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International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Relocating to Australia

James

Out There
Instructor
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Dec 2, 2015
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24,449
At the small risk of thread drift......it doesn't pass the 30 ft test, so don't look too close. The 1972 Q code 351C 4V motor is finished, new A/C installed, bodywork is ongoing (mostly the front end and grille left), and the interior is very rough. I have a huge pile of extra parts in the back yard from parting out 2 beaters, but most of the straight stuff is already on the rig.

View attachment 171130
Wow, that’s going to be really nice! It actually looks very modern. Nice rims.What are those off?
 
Thread Starter
TS
Decreed_It

Decreed_It

I'd rather be skiing
Skier
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Posts
905
Location
Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia
We made it! After a harrowing travel saga to get here, we got here in one piece albeit separated. After AA got delayed badly (4+ hours) due to lightning, then re-route due to labor shortage at Memphis ATC causing is to head back to gate for fuel, then crew was illegal, we gave up and went back home as we'd miss the only Qantas flight out of Dallas that night. After several hours of scrambling were told sorry, no flights. Sheesh. Mrs and the kids ended up going Air NZ out of LAX to Auckland on Friday (day we were originally supposed to arrive!) then Melbourne then Sydney. I got the last seat on Delta through DET-LAX-SYD and arrived on Sunday AM winning that leg of the Amazing Race. Mrs and kids made it in later that day. We we even collected all 28, yes twenty eight, pieces of luggage including 2 bike bags, 2 ski boxes and a boot bag that ended up in Dallas on that first travel day. Half overweight as well. Good times. Still cheaper and faster than a container!

With a week under the belt to get the kids rolling in school - turning my attention to skiing. Or, maybe not. Hey @geepers and other AUS based folks, what am I missing here? I've found zero, nada, none, zilch - nothing - in the way of accommodations anywhere near Thredbo or Perisher for basically the rest of the season. On a weekend night at least. Normal? Who I gotta know to find a place to crash here? Is rough/car camping allowed? I.e. roof top tent and a winter bag? I'm not above it to get some turns in.

I'd even be glad to join a club if one would have us. Knowing no other snow skiers here - well, that's a bit tricky.
 
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Rich_Ease_3051

Getting off the lift
Pass Pulled
Joined
May 16, 2021
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734
Location
Sydney
With a week under the belt to get the kids rolling in school - turning my attention to skiing. Or, maybe not. Hey @geepers and other AUS based folks, what am I missing here? I've found zero, nada, none, zilch - nothing - in the way of accommodations anywhere near Thredbo or Perisher for basically the rest of the season. On a weekend night at least. Normal? Who I gotta know to find a place to crash here? Is rough/car camping allowed? I.e. roof top tent and a winter bag? I'm not above it to get some turns in.

Your best bet is to join ski.com.au, an Aussie specific ski forum. I browse there sometimes (mostly to check weather predictions and road and resort conditions). But I prefer skitalk as it's geekier/nerdier about skiing and equipment and I get a more international expertise/perspective about skiing. Philpug and Tricia post in ski.com.au too. I think it's a good community. Posters are helpful to new members and are more than happy to answer your questions.
 
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Rich_Ease_3051

Getting off the lift
Pass Pulled
Joined
May 16, 2021
Posts
734
Location
Sydney
There are other Aussie ski groups in facebook or whatever but if you're already familiar communicating in a forum style website, ski.com.au is not that much different to skitalk, so you would feel at home being a member there. Also there's more expertise in ski.com.au and information is stored and organised in a better way than facebook.
 

geepers

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
May 12, 2018
Posts
4,256
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Wanaka, New Zealand
We made it! After a harrowing travel saga to get here, we got here in one piece albeit separated. After AA got delayed badly (4+ hours) due to lightning, then re-route due to labor shortage at Memphis ATC causing is to head back to gate for fuel, then crew was illegal, we gave up and went back home as we'd miss the only Qantas flight out of Dallas that night. After several hours of scrambling were told sorry, no flights. Sheesh. Mrs and the kids ended up going Air NZ out of LAX to Auckland on Friday (day we were originally supposed to arrive!) then Melbourne then Sydney. I got the last seat on Delta through DET-LAX-SYD and arrived on Sunday AM winning that leg of the Amazing Race. Mrs and kids made it in later that day. We we even collected all 28, yes twenty eight, pieces of luggage including 2 bike bags, 2 ski boxes and a boot bag that ended up in Dallas on that first travel day. Half overweight as well. Good times. Still cheaper and faster than a container!

