Home is where you ...

Home is where you ... unpack your luggage! 

image by Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay

What was that?!

It was a wet, sniffly, snorting kiss – right across my cheek and nose! I woke up with a start … what was that?! Where am I? I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, it was so dark … and the snorting, grunting monster was still right there next to me…and then I remembered … we’re in Tandur! House sitting 4 dogs. And I had just been kissed by one at 2 AM! 😁

“Yes, Bentley …” I said as I reached out a sleepy hand to find that snout. Instinctively I knew it was he. The teenager … the busy one … he had to let me know that he’s up to go out for the toilet. He can do it on his own as there is a dog flap for 24/7 exit/entry. Lol. I heard him go and come back in again ... strange sounds in a strange house in the middle of a very dark night. And yet, I felt I should pinch myself … perhaps I was dreaming? No, it’s for real!

We feel extremely blessed to have this opportunity. It’s a lovely home in the countryside of Gympie. Tandur is considered a suburb. I’ve had a quick search to find the history, and why it’s called Tandur but didn’t find anything, except that a school was started here in 1924. 😊  We arrived to begin the week-long sit mostly to care for the dogs – 3 Frenchies and a cute little mixed breed. Bob, Bentley, Bonnie and Breezy. The surroundings are calm and lush. It’s a huge property with plenty of space for them to run. We had an early night with the dogs on the first night and woke up to amazing bird sounds the next morning. While we were having coffee in bed a kangaroo passed by the bottom of the garden, in full view of the bedroom window, reminding us that we were in Australia. This time I had to pinch myself. We are so grateful to God for this blessing. 💕 The homeowners have made us feel very welcome; their instructions were carefully typed out and laminated; a laminated photo of each dog at its feeding station so that we can identify them, and the order of feeding was made very clear! Bob is the top dog! 😊

Settling in

We felt general nervousness-cum-excitement as we approached the time to head over to Tandur. We shopped for groceries for the 5 days but to be able to cook a meal you need all the bits too, like sauces, flour, and seasonings, and we had nothing. So, it was shopping for supplies from scratch which made me nervous, looking at the prices of everything. We packed up our belongings, loaded the car and moved on. The initial three weeks at Nadya and Dave’s were over and were we grateful for their support at the start of this new journey! It’s been non-stop go, go, go with daily commitments to get us set up for life in Aus, and to meet government regulations.

One of our tasks was to visit a financial advisor to do our first tax return. Because we had entered the country already in March, the 5 months spent in Doha were taxable. The payment for the last financial year is due by end of September. We have had our first tax bill! 😄😑 We have also opened bank accounts, a Post Office box for a fixed mailing address in case our children ever have to move, and submitted our application for the next stage of our visa – a HUGE step and an even bigger relief that it is done. 

We have submitted docs for medical cover and drafted an updated will. These first three weeks also included shopping for everything we need in the van. Some things are mandatory according to the law, and others are obvious items needed for everyday life. I felt as if I had had a kitchen tea at one stage since there was only that much we could send over from Doha. We needed to stock up with everyday items we left behind. We have also had to invest in first-aid kits including snake- and spider-bite kits (the next 2 months will be in snake and spider territory 🥴😅), camp chairs, a table, kitchen crockery, an awning tie-down kit which can withstand the wild weather in Australia, a variety of tools, storage boxes, water filters, bed linen and more. 

Shopping online in Australia is a breeze, and since Gympie does not have all the items on offer, we took full advantage. It's so fun getting parcels through the mail. 😄 We are not nearly through our list of items needed. Fortunately there is a month before we get the van. So much is needed to live on the road, all the while hoping that we'll remain within the maximum weight allowed for the van and the Ute. It’s a challenge we are only beginning to learn, and it's a rule that Queensland cops relish with glee. 🥴 Our computer gear is part of the load, printer included. However, the towing course last Friday was fun. In the end, I couldn’t stop shaking for an hour afterwards, but we found it invaluable. We both reversed the practice trailer-van into the parking space from the right and the left … reversed in a circle without jack-knifing … and learned tips and tricks that might help us not to be too much of a reality show in a caravan park when we try to manoeuvre into a space! 😆😅 We have lots of practising to do and homework to complete before we start towing. Equally as interesting will be finding ways to set up and take down at each stop without too much fuss.😅

New working routine

AJ has completed his first workweek for Gulf Helicopters. The routine will be something to get used to. We have mornings to do things; then at 13:30 Australia time he begins his work ‘day’, it being 06:30 in Qatar. He wraps up at 21:30 having to unwind a bit before he can get his brain to recognise that it’s time for bed.  😆 He’s amazing, embracing full-time TEAMS teaching like a champ! We managed to invest in a new laptop that makes it easier, as he can use a surface pen to do his usual diagrams as he used to on the whiteboard in a classroom. Fortunately, he is a night person, so going through to 21:30 is a breeze for him. I’m the morning person, mostly up with the birds, moving about, making coffee and waking him up when he could be sleeping late. 🥴 Nevertheless, his contract is an incredible blessing from our Father – a helpful kickstart to our time in Aus.

