2019 Jan-Mar
We finally left the UK on the 28th of January, soon after the birth of Alba Edith, completing a trio of granddaughters. It was lovely to see the happiness in Rachel and Charlotte’s faces as they embark on their new adventure of parenthood. We also enjoyed a lovely couple of days with Rob and Jas and the girls. It was a very emotional departure.
We had figured that we needed to wait for our worldly goods to arrive in Brisbane – and it would be cheaper to stay in Bali for the estimated four weeks than in Australia. Our first week was spent at Seminyak, a suburb close to Denpasar – the capital of Bali. Seminyak was a very touristy area, and we didn’t really enjoy it. After some research we discovered what looked like a lovely resort, Taman Sari, at Permuteran, on the northwest coast of Bali. We booked a studio apartment in a group of eight – it turned out that we were the only guests in that part of the resort – so we had the swimming pool all to ourselves. The main resort also had a beach and offered dives to Menjangan Island. Keith did two dives and was impressed with the coral restoration work they were undertaking. From our apartment we could leave the grounds and explore the local village. We bought a few supplies for breakfast and lunch and discovered a lovely ‘warung’ for evening meals. Warungs are a type of small family-owned local restaurants serving delicious food at very modest prices.
The owners of the Taman Sari Resort also had a connection with the Puri Taman Sari Resort – a traditional Balinese compound owned by a member of the royal family of Mengwi, one of Bali’s main kingdoms of old. The compound is located in a traditional Balinese village just a few hours’ drive north of Denpasar, nestled in shady coconut groves, surrounded by rice fields, with three rivers running through. We were given the honeymoon suite in its own small compound among the paddy fields – we were their only guests so received four-star treatment. It felt a bit surreal, but we enjoyed walks through the padi.
We arrived in Brisbane on the 23rd of February and set about turning ourselves into Aussies. The first thing on the agenda was to buy a car. After a day looking at various SUV vehicles (neither of us are car enthusiasts) we settled on a KIA Sportage. When going through the paperwork we were informed that we needed a Queensland Driving Licence in order to buy a car – and to get a licence we needed proof of residency! Thankfully the owner of the Airbnb we were staying at let us use her address. There followed a trip to the bank to change details and get a headed bank statement made out to our new address, etc. We managed to get the necessary together.
The next thing on the agenda was a trip to the Princess Alexandra Hospital to see if they would reinstate Keith on their patient list. Unfortunately, during our six-year absence, they had digitised their records, but Keith’s details were not in their database. However – not a problem – we just needed to get another referral from our GP. We turned up at the GPs in the city and were advised there would be a ten-minute wait for an appointment. When he finally appeared, it turned out to be the same GP who had first diagnosed Keith’s condition 10 years ago. We all recognised each other, and he was only too willing to help.
By the end of Week One we had a car, a hospital appointment two weeks hence, and had managed to catch up with Emily (over from NZ on a course), as well as having dinner with Peter and Eliza (whom we had met in Bali).
With all our business concluded we took a daytrip to the Sunshine Coast to check out possible places to live. Our first foray was very depressing – Keith got severely homesick and began questioning the whole idea of a moving to Australia. But we decided that we should spend a few days at each of a few localities to get more acquainted with the area. Our belongings had now arrived, but it would take four weeks to clear customs, etc. So, our target was to find somewhere to live in that timescale. We had done some research whilst in England, but the reality was very different. Our house budget was a little low but not out of reach, however finding the house of our dreams in the areas we like might be more difficult.
We interrupted our search to attend Keith’s hospital appointment in Brisbane. We had been concerned that the partial remission of his incurable lymphoma was failing. In the UK they would not consider any treatment or further investigations until he showed some symptoms. In contrast, the Australian consultant had retrieved Keith’s medical records and was keen to carry out a CT scan and bone marrow biopsy – and discuss treatment options. These procedures were now arranged over the next couple of weeks – with a follow up appointment in early April. This, the sunshine, and Aussie lifestyle was the rationale behind our move to Australia.