Picture special - January's unseen extras

As January rolls into February and the transfer window slams shut, I've had a rummage through our photos and unearthed a few that didn't quite make the cut for the blog, first time round. Here, along with handy captions, they all are. You lucky people.

In big news this week, it's been raining. Not for long, mind, but long enough to flood the road and waterlog the front lawn. And long enough for our winter-bound friends to enjoy a surreptitious smirk. I paid 60 dollars just to see a doctor today - unbelievable. Later, we were bothered by what I perceived to be a swarm of flies on a short walk to the post box. When we returned home and opened the front door, one flew in behind us and Rachel remarked "there's that fly again." I initially questioned how she could be sure a single fly had followed us for the duration of the journey and then into the house but now I am doubting myself.

Scroll down for the gallery...

Our hotel in Singapore, The Quincy. Bit sticking out is the swimming pool.

Rach loved this chair. "We should get one of these"

White tiger at Singapore Zoo, definitely our tour guide's favourite.

Brilliantly lazy: the orangutans.

Just chilling with the rhino.

Elegance personified.

Queen of the Zoo

All dressed up and nowhere to go. Literally - we're on the Singapore Flyer.

Raffles cakes.

Melbourne

Traffic lights at the beach - and Rob

Phillip Island podium (empty champers bottles)

My Tottenham connections are running strong. Australian Rules Football is the big deal over here when it comes to sport, so I decided I'd better grab a piece of the action before the league season starts in March. With help from the AFL twitter page, I chose to support Geelong Cats, the reigning premiers, having been informed they wore the same colours as Spurs. In a division comprising 18 clubs, Geelong are one of 10 based in and around Melbourne.

One of their city rivals, Collingwood, are Australia's Manchester United. Seemingly "everyone's second team is whoever Collingwood are playing." They've won 15 premierships since the AFL began (as the Victoria Football League) in 1890. Only Carlton and Essendon have been more successful. After tweeting my allegiance to Geelong, I was quickly welcomed into the Cats family. Steve Johnson is the man to watch, so my scouts tell me. I've already started my YouTube research. First game of the regular season is on March 31 away to Fremantle. That's just down the coast from Perth and in anyone's language, it's a long old poke.

I also plan to play football this winter - for Albury Hotspurs.

What is this Aussie critter?

My chief concern about moving to Australia was the diversity of wildlife, the bugs, the snakes, the dangerous spiders, all the stuff we don't have to worry about in England. Several of you have asked exactly what critters we've encountered, so when we saw this earlier, I had to cast fear to one side and pull out the camera. Seconds later, it was gone. So what I want to know is... What on earth is it?

Friday night was Andy Murray's semi-final against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. Like Tim Henman before him, Murray knows how to put British fans through the ringer when it comes to the big occasion and this was definitely no exception. It was good to hear the BBC were screening the game live back home and to be fair, the Australian TV coverage - which has been pretty jingoistic at times during the tournament - was excellent during what was a true classic. I don't know if our neighbours on either side have young children but if they do, we woke them up with our yells every time Murray won a break point - or lost his own serve. As is so often the case, there was to be no happy ending but Murray left the court with his pride absolutely in tact after pushing the world No 1 right to the limit. The five-set match lasted almost five hours, while Saturday night's women's final between Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova was over in 1 hour 22 minutes. If anyone wants to re-visit the "female tennis players deserve to be paid as much as the men" argument, I'd love to hear from them.

Rachel emerged unscathed from her first day at school, an inset, and we embarked on our first notable trip in the car to visit Beechworth, just under an hour's drive into Victoria. Our first stop was the Beechworth Bakery, operating under the banner 'Australia's greatest bakery.' I can only imagine that's a title they've added themselves. If anyone has visited every bakery in Australia with a clipboard, they've got a serious mileage claim to submit. My steak pie and Rachel's foccacia were top-notch, though, so I won't dispute the boast.

We spent part of the afternoon on a tour which told the story of Ned Kelly and his gang. Here is Rachel at the point where we had to meet our guide. I don't remember a load of details from the tour, but Ned ended up hanged in Melbourne. There was a plaster cast of his head (post-hanging) in the Beechworth museum. I can't see Madame Tussauds adding any of those to their collection.

On the way home, we made a slight detour to visit the stunning Woolshed Falls. The small dots you can see in this photo are indeed people, which gives you an idea of the scale of the waterfall. We took a few pictures, including this one, from the viewing platform, and then made our way down the rocks and up the other side to dip our feet in the rushing water. Stepping out of shoes and onto the burning hot slabs of rock made the cool sensation ever better.