House Sitting

For us house sitting right now involves a lot of packing and unpacking. But once we have the van loaded with our possessions there will be less hassle to it all. There are pros and cons to everything in life, and in the end, it’s what one makes of it. This is the lifestyle we have chosen for our first few years in Australia. Yes, it’s always going to be a strange bed, new surroundings, strange sights and sounds, new animals each time … new shops, new streets, new neighbours, different routines. But right now, we are grateful for a space to call our own in which to be private, eat the way we prefer, and just enjoy our familiar routine, even if it’s just for 6 days.

During our second weekend in Australia, we took a drive up north to meet the homeowners that we will sit for in Oct and in November. We made it an overnight stop as it’s quite far to travel. It was the first road trip in our Ute. AJ enjoyed every minute. Believe me, it was also stressful … merely stopping at a fuel station was a challenge. 😆 Over here you have to refuel your vehicle yourself. You then walk into the store to pay, while everyone waits patiently. We were also hungry, so we moved the car to a parking space to go in and have a bite with coffee. Wow! It was the start of the school holidays, and the place was overrun. You had better know what you want and how to order it!! Luckily, they knew from our accents that we weren’t locals, so they were a little more helpful behind the counter. 😬😅 And I think they saw the desperate look in our eyes as we were trying to figure out how to order and where.

We also saw our first free camp up close and personal – one that we plan to stay in with our van for one night on the way back from house sitting in December, in a small town called Tiaro. (I said Tee-AH-ro, but Aussies say TY-ro 😆. BEWARE if you pronounce an Aussie name incorrectly … you are pounced upon!).  Free camps are exactly that, in Australia, FREE. Well, sort of. 😊 Managed by local town councils, they are areas that one can pull into for 24 hours without payment. Often there is a toilet and shower nearby, but for many one must be self-contained. Some will only have a long drop. 😊 This one at Tiaro has a shower that switches off after 2 mins. And it won't start again before 3 mins are over. 😁 Quick showers will be the norm for us anyway, even in the van, as water is something we'll cart with us and will need to use sparingly. 

Some free camps allow you to stay for 48 hours and some for 72 hours. The general understanding is that you would support the local pub or shops, or at the very least pop a $10 note in the box on the campsite and leave the site clean and tidy. (Pubs in Australia are not dissimilar to those in the UK, where they are the hangout for all the locals and travellers, and where you can get a hearty meal along with your beer and enjoy an overnight stay if needed. Each seemingly has its own story and its own character. 😊) In a week we’re off to our second house sitting further north.

Shipments arriving

We have just been notified that our first crate (from Doha) has arrived in port in Melbourne. It will take a couple of weeks to get to Brisbane. Another is due later in October with items from South Africa. 

We are having to invest in storage space at our children’s home, to store some of our things until it can all be sorted. I couldn’t part with my childhood books, for example. Hoping the grandkids will enjoy them. Andries’ golf clubs are on the way -- he can’t wait. Some glassware items for Nadya that were heirlooms from our mothers. And lots of photos! Oh, and my sewing machine. Who knows, I might be able to take up some sewing again. 

image by Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay

That’s us for now. 😊

Thanks for stopping by. We’re grateful for your support along the way in this new adventure. Gus and Cha, we miss you so much, words aren't enough. 😢😞 

Next blog will be from up north in a few weeks … be blessed all. 💕

PS: Just a friendly reminder to sign up as a member on our site if you would like to view our gallery. Also, you can follow us on Instagram for daily updates.  

Hello Gympie!

Where are we? We have arrived in Gympie.

Image: Alexas Fotos from Pixabay

A quick update

Hi everyone … it was a sad moment, bidding our loved ones in Doha farewell. All went relatively well with our last few days in Doha. We managed to do all we needed to for Andries to get that all-important ‘I’m-exiting-Doha-for-good’ stamp. Returning our Qatar ID cards brought home the finality of it all. Once those were returned we had 1 month to exit the country, so we prayed that all would proceed without a hitch. And it did! In July all Covid requirements for international travellers were lifted by the Australian government. We were relieved that we did not have to go through the DPD App's immigration process again, nor did we need a PCR test before or after the flight. 

