping and settling in

We’re finally back in Sydney. Initial preparations for setting up home again are already underway. We already know the container holding our household effects and Saab is scheduled to dock in Sydney on January 23. It’ll then take up to six weeks to clear quarantine and customs. 

We googled the location of the ship carrying our worldly processions last week and discovered that it was due to dock in Freemantle, West Australia on January 15; the same day we arrived back in Australia ourselves. Until our household effects clears customs we’ll been camped out in a serviced apartment literally across the road from our own property. This should make it reasonably easy to complete final preparations for moving back in. 

Garry has already taken it upon himself to repaint the entire apartment when our tenants vacate on January 25. The current paintwork is at least nine years old now so a touch up is well overdue. We also have several appliances and numerous minor items to purchase as part of our relocation. The shopping list includes a new washing machine and some outdoor furniture for our expansive main balcony. 

Of course we also have the joy of sorting out phone lines, cable television and all manner of regular household utilities. Garry plans to manage most of these chores in between job interviews. With a little luck we should be settled back in our own home by mid-February. 

At this point I’m unsure if I’ll continue maintaining the blog as its original purpose will have well and truly ended. Dear readers, what do you think?

An afternoon at Hugo's

Australia is sweltering under the hottest August on record. Across the nation winter temperatures have hit new highs. Brisbane has had its hottest winter day ever with the mercury climbing to 35.4C, while coastal areas along the New South Wales and Queensland border have recorded their warmest days for the entire year. It’s hard to imagine winter temperature surpassing those of last January and February, at the height of Summer. With only days to go, meteorologists expect the average temperature nationwide to finish more than 1.6C above normal.


This superb weather created the perfect excuse last weekend for a leisurely afternoon on the harbour front in Manly. This is one of Sydney’s iconic beach suburbs, nestled on a narrow spit of land separating the city’s majestic harbour from the Tasman Sea. Less than five hundred metres separates a pine-fringed, white sand beach from a scenic, sheltered harbour wharf.


The most enjoyable way to reach Manly is by ferry, which is exactly what we did on Sunday. The day dawned with clear blue skies and warm sunshine - perfect weather for a ferry ride. I can honestly say that nothing revives the soul better than Sydney harbour at its best. As we pulled away from Circular Quay, the Opera House and city skyline unfolded in picture-perfect harmony. Manly beach was equally picturesque upon arrival. I had to pause and remind myself this stretch of sand littered with sun-baking locals was in fact a winter scene.


My best mate Brendan booked us into Hugo’s, a new restaurant that’s opened on the Manly ferry wharf. Hugo’s has a popular and well-established venue in town so we were keen to try its latest expansion. The restaurant is open to the air along two walls and furnished with large, comfortable leather sofas. We spent 4.5 fun-filled hours enjoying the view, great wine and mouth-watering food. I even taught the bartender to make fresh ginger Caprioskas – a cocktail Garry and I discovered earlier this year in Milan.


Our return ferry ride was just as memorable. We departed Manly at sunset, just in time to witness the sky transforming itself into silhouetted orange and purple hues. By the time we glided by the floodlit Opera House it was almost dark. The city’s iconic building glowing on the harbour’s edge seemed to bookend a perfect day with friends. These record-breaking winter conditions suit me just fine!