With a week under the belt to get the kids rolling in school - turning my attention to skiing. Or, maybe not. Hey @geepers and other AUS based folks, what am I missing here? I've found zero, nada, none, zilch - nothing - in the way of accommodations anywhere near Thredbo or Perisher for basically the rest of the season. On a weekend night at least. Normal? Who I gotta know to find a place to crash here? Is rough/car camping allowed? I.e. roof top tent and a winter bag? I'm not above it to get some turns in.

I'd even be glad to join a club if one would have us. Knowing no other snow skiers here - well, that's a bit tricky.


Good you have actually arrived in Oz.

Yeah, accomm at the snow is a pita on weekends. It's especially bad atm as snow sport enthusiasts have been starved of a fix due to you know what.

I no longer ski weekends - just do Monday to Friday. There will be some vacancies mid-week if you can swing time off. There is natural camping - unpowered, no facilities - at various places along the Alpine Way between Crackenback and Thredbo. And at places like Island Bend that is on the road to Guthega. Best source of info would be National Parks NSW web site or a call to them. Pretty sure there are no fees. There is also a camp park at Jindabyne (Discovery Park IIRC). Cabins would likely be already booked out weekends but may score one mid-week. Would have to enquire about camp sites.

You'll likely find more weekend accom options a littel later in the season - but of course conditions may not be as good.

Membership of clubs is a longer term option however the prices have risen over the last 2 years.
 

Rich_Ease_3051

Getting off the lift
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Joined
May 16, 2021
Posts
734
Location
Sydney
There's always weekend accommodation available, but you have to pay BIG BUX for July-August. Searching on booking.com for this weekend 2-nights Jindabyne accommodation for example yields below.

I always book months in advance. Sometimes, you can get lucky booking cheap places the night before or on the day for cancelled weekend accommodation. But not this year I think because of pent-up demand.

1658737055762.png
 

Rich_Ease_3051

Getting off the lift
Pass Pulled
Joined
May 16, 2021
Posts
734
Location
Sydney
It is for this reason that some Aussies would rather fly to Queenstown NZ and pay the airfare to get their ski fix than drive to Perisher.


1658738239998.png
 
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Thread Starter
TS
Decreed_It

Decreed_It

I'd rather be skiing
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Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Posts
905
Location
Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia
It is for this reason that some Aussies would rather fly to Queenstown NZ and pay the airfare to get their ski fix than drive to Perisher.


View attachment 174037
Yeah I mean at this point it's worth it to fly over to NZ - just don't see dropping 1200 US for one night to ski Thredbo or Perisher! No offense but good grief that's nuts. This ain't Aspen :D
 

Rich_Ease_3051

Getting off the lift
Pass Pulled
Joined
May 16, 2021
Posts
734
Location
Sydney
Yeah I mean at this point it's worth it to fly over to NZ - just don't see dropping 1200 US for one night to ski Thredbo or Perisher! No offense but good grief that's nuts. This ain't Aspen :D
Flight to Queenstown are around $1000-$1500 for this weekend at the moment, but that's due to the NZ reopening and airline delays and staff shortages and whatnot. Pre-pandemic return flights to Queenstown are around $300-$700, depending on what deals you can get with budget airlines. But yeah, sometimes it's just cheaper to just fly to NZ. Especially for Perth and Queensland residents, who don't have ski areas in their states.

Edit: I just checked on skyscanner and there are cheap flights to Queenstown for $700 return after the weekend. For a 2-week stay for example, going to NZ is much cheaper. Fact, is, you can't even book a 2-week stay in Jindabyne or Perisher or Thredbo as there are no available places for that long a booking on short notice. But there's heaps of 3-4 star hotels in Queenstown for 2 weeks that will only set you back around 2-4 thousand bucks.
 