We are so thankful to Father God for journey mercies. We arrived in Brisbane on a Friday evening after a great flight, and slept over for one night so that our family could take the 2-hour trip on a Saturday, pressure free. We managed to visited our caravan manufacturer en route to select interior colours for the van! 😀😍 Great excitement. It felt unreal. We also stopped by a store to get SIM cards for our phones before continuing the journey to Gympie. Once in Gympie we stopped off at our son-in-law's parents' place to say hello and pick up the grandkids. There was great excitement meeting up with them. Pure joy! There is no other way of describing that moment.

We have hooked up with a bank, applied for Medicare, and managed to get Andries' phone working, but I'm having difficulties with a SIM that won't work and getting it replaced is proving even harder. This has ticked me off to no end ... I hate not having comms. 😑🙄 

The next step in the process of remaining here as permanent residents is to apply for the next stage of our visa, which is the permanent one. It's a major process, and almost ready to lodge. It will place us back into a queue for annual immigration quotas. Our current visa expires in about 18 months, so we're praying it'll be finalised before then. If not we would need to go onto a bridging visa.

We have managed to get Andries set up for work, as he starts a course on 18 September. So kind of our kids to stand off their main bedroom for these 3 weeks, so that we can have our own space, big enough for Andries to have a desk to teach from in a peaceful room, away from kiddy noise. 😁 His birthday was also celebrated on the 7^th with great fanfare, much to the kiddies' delight. His greatest gift was meeting his Ute for the first time! Since then he's found a daily excuse to go for a drive, even if he needed to make up a reason to do so. 😄 

Now, on to the topic of today’s post: Gympie! 

Where is Gympie?

Gympie is in south-eastern Queensland, lying on the Gympie Creek and the Mary River. It is a rural town, 2 hours north of Brisbane by car.

Map data: Google, ©2022 Qatar

Map data: Google, ©2022 CNES/Airbus, Landsat/Copernicus, Maxar Tech. 

History

Early European settler-graziers (today activists are calling them invaders 🙄) were already in the area when, in October 1867, James Nash, an English farm worker who migrated to Queensland in 1863, put Gympie on the map with a discovery of gold. A gold rush of an estimated 60,000 miners ensued. Nash’s Gully – a double line of prospectors’ tents along the sides of the digging bank – sprang up which is now the historic Mary Street.

This discovery came at a time when Queensland was going through a severe economic depression. (Sure wish I could find a little nugget! 😄) It is said to have saved Queensland from bankruptcy.

Gympie became a thriving mining town. A Post Office opened in December 1867, a small hut was erected in 1868 to be shared as a church by three denominations, with the Methodists raising the first church in July the same year. Seems they needed a church, as a series of hotels were opened within weeks of the gold rush. Twelve licences were granted in December 1867. 😄 Here is an ad from the period ... 

 The Nashville Times was operating by February 1868, which became The Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette in October 1868.

The Tattersalls Hotel, Gympie. 1868

A railway from Maryborough along the coast was completed by 1881. (The Historic station is still in use by the delightful Mary Valley Rattler.) 

Gympie Hospital, 1891

In 1981 the Town Hall was built on the site where Nash found the first gold nugget (worth a whopping £1.6 million in today’s currency). They had a fire brigade by 1900. And finally in 1903, the Queensland state declared Gympie a town, but by January 1905 it was proclaimed to be a city by the Governor of Queensland.

The Tattersalls Hotel, Gympie 1900

Why "Gympie"?

With discovery of gold the town was quickly known as “Nashville”, after James Nash, that lucky prospector. A year later, however, it was renamed “Gympie”, a word derived from the local Kabi-Kabi people’s language referring to the ‘stinging tree’ or gimpi-gimpi. This plant, the Dendrocnide moroides, delivers a painful punch … I mean, sting. 😖 Deceptively harmless in appearance with a lovely heart-shaped leaf, inviting you to inspect it more closely, it delivers a sensation that has been described as “being burnt with acid and electrocuted all at once” (Hurley, 2018.)  😫🤯

gimpi-gimpi plant

It grows in light-filled gaps in the ‘understory’ of a rainforest – yep, you guessed it, that’s the space you and I would be walking around in. 😬 The stinging hairs can remain in the skin for up to 6 months, and re-sting every time they are touched. I imagine a host of miners coming into contact with this plant and living in pure agony, so to alert everyone of the existence of the plant they took desperate measures and named a town after it!  😅  (This is just my imagination running free.) However, one of Australia’s strange marsupial creatures, the pademelon, part of the sub-family of kangaroos and wallabies, munches with delight on this plant. Lol. 🥴 🥴

Pademelon

Gympie Today

The GympieRegional Council area covers almost 7,000 sq. km and has an estimated population of around 50,000. This is currently mushrooming due to various reasons, some to do with Covid-19, others because of existing residents not moving elsewhere, and also due to new interstate arrivals in the region. This has brought about severe housing stress for many, with rental increases and a serious shortage of available rentals. 

