AMY'S BIRTHDAY

Amy's birthday was on 9 June which was on the flight over and so we were unable to celebrate it properly. My cousins wife very kindly arranged a family party for her on the Friday night. We had a lovely meal and of course a few glasses of wine and there was this gorgeous chocolate birthday cake. HAPPY NINTH BIRTHDAY AMY!

FIRE AT THE ENTRANCE

One of the first places we visited on the Central Coast was The Entrance, this is one my daughter's favourite places. One of the main attractions here is the pelican feeding which takes place every afternoon. We had a walk around the children's pool area and got ourselves ice-creams and smoothies, they were delicious. We carried on our walk and as we did noticed a fire shooting out the side of a house. At first I thought this was garden rubbish that was being burned. I then saw, who I presumed to be the occupants of the house, running around, shouting and moving a car that was parked close to the house. An ambulance drove past us and I saw one of the crew was on the radio and she was reporting the fire.

We watched as the fire quickly caught hold of the house and people were running around shouting to see if there was anyone in the house. The roof of the house started popping and explosions could be heard inside, so everyone had to move back to safety. Still the fire service had not arrived and we wondered how long it was going to take them. By now the fire was spreading into a nearby palm tree and I asked if there were any occupants in the apartments that were at the side. I was told that they were empty.

A man, who was walking by, told us that we should move as the roof probably contained asbestos. As soon as that was mentioned we moved quickly away, my dear dad died of asbestosis only 3 years ago, so I know the dangers of this awful substance.

We moved further along the street and when I looked back I could see that the fire engine had arrived and the police. The plume of thick black smoke was going high into the sky along with debris from the house.

It certainly wasn't what we expected to see on our visit here. I felt so sorry for the occupants losing everything like that. We heard a report on the radio later about the fire and it appeared that no-one had been injured which was a blessing.

FIRST FEW DAYS

Those first few days after we arrived passed in a blur. I was suffering with jet lag which made me very tired. I couldn't sleep in in the morning and stopping up after 9 at night was impossible. We did manage to get out though and on the first day I went to meet somone I had met through an internet forum which is for expats and people who are going through the visa application process. A few of us had gone on and 'met up' again on Facebook. I had arranged to visit Catherine at her home. Catherine is originally from America and had been living in Australia since last year. Catherine and her family were at the end of their stay as they had a home to sell back in the US. I was a bit apprehensive going to meet her as I am quite a shy person and don't find it easy making new friends, but I knew that once we moved to Australia I was going to have to make more of an effort to get out and meet people. I needn't have worried Catherine was a lovely, friendly person. We had a great chat, a cup of tea and cake. It was a wonderful experience meeting up like that. I hope that we can meet again sometime!

OUR TRIP TO AUSTRALIA

We left home at 11.30 am on Monday, 8 June and drove to Heathrow airport. We got held up in roadworks but arrived at the airport in plenty of time. Whilst we were checking in I thought about how I would feel the day we did this when we were making our permanent move to Australia. I quickly pushed those thoughts aside and got on with feeling excited about our arrival in Australia and our time there.

A few hours later we were boarding our flight to Japan. The flight passed ok. The usual meals, drinks, in-flight entertainment, more drinks, try to sleep. And then it was midnight and Amy's 9th birthday had arrived. We were very tired but she had her present and card from us, the rest we had left at home. I am not sure what time we arrived in Japan as the time difference always confuses me. But we had a 5 hour wait at the airport for our next flight.

Whilst waiting I heard a strange announcement. It was a male voice (who seemed to be trying to hide a laugh as he spoke) and he was instructing passengers, for a different flight to ours, to visit the washrooms before they boarded due to the turbuluence they were going to have during their flight. At this point I said a little prayer, thanking God that was not our flight. Our flight was finally called and it was onto the plane for the final leg of our journey.



We arrived in Australia on at 6.40 am on Wednesday, 10 June. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, quite cool as it is their winter at this time of year. We got through immigration and that was our Visa's validated. A man approached us and asked if we had any food, we only had chocolate, so he sent us through another door, we didn't have to get into the next queue for the baggage check thank goodness and that was it through the arrivals and there were my relatives waiting for us. At last we had arrived!

HOME AGAIN

Hello to everyone and thank you to those of you who have kept dropping your Entrecard, it is much appreciated.

We have had a great time in Australia and I am looking forward to sharing some of the things we have done with you over the next few weeks.

We arrived home yesterday evening after 2 days of travelling, which included an overnight stay in Japan. My body is still confused over what time it is. I was really tired when I went to bed last night, but was awake at 4.00 am and got up at 4.30 am so I am writing this with very bleary, tired eyes. I am looking forward to going to bed again tonight and hopefully having a good sleep.