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Turoa Kiwi

JH
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2,495
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Wellington . New Zealand
Remarkables and Coronet Peak at Queenstown are only NZ$ 99 der day for a four day pass. Cardrona which is a bigger resort is similarly priced but is an hours drive from Queenstown
 
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geepers

Skiing the powder
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Joined
May 12, 2018
Posts
4,256
Location
Wanaka, New Zealand
There's always weekend accommodation available, but you have to pay BIG BUX for July-August. Searching on booking.com for this weekend 2-nights Jindabyne accommodation for example yields below.

I always book months in advance. Sometimes, you can get lucky booking cheap places the night before or on the day for cancelled weekend accommodation. But not this year I think because of pent-up demand.

View attachment 174035

@Decreed_It

They are pretty wild prices for accomm even by Oz standards.

Supposed to be staying at Sponars Inn next week and it's around $2600 for 5 nights for wife and self. And that includes evening and breakfast meals. (This one is a hold over from last year when us Sydneysiders were locked up. Unfortunately the wife is currently dealing with long covid symptoms - fatigue - and will not be skiing. :( )

Also be aware that some of these web sites don't have agreements with all the accomm outlets. Have heard accomm owners complain that there seems to be nothing to stop them listing a venue but then showing the accomm as unavailable even though they have no actual idea what the situation is. So could try contacting them directly.

And there are apparently quite a few late cancellations due to covid, etc, so there's always the chance of picking up a vacancy.

On camping... friends has just spent the weekend camping in vehicle. Said that an issue for the National Parks campsites (like Island Bend) is that the booking fee is only $6 per day so people are bookings, then don't make it but don't cancel their booking. They just stayed on the side of the road somewhere in Jindabyne.
 

geepers

Skiing the powder
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Wanaka, New Zealand
Sometimes things get worse.

Caught covid during last week's snow trip and have been slammed pretty hard. Didn't realise it soon enough and wife has it again. She had still not fully recovered from an earlier bout in May so this is not good.:(

Guess it's reminder that the pandemic is not over, that we may think we are 10ft tall and bulletproof due to vaccinations and/or robust health and/or some secret diet. But we probably aren't. :(

So no ski trip next week. And rather expensive accom will sit idle. :(
 

James

Out There
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Posts
24,449
Sometimes things get worse.

Caught covid during last week's snow trip and have been slammed pretty hard. Didn't realise it soon enough and wife has it again. She had still not fully recovered from an earlier bout in May so this is not good.:(

Guess it's reminder that the pandemic is not over, that we may think we are 10ft tall and bulletproof due to vaccinations and/or robust health and/or some secret diet. But we probably aren't. :(

So no ski trip next week. And rather expensive accom will sit idle. :(
Sorry to hear. I had it in April. It was bad for a bit. Started to wonder if I have to call the ambulance, by that time will I be able to crawl to the door and unlock it or will they have to break in. The other weird thing was standing was nauseating. I don’t think I really ate for two days, other than forcing myself to eat a few crackers.

Maybe @Decreed_It can use the lodging
 

geepers

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
May 12, 2018
Posts
4,256
Location
Wanaka, New Zealand
Sorry to hear. I had it in April. It was bad for a bit. Started to wonder if I have to call the ambulance, by that time will I be able to crawl to the door and unlock it or will they have to break in. The other weird thing was standing was nauseating. I don’t think I really ate for two days, other than forcing myself to eat a few crackers.

Maybe @Decreed_It can use the lodging

Sure not a great life experience. More concerned for the wife long term atm.

Thought of Decreed however it's incredibly short notice and hard to leap into when we don't actually know each other. In any event some friends are getting an amazing deal. It's only money swings and round-abouts. :rolleyes: In a fit of optimism we booked flights to Canada next Feb using the credit from last Feb's debacle and the prices had gone down significantly.
 
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Decreed_It

Decreed_It

I'd rather be skiing
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Posts
905
Location
Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia
Sure not a great life experience. More concerned for the wife long term atm.

