It has been more than 8 months since our last update. In that time we have made a very big decision: we are going to stay in Australia and are now permanent residents! This really doesn't make too much of a difference to our taxes or our ability to travel, but this does mean that we can apply for Australian citizenship after a year of having PR. It would be nice to have the Aussie passport for international travel, and we will still be Canadian citizens, of course. The new status does make it easier if we have to travel through the US, because they always ask the tricky question: what is your country of residence? Even though we lived in Australia on a work visa, we always ended up telling a 10 minute story about how we lived in Australia but were there on a temporary visa, however we did not own property in Canada and had no residence there...it will all be so easy now!
In the time that we have been making this decision, we have had a couple of trips, most recently to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. It was one of the first Australian trips that was recommended to us when we arrived four years ago, and it really lived up to the hype! Even though neither of us really like being in a car, it is the only way to really see the coast line. We went in the winter and it was so nice to stop in a pub and sit by a roaring fire, something that we just can't do in Brisbane...not that we are complaining about that! We have completely lost our Canadian standards and are eagerly awaiting the warmth of summer, so we can put these bone-chilling 23C days behind us!
Great Ocean Road
12 Apostles on Great Ocean Road
Beach at Gibson's Steps, Great Ocean Road