Hats are becoming more prominent for us every day. The intensity of the sun means it's important to keep our heads properly covered, even into the evening, as the temperatures don't start falling away until it gets late. Australians are really on the ball when it comes to sunscreen and keeping in the shade, where we perhaps have a tendancy to maximise sunbathing in the UK. Saw a government TV ad the other day which finished with the punchline 'there's nothing healthy about a tan'. Given that 1 in 20 Australians will be diagnosed with melanoma, it's not hard to see why they take that line. I am borrowing this Billabong for now but am looking to make a purchase in the next week or so. All hat suggestions welcome.

After swinging by an amazing cheesecake shop (certain to hear more of that in a future blog) on the way home, we scrolled through the TV guide and found both the Graham Norton Show and Jonathan Ross Show being given prime time slots! Does Australian not make its own chat shows? We thoroughly enjoyed your breakfast news, a few blogs ago, so sticking with the TV theme I want to know what programmes are big in your world at the moment. What are we missing out on? Is anyone watching Mad Dogs on Sky 1? The first series was the best show on TV last year - fact. Let us know your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter. I am @stevetervet

Australia Day

Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788. (www.australiaday.org.au)



We have a national day in England. St George's Day. Honestly, without Googling it, I don't know when it is. That's because it's not a big occasion on the calendar. Australia Day is different. So different. Essentially, it's a Bank Holiday, everywhere shuts down and everyone does really Australian stuff. Our day started with a visit to the packed Noreuil Park, in the south-west corner of Albury, along with some of Rachel's new colleagues. There were certainly hundreds of people there; possibly thousands by the time we left. In this photo, the mayor of Albury is leading a citizenship ceremony, where immigrants officially became Australians. A couple of Brits made their way up on stage; others involved were from India, Thailand and Egypt. We were on the banks of the Murray River, where loads of kids were swimming and floating along on Aussie lilos. Many of the males in attendance were eager to make a quick exit and get home in time for the cricket, but there was a real sense of community and national pride. It made me sad to think that our flags often have such negative connotations. Outside the World Cup, you'll most often see the St George's cross being flown by the far-right English Defence League. Nick Griffin's British National Party have smeared the identity of the Union Jack, brought to Australia for the first time 224 years ago. Shame on them. Our country is brilliant, yet we don't celebrate it. That's not right.

Back at home, the TV went on and I flicked between the tennis on Seven and the cricket on Nine. Australia continued to pummel India at a scorching hot Adelaide Oval, while Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova reached the women's final at the Australian Open in Melbourne. The BBC's excellent text commentary has kept me in touch with the Pakistan v England test match in Dubai - throwing a third different time zone into the mix!

Several of the teachers at Rachels' new school - and their families - got together in the evening for a barbeque. Well, how else could you end Australia Day? Stereotypes suggest Aussies rule the roost when it comes to 'barbies' and I can only reinforce that. A feast comprising steaks, sausages, chops, burgers and fish was laid before us, with some outstanding egg and potato mixes to compliment the main offerings. On the eve of the new school term, it was a nice way for us to forge new friendships and build on those which had already started earlier in the day. The garden had seemingly been shaped with cricket in mind and we bowled a few overs with the kids once our food had gone down.

Invited to take a dip in the adjacent pool, we definitely weren't about to refuse. At the end of a day which saw temperatures hit 39C on the Victoria-New South Wales border, it was hugely refreshing to jump in. Having said that, the water was far warmer than any pool I've swum in back home! Without exception, everyone we've met so far has made us feel welcome. Several have contacts at the local newspaper, which could be good news for me.

I can't finish a blog entry on Australia Day without mentioning kangaroos. A couple of days ago, we drove a few kilometres out of town to the Oz.e Wildlife Sanctuary - one of the strangest places I've ever been to. The reception area was deserted, apart from some snakes in cabinets and a peacock at the front door. It was Mary Celeste-esque. Eventually a woman appeared to take our money and hand us bags of animal feed. No mention was made of the un-manned desks, so we commenced our tour. Having seen only two other vehicles in the large, dusty car-park, it was not a surprise to see we were pretty much the only visitors. Kangaroos, lying in the shade, instantly heard us rustling the food bags and bounced over. One tugged at my t-shirt when I dared to stop offering handfuls of pellets. We moved on.

Disappointment at not seeing koalas last week was soon forgotten when we came across two in a tree. One was sleeping, wedged perfectly between two branches towards the top and the other was chowing down on vast amounts of eucalyptus leaves. Neither acknowledged us, only stirring when disturbed by the pitter-patter of the sprinklers on their fur. We moved on.

After stopping to watch a solitary penguin, similar to those on Phillip Island, we made for the exit. A large peacock was loitering at the entrance back into the reception and Rachel was concerned it was waiting for a customer to open the door in order to make a bid for freedom. I was more worried the snakes inside had escaped their cabinets but both fears were unfounded and we departed in undramatic fashion.

