Not that we are counting or anything, but I've noticed that there are only six weeks to pass before we leave the UAE via the Abu Dhabi Airport. We fly out just after midday on 20 June 08 and head for Johannesburg and a three week holiday in South Africa.
We arrive at Alice Springs via Perth and Ayres Rock arriving late afternoon on 12 July 08. It will possibly be somewhat of a shock to be surrounded by people who are mostly white and speak a language we understand. We'll have to familiarize ourselves with the currency again and I can imagine that every time we buy something for the first few days we'll convert it into Dirhams to see how much it really is.
Hopefully, Meredith or Dale will meet us at the airport and we can drive home, shower and sit back with a coldie while we contemplate what to have for dinner and what we'll do in the immediate future.
It will be winter in Australia while our Northern Hemisphere friends head off for their "summer" holidays but we will have time to acclimatise in South Africa. By the time we reach Alice Springs, we should be weather hardened and be able to take the relatively colder climate.
Christina hopes to return to work at the Alice Springs Hospital but admitted under my cross examination that her passion for midwifery has faded somewhat after 30 odd years. It's just a job now and she'll do it because she's good at it and doesn't have to worry too much about what to do, when and how. On top of which, it's the one job at which she can earn the most money.
There will be some "settling-in" things to do like some gardening, house maintenance and unpacking and storing our container load of goods that will arrive a few weeks after we do. Meredith has bought a nice house for her and Tory, so we will also have to help them move just a couple of kilometres west of our place.
I'm going to continue work on my online business and hopefully fine tune some things that aren't working as well as they should be. I'm also hoping to do some short term consulting/contracting in a range of areas for which I have the ability. Yesterday I began sending out messages to business acquaintances advising them that I'm going to be available from August 2008.
Before then, we still have a few things to do here before we fly out.
Stay well and some of you we'll see soon.
Robin
We arrive at Alice Springs via Perth and Ayres Rock arriving late afternoon on 12 July 08. It will possibly be somewhat of a shock to be surrounded by people who are mostly white and speak a language we understand. We'll have to familiarize ourselves with the currency again and I can imagine that every time we buy something for the first few days we'll convert it into Dirhams to see how much it really is.
Hopefully, Meredith or Dale will meet us at the airport and we can drive home, shower and sit back with a coldie while we contemplate what to have for dinner and what we'll do in the immediate future.
It will be winter in Australia while our Northern Hemisphere friends head off for their "summer" holidays but we will have time to acclimatise in South Africa. By the time we reach Alice Springs, we should be weather hardened and be able to take the relatively colder climate.
Christina hopes to return to work at the Alice Springs Hospital but admitted under my cross examination that her passion for midwifery has faded somewhat after 30 odd years. It's just a job now and she'll do it because she's good at it and doesn't have to worry too much about what to do, when and how. On top of which, it's the one job at which she can earn the most money.
There will be some "settling-in" things to do like some gardening, house maintenance and unpacking and storing our container load of goods that will arrive a few weeks after we do. Meredith has bought a nice house for her and Tory, so we will also have to help them move just a couple of kilometres west of our place.
I'm going to continue work on my online business and hopefully fine tune some things that aren't working as well as they should be. I'm also hoping to do some short term consulting/contracting in a range of areas for which I have the ability. Yesterday I began sending out messages to business acquaintances advising them that I'm going to be available from August 2008.
Before then, we still have a few things to do here before we fly out.
Stay well and some of you we'll see soon.
Robin
PS: Our lovely young friend and ex-officio grandson Onat Ustun turned 2 yesterday and I took this photo of him with Christina. Ain't he a cutie?
