Well, here we are, at long last in the final stretch. It is still pretty surreal, last three days of work & sorting out the few small items still left. We have said most of our goodbyes & Conrad has already had his farewell.
The hire car will be collected on Tuesday, after Tammy’s farewell lunch. The company van will then be dropped at the workshop.
We have stocked up on vitamins, toiletries & a few items so we’ll be organised for the first month before we will need to look at new brands.
Savannah’s school report is excellent & we rewarded her with a few small items (need to keep our luggage limitations in mind). Even during this very stressful move, she has improved & excelled at some tasks, we are SO proud of her.
This may be our last post for a while, till we sort out our connection on the other side.......
Farewell RSA.
Perth, watch out, here we come!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
2 Weeks left in RSA.....
So now as we are nearing the end of our time in RSA, not too much is really going on. We are basically dealing with the mundane day to day life: work/school, laundry, shopping, etc.
It’s with heavy hearts we say many farewells, mixed in with a few: See ya down under! It’s not fun knowing we leave behind so many to face the uncertain future of RSA.
Tammy has begun training a replacement, so things are going to be busy at work till the last day now. At least it helps to be busy as time just flies. Conrad has become a mechanical consultant since his tools were packed, quite frustrating to have the ability to work but unable to due to lack of necessary tools.
Conrad takes great delight going into the office and updating the board above his boss’s desk with the days left at Toyota, much to his boss’s disgust! To add insult to injury, the other senior technician resigned on short notice, and has left to work offshore on the rigs.
On Monday we decided to go with some very good friends to the Van Ryn Brandy Distillery in Stellenbosch. We went on the tour & did the brandy & Belgian chocolate tasting, WOW! It was fabulous & we had a ball! Will have to earn some $ to order a case of 20yr old because at R990 a bottle it’s a bit out of our league at the moment. I would recommend the experience to anyone.
It’s with heavy hearts we say many farewells, mixed in with a few: See ya down under! It’s not fun knowing we leave behind so many to face the uncertain future of RSA.
Tammy has begun training a replacement, so things are going to be busy at work till the last day now. At least it helps to be busy as time just flies. Conrad has become a mechanical consultant since his tools were packed, quite frustrating to have the ability to work but unable to due to lack of necessary tools.
Conrad takes great delight going into the office and updating the board above his boss’s desk with the days left at Toyota, much to his boss’s disgust! To add insult to injury, the other senior technician resigned on short notice, and has left to work offshore on the rigs.
On Monday we decided to go with some very good friends to the Van Ryn Brandy Distillery in Stellenbosch. We went on the tour & did the brandy & Belgian chocolate tasting, WOW! It was fabulous & we had a ball! Will have to earn some $ to order a case of 20yr old because at R990 a bottle it’s a bit out of our league at the moment. I would recommend the experience to anyone.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
3 Weeks & counting down!
Well now that things are returning to some kind of normal, we have recovered from our exhaustion of packing etc., we begin saying farewell to the many friends we’ve made in Cape Town. It’s not easy as we really set our roots down here.
We have, in between all the chaos, also managed to have all necessary dental work done, and this weekend we’ve all had our hair cut so we are sorted for the next few months.
The cottage we’re staying in has become a great temporary home, we are comfortable here and it gives us our own space to come & go and just do our thing! Anyone interested in using it can contact Helen on 082 698 1244 or e-mail on helen@violacottage.co.za . And true to the current nature of RSA, the owners company bakkie, which was parked in the driveway, was broken into on Saturday night. Just a nice reminder of one of the many reasons we’ve decided to make this move.
We have decided to take the bulk of our laundry to be done at a Laundromat as we don’t have much free time to do washing etc., and found one close to where we are staying. On phoning to find out prices I discovered that the owner is an ex-Aussie! So when she heard we were on our way there, we ended up standing and chatting for quite a while as she knows Perth very well, & her daughter is currently living in Brisbane. She will also be moving back as soon as she’s finished her law degree.
As we sit here writing our weekly update, the news is on in the background, again Eskom will be implementing blackouts, we are so grateful we are almost past all this nonsense, we are looking forward to living in a country where everything works!
Viola Cottage
We have, in between all the chaos, also managed to have all necessary dental work done, and this weekend we’ve all had our hair cut so we are sorted for the next few months.