Swimming in the Murray River

Exploration has begun.

Beyond than the banalities of activating our bank account, registering at the medical centre and investigating the purchase of Australian sim cards at Telstra, we have made discoveries around Albury.

Friends had recommended a local church to check out on Sunday morning. The meeting took place in the main hall of a high school and we were given a thoroughly warm welcome, which extended to a lunch invitation. The meal was a picnic to the east of town at Lake Hume Village [probably worth keeping Google Maps open during all blog readings], next to the impressive Hume Weir. Among the food on offer was a whole hot chook (chicken) - good purchase. As per usual, the sun was beating down with some intensity, although we have now learned to apply sunscreen even when driving, as the rays can burn you through the glass. Later in the afternoon, we reconvened with a few members of the group for a swim in the Murray River at Mungabareena Island. The water is fairly rapid so we used sausage-shaped floats known as woggles/noodles to keep our heads above water. One lap was enough for me - hidden tree stumps and the mysterious squelchiness walking up the return bank made sure of that. Fish have rivers and we have swimming pools. I will continue to abide by those boundaries.

Every time we open the front door in daylight hours, we are greeted by the sound of a hundred pneumatic drills. Up in the trees are creatures called cicadas, who seemingly live to make noise. Imagine our harmless crickets - but on steroids. You're halfway there. Go to their Wikipedia page and you can listen to a recording of their racket.

Tennis has dominated the sporting agenda since we landed Down Under, with the Aussie media lending typically strong backing to their home hopes at the Australian Open. For a fortnight, Sam Stosur, Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt push the cricketers off the back page, although as I write this, Hewitt - the last Aussie left in - looks to be on his way out against Novak Djokovic. Matches go on well beyond 11pm most nights, so we've been pretty late to bed more often than not. I couldn't quite keep myself awake to follow the weekend's football back in England (the majority of games start at 2am our time) but I have found a brilliant website which shows the highlights, as they appear on Match of the Day. I knew I would miss watching football live - both going to games and watching on TV - but I can stay up to date fairly effectively. Twitter coverage of the trial involving Spurs manager Harry Redknapp will also command my attention over the next two weeks.

The house is starting to look more like a home, thanks in part to the number of our photos plastered to the front of the fridge-freezer. The largest exhibit is a 2012 calendar featuring the smiling face of our nephew Haydn (top left), who has played an enthusiastic part in several Skype calls since our arrival. It is brilliant to have such an array of friendly faces surveying the kitchen. We would have even more, but the camera we carried around with us before Christmas has been stolen, along with approximately 80 pictures. Therefore, we are on the hunt for replacement snaps and you can help by posting or emailing some of you. The aim is to cover the whole fridge, so get sending... I'll give a progress report further down the line.

THINGS I HAVE LEARNT ABOUT AUSTRALIAN FOOD

*Peppers are called capsicums
*Vegemite is nothing like, and far inferior to, Marmite. It looks like chocolate spread.
*Weet-Bix is the 'breakfast of champions'
*Sweetcorn is called corn kernels

Welcome to our new home

From the Murray brothers to the Murray river. Two days ago, we were swamped by tennis fans at the Australian Open in the heart of Melbourne, and now we sit on the veranda at our new house in rural Albury, just across the New South Wales border. Without wishing to over-play the weather card, the heat is even more intense here, cranking up to 37C at times, which means it is just too hot for us to be out of the shade, even with sunblock on. The supermarkets have erected tent-like shelters to keep the sun off your cars, something Tesco will never have to worry about.

We travelled up here in the car with Rob & Jan, leaving Melbourne at 9am on Friday. I imagined the journey to be effectively one straight sun-baked road, passing little more than trees and scorched grass on either side - and I was right. Door to door, the trip takes about four hours and once you emerge from the Melbourne suburbs, there is little to see. In service station news, we stopped near Wangaratta and ate at McDonald's, which featured the Oz Burger (with beetroot instead of gherkin) and a terrific array of cakes in the McCafe.

Two of Rachel's new colleagues, friends of our exchange partner Kath, gave us a quickfire tour of the house when we arrived. Like most houses in Australia, it's all on one floor, although I'm not sure the term 'bungalow' is one they use. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. It's a good size and I think we will enjoy living here. There is a hanging windchime out on the veranda which reminds me of the Mel Gibson film 'Signs'. We are more at risk from spiders than aliens here, but it still sounds spooky. Although this is more of an audio feature, I have included a picture which shows the chimes and our back yard.

The car will stay in the garage as much as possible to keep it out of the sun. It's an automatic - as are the majority over here - so it took a little bit of getting used to, but I reckon I've cracked it now. We drove into town to sort out our Medicare (a bit like the NHS). It was more like a post office than a doctors' surgery but the lady behind the counter seemed satisfied with our documents and we ended up having a conversation aboout playing Battleships in Maths lessons.