Thought of Decreed however it's incredibly short notice and hard to leap into when we don't actually know each other. In any event some friends are getting an amazing deal. It's only money swings and round-abouts. :rolleyes: In a fit of optimism we booked flights to Canada next Feb using the credit from last Feb's debacle and the prices had gone down significantly.
Appreciate the thought - no way could I have used it however. I have found the Perisher and Thredbo last minute accommodations Facebook groups - those look handy.

For our part I'm 99.999% sure we all got covid 2nd week being over here. Daughter led w/ symptoms, we all got it, but no one ever tested positive on a RAT. I've read/seen some inklings that the older RAT tests aren't as accurate w/ Omicron BA-5 - but then I also read they were if you persist and test 3-4 days into symptoms. Regardless we just assumed it was COVID and acted accordingly. That's 2x for me, 3x for the wife, double vaxxed, boosted and now natural immunity. Again.

Back to skiing rain did some serious damage to the snowpack here, but, cold and snow returns this week allegedly. I've got an intro tour booked with an outfit out of Berridale for Monday the 16th, hope there's something worth turning on. Main goal for me is more time on skins to get gear figured out and dialed in, so even just a day skinning would be a 'success'.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Decreed_It

Decreed_It

I'd rather be skiing
Skier
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Posts
905
Location
Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia
Forgot to mention we moved up to Newport in the Northern Beaches area and I've resumed surfing after a LONG hiatus. Boy did I suck that first day out! Still, gotta love a place you can surf one weekend and ski the next! Or heck both in the same week! It's not California where you can do both in the same day, but still . . . the outdoor life here is just outstanding.
 

geepers

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
May 12, 2018
Posts
4,256
Location
Wanaka, New Zealand
Appreciate the thought - no way could I have used it however. I have found the Perisher and Thredbo last minute accommodations Facebook groups - those look handy.

For our part I'm 99.999% sure we all got covid 2nd week being over here. Daughter led w/ symptoms, we all got it, but no one ever tested positive on a RAT. I've read/seen some inklings that the older RAT tests aren't as accurate w/ Omicron BA-5 - but then I also read they were if you persist and test 3-4 days into symptoms. Regardless we just assumed it was COVID and acted accordingly. That's 2x for me, 3x for the wife, double vaxxed, boosted and now natural immunity. Again.

Back to skiing rain did some serious damage to the snowpack here, but, cold and snow returns this week allegedly. I've got an intro tour booked with an outfit out of Berridale for Monday the 16th, hope there's something worth turning on. Main goal for me is more time on skins to get gear figured out and dialed in, so even just a day skinning would be a 'success'.

Wow - covid again so fast! Believe we are per capita world leaders with infection rate currently.

Our experience: RAT is less likely to show positive in early stages (compared to PCR) but likely to continue to show positive later. So a neg RAT is not really worth that much.

You must be a keen surfer to be out at this time of year - Aug/Sept are pretty much the min water temp months!

From the web cams it looked like there was a top-up last couple of days so :crossfingers: that it has recovered a little from the damage. Was a promising early start but it's fallen back below average. Meanwhile NZ is looking good.

Good luck with that tour.
 
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TS
Decreed_It

Decreed_It

I'd rather be skiing
Skier
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Posts
905
Location
Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia
You must be a keen surfer to be out at this time of year - Aug/Sept are pretty much the min water temp months!
Oh but it's glorious here - 11 low 17 high today (52 and 62) and Sunny - water temp is 18. Just got a new wetsuit and they've improved a lot over the years, very comfy in a 4/3 full suit, chest zip O'Neill. Added some booties because I'm soft in my middle age :D Was never even remotely cold.

Contrast to my last regular surf period - 2000-2004 in Boston, MA. Had a 6/5/4 hooded steamer, with 5mm mittens and 7mm boots. Coldest I ever was was surfing the Wall at Hampton, NH in February or March, water temp was a balmy 38F. Cold AF!

In comparison Sydney's Northern Beaches are heaven, and akin to Central and Southern California year round, I think.
 

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