The cottage we’re staying in has become a great temporary home, we are comfortable here and it gives us our own space to come & go and just do our thing! Anyone interested in using it can contact Helen on 082 698 1244 or e-mail on helen@violacottage.co.za . And true to the current nature of RSA, the owners company bakkie, which was parked in the driveway, was broken into on Saturday night. Just a nice reminder of one of the many reasons we’ve decided to make this move.
We have decided to take the bulk of our laundry to be done at a Laundromat as we don’t have much free time to do washing etc., and found one close to where we are staying. On phoning to find out prices I discovered that the owner is an ex-Aussie! So when she heard we were on our way there, we ended up standing and chatting for quite a while as she knows Perth very well, & her daughter is currently living in Brisbane. She will also be moving back as soon as she’s finished her law degree.
As we sit here writing our weekly update, the news is on in the background, again Eskom will be implementing blackouts, we are so grateful we are almost past all this nonsense, we are looking forward to living in a country where everything works!
Viola Cottage
Both doors were bent & drivers door window broken!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
4 Weeks to go!
We can hardly believe how little time is left in RSA for us, the weeks seem to be just flying past. We are now feeling quite settled in at Viola Cottage, and are starting to relax a bit.
When they say that emigration is not for sissies, they really mean it! This week was very stressful & evoked strange feelings as we watched the Britannia team wrap & pack up our household.
I must say that we are very impressed with the packing team and the level of service we have received thus far from Britannia. The guys worked extremely hard & told us we were very organised.
Well we worked hard to be ready, we spent 3 days just cleaning up for them to pack. We also packed our luggage & moved out so that all food containers were empty, the fridge & freezer were dry by the time they arrived.
Savannah’s take on the whole thing was amusing as she couldn’t wait to move into the cottage, & all she wanted was a piece of bubble wrap & the empty rolls to play with. Not interested at all in the boxes & chaos in the house.
Had some luck too, while checking an old one brick safe before dispatching it to Cash Converters, Tammy found a R100 note inside, which we’d forgotten about, so that covered the day’s lunch: ¼ bunnies from Maharani’s – yum!
Some photos of the packing process:
The seal being fitted! And off to the docks it went.
We were very lucky with the weather, we were expecting 3 days of rain from Wednesday, however it only rained in the early morning & cleared a bit. Then about halfway through packing of the container we had a major downpour (you can see how wet it was in the picture of the Britannia truck). It then cleared again & we had a rainbow above the truck & a second one above the house.
When they say that emigration is not for sissies, they really mean it! This week was very stressful & evoked strange feelings as we watched the Britannia team wrap & pack up our household.
I must say that we are very impressed with the packing team and the level of service we have received thus far from Britannia. The guys worked extremely hard & told us we were very organised.
Well we worked hard to be ready, we spent 3 days just cleaning up for them to pack. We also packed our luggage & moved out so that all food containers were empty, the fridge & freezer were dry by the time they arrived.
Savannah’s take on the whole thing was amusing as she couldn’t wait to move into the cottage, & all she wanted was a piece of bubble wrap & the empty rolls to play with. Not interested at all in the boxes & chaos in the house.
Had some luck too, while checking an old one brick safe before dispatching it to Cash Converters, Tammy found a R100 note inside, which we’d forgotten about, so that covered the day’s lunch: ¼ bunnies from Maharani’s – yum!
Some photos of the packing process:
And of course the container, which was loaded on Friday
The seal being fitted! And off to the docks it went.
We were very lucky with the weather, we were expecting 3 days of rain from Wednesday, however it only rained in the early morning & cleared a bit. Then about halfway through packing of the container we had a major downpour (you can see how wet it was in the picture of the Britannia truck). It then cleared again & we had a rainbow above the truck & a second one above the house.
It was quite a strange sight, the one above the house, as it only lasted a few minutes & was only a small patch.
Saturday we met with the landlord for final inspection, & received the refund of our deposit! He is actually very pessimistic about RSA’s future & was chatting to us saying he’s trying to get his kids to move overseas. Considering how invested he is here & how well travelled he is, it’s quite a surprise at his lack of confidence in the current political & financial state of RSA.
Now for all the farewells..........
Saturday we met with the landlord for final inspection, & received the refund of our deposit! He is actually very pessimistic about RSA’s future & was chatting to us saying he’s trying to get his kids to move overseas. Considering how invested he is here & how well travelled he is, it’s quite a surprise at his lack of confidence in the current political & financial state of RSA.
Now for all the farewells..........
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