For all the previous blog entries, we've been in holiday mode. Our time in Singapore and Melbourne was super-relaxed and it was a treat to visit the places we did. However, when we arrived at the front door in Albury for the first time, it was like crashing into a wall of reality, realising that we aren't hopping back on a plane to show off our tans, we are here to live, to do every-day stuff thousands of miles from home. Don't get me wrong, we are blessed to have landed a house like this and to have the sun shining down every day. But most of our friends are on the other side of the world and we are outsiders here, just finding our way.

Therefore, every time someone calls us on Skype, comments on the blog, sends us a message, it reminds us we are not doing this on our own. This is a big adventure for us, we will continue to keep you posted via the blog and we want this to be a two-way thing, to hear your news.

When we are watching Andy Murray in the tennis on Saturday evening, you'll probably be waking up to start your weekend. Send us your breakfast news. I had sausage, eggs and toast this morning, while Rachel opted for the eclectic mix of cream cheese, cucumber and sweet chilli sauce on toast. Strewth.

Picture special: Tervets at the Australian Open

Thursday was our last day in Melbourne before heading to our new home in Albury. With one of the four tennis majors on our doorstep (or at least, less than 15 stops on the train), how could we not get involved? Andy Murray and his brother Jamie were both in action, so we packed the Union Jack and some sandwiches. Rather than rattle off the details of our day in the sun, I've included a selection of pictures from Melbourne Park. Enjoy...

Jamie Murray on his way out of the doubles on Court 15

The away end

Daniela Hantuchova (second left) also featured in the doubles

Good arena, poor tennis. Ladies singles on Court 2

Australian equivalent of Henman Hill

Andy Murray (right) on his way to a straights-set victory over Edouard Roger-Vasselin in Hisense Arena. The Frenchman was a slippery customer.

We both blagged free tickets for the Murray match. Below, a selection of other tennis punters...


And to finish, the post-match. Job well done, Andy.

The magic of Phillip Island

Having explored the centre of Melbourne, we headed south in the car to take in the fascinating sights of Phillip Island. One of Australia's quirks is the appearance of several English place names and, mirroring the Isle of Wight, Phillip houses Ventnor and Cowes. Before crossing the bridge from the mainland, we stopped at a bakery in San Remo - notable for a coffee that took an age to make, plus good pies and desserts from a menu which boasted far more options than were actually on offer. Standard practice out in the sticks, we were told.

Rob's geographical knowledge and map-reading is immense. As I type this, I have the Greater Melbourne Street Directory in front of me to ensure an accurate recollection of our stay on the island. We swung off the main road to visit a surf beach at Cape Woolamai. These are quieter than bay beaches, due to the strong rip currents, but they do attract the surfers - as the name suggests. We slapped on the sun cream and walked along the firm sand which was crying out for beach cricket. Beautiful location, comparable to the Witterings back home.

Prior to flying Down Under, I knew Phillip Island only for its motor circuit, having reported on Kent riders Shane Byrne and Leon Camier racing there in the World Superbike Championship. A few minutes in the car along the Back Beach Road and we were there. Rachel and I paid for tokens to gain access to the motor museum and the viewing area for the track. Quite a stunning setting, with the Southern Loop and Siberia bends only a stone's throw (or a 'coo-ee' in Aussie slang) from the ocean. It was tranquil, so different from the roar of race day. Two riders, Jonathan Rea and Hiroshi Aoyama, were there testing and we heard them from inside the cafe, although we didn't see them out and about.

From fearsome machines to awesome wild animals. We embarked on a hunt for koalas in the Oswin Roberts reserve, north-east of the circuit, but what we did stumble across was even more exciting. Wallabies bouncing through the bush stopped dead in the tracks to stare us out, probably because one of their young was having a wander in search of food. Special experience.

The overriding purpose of our visit to Phillip Island was to see penguins. Yes, penguins. There is a small stretch of beach on the western tip of the island where hundreds of Small Penguins emerge from the waves every night, toddle up the sand and make their way into burrows where their chicks are waiting to be fed. Imagine Land's End but with much more than a signpost. We wrapped up warm, took our place in the stands at the water's edge and waited. Almost on cue, the 30cm-high black-and-white figures began to wash up on the shore. Through the gloom, it was pretty magical, even more so when the penguins nervously edged their way towards the car park, under the wooden walkways and into the maze of burrows. We stood within two feet of some of them as they waddled home, with bellies full of fish. I felt like David Attenborough without the HD cameras. The signs on the way out said 'check under your cars for penguins' - definitely not seen those in the Highway Code. We couldn't take photos on the night but do check out www.penguins.org.au to see what we did. Easy to understand why people travel halfway round the world to watch the Penguin Parade.