The area includes the small towns of Amamoor, Cooloola Cove, Curra, Goomeri, Gunalda, Imbil, Kandanga, Kilkivan, Rainbow Beach, Tin Can Bay, Traveston and Woolooga. There is a thriving agricultural industry with beef, dairy, livestock; horticulture  including mangoes, macadamias, corn and pineapples; last but not least is forestry. 

Gympie attractions

There are many – farms to visit where you can pick your own seasonal produce; restaurants, wineries, distilleries, and a brewery; nature trails galore for walkers; picturesque sites to enjoy picnics, some with gorgeous swimming spots; canoe and kayak trails; 4WD tours; abundant cultural and themed tours; customised tours; museums; heritage walks through the city; music festivals; beautifully maintained parklands and much more.

One icon is the MaryValley Rattler, a Heritage Steam Train, operated solely by volunteers, which runs to the small town of Amamoor and back. In 2019 we experienced the thrill of taking this outing. It comes highly recommended and didn’t disappoint. 😀

Images: (c) S Brandt 2019

The Gold Mining and Historical Museum makes for an interesting outing too. Also run solely by volunteers, it offers an impressive array of objects with information about the area’s early days as a gold mining hub. One can go fossicking at Deep Creek, nearby. (Yes, a licence is required from the Lake Alford Visitor Information Centre.)

The Woodworks Museum is well-known, highlighting the timber industry in the region, from its early days until now. Timber was in high demand for the mining industry, so the industry's rise followed hot-on-the-heels of the gold rush. Today the timber industry is constantly a hot topic because of deforestation and logging practices. Be it as it may, it provides employment to many in the region.

Loggers in earlier times, Gympie.

One of the art galleries in the region is the Regional Art Gallery, housed in the Gympie School of Arts Building of 1905. 

Mary Street, the historic centre of the city, is a must to stroll up and down. Sadly, it was recently inundated by severe flooding; some businesses are still reeling and struggling to get back on their feet. The Lady Mary statue is a local icon. She was the wife of Governor Fitzroy who toured Queensland in 1848 after her accidental death. The Governor named various landmarks in memory of his wife. The statue recognises the struggle with flooding in the area. She appears to bare her dainty bare feet as she crosses the Mary River, also named in her honour. 😄😀 

Image: Lady Mary

The local parks are wonderful. Memorial Park with its old pavilion (also recently inundated up to its roof by the flooded Mary River) is a peaceful place to rest and enjoy some contemplation. 

Lake Alford Park provides space for families to spend time picnicking, playing, feeding ducks and bird watching. 

Hopefully we’ll get to visit many of the attractions in the area soon, to highlight them in more detail.

Until next time, blessings, and thanks as always, for stopping by. 

Cheers. 🌼

Goodbye, Qatar

 The Home We Had

For 21 years, you, Qatar, 

were the home we – expats and nomads – had.

You were constant, welcoming, and steadfast as the sun and sand;

a land where villas, compounds and towering apartments offer a refuge at hand.

A land of contrast –

harsh yet friendly, strict yet accommodating.

Where sunrise and sunset are equally grand.

Where the desert meets the sea and hounds often run free.

 

 

Where thorn trees thrive, yet palm trees sway.

Where camels roam and freeways weave.

Where dust chokes and heat erodes

the stamina needed to stay on the go.

 

Where ancient and modern collide.

Where designer malls and souqs happily exist, side by side.

Where Karak Chai and Café Latte,

shawarmas and gourmet are equally dignified.

  

Where the city of glass rises from the sand

that is striving, striving, to overwhelm it again.

Where many cultures and religions reside.

Not colliding – working, living, peaceably, side-by-side.

 

Where we, unbelonging, belonged;

where we found our safe place,

our shelter.

Yes, You, Qatar, were the home we had.

I look back, over my shoulder.

How proudly you stand!

But we ...

we merely passed through like the shifting sand.

 (© Sandy Brandt, 2022)