We finally arrived in Sydney last Sunday and spent 3 nights at The Mercure in Kings Cross, it wasn't a great hotel but served the purpose of being right by a station and pretty handy for everything.
I wanted to have a bit of a tourist time in Sydney but this proved to be quite difficult as we had so much to sort out. By the time we had opened bank accounts, got phones and bought a car, there wasn't much time left but we managed to get to Circular Quay, Darling Harbour and saw the Opera House dozens of time as we travelled to various appointments on the train over the Harbour Bridge.

 We bought the car from Pickles Auctions, this is to be recommended if you are after a heavy duty vehicle as they are mostly ex works cars.
Next stop was the camping shop to buy a tent to reduce our hotel costs. We bought basic camping essentials in our luggage, including an inflatable mattress so we are reasonably comfy for a short period of time.

Drove up to Port Stephens on Thursday, which is where we are hoping to settle, and found a campsite with wifi (hooray) so we are able to contact family easily and add to the blog of course.
The area we like best is called Lemon Tree Passage, the pictures of the pelicans and Ian at the front are here.
We have already been to see a few houses in Lemon Tree so watch this space for updates! The next target is 

                                         to find a 4WD caravan.

Had Chinese in Bukit Bintang, an area full of noisy, reasonably priced restaurants and pubs, on Friday evening, very lively and good fun. A rat ran over Shaun's foot but just added to the entertainment!
We started Saturday with breakfast in Toast Box, which was an odd experience - boiled eggs with everything. The French toast was delicious accompanied by very runny eggs and sugary coffee which was poured from a watering can :-o we have not got the hang of asking for drinks without sugar, it is just added automatically. Zoe even had apple juice with sugar in it last night, I hope this enforced sugar intake will not make us too attractive to mosquitoes.
After breakfast we set off to Batu Caves, Hindu temples set in cliffs just outside Kuala Lumpur. We got the train there, we have really got the hang of the excellent train system and our hotel is directly opposite KL Sentral station. It was great, plenty to see and monkeys to do battle with, a very good place to visit.

 After all this sightseeing and culture
we decided to do something completely different so Zoe and Shaun suggested we visit Breakout, a mystery activity centre they had been to a branch of in Penang.
So off we set, not really knowing what to expect and found ourselves playing the parts of scientists who had to stop a murderous attack on civilisation. We were handcuffed and locked in a room and had to 
             solve various clues to free ourselves and save the world.
                                                      We succeeded and left with badges and a satisfied feeling
                                                      that the world is a safer place thanks to us!

 Met up with Zoe and Shaun in Kuala 
Lumpur as planned and had a great day today visiting the Petronas Towers and KL Tower. Ian and Shaun bravely went up to the open deck of the KL Tower and pix will follow.
We went to a very amusing diner at 
lunchtime called Johnny Rockets and
every half hour (or whenever Shaun touched the juke box, we couldn't decide which) all the staff would break into a choreographed dance! Some of them were very into it but others looked really uncomfortable, it was hilarious.

Moved out on Friday and went, with everything we own in four suitcases in the back of the car, to say a tearful goodbye to Ian's sister Ann.
After staying the night at my sister Gill's we went with Gill to Pagham for the weekend to see Mum. We had a really nice time, curry Saturday night, walks with Monty on the beach and a great Sunday lunch in the Walnut Tree.
Back to Gill's now for the remaining two days and we are off Wednesday morning.

The vans got bigger as the packing went on and everything went quite smoothly as it was all taken away leaving us to camp in our own house for the last night.
It was very strange to see our home so empty and echoing. 
We attempted to go and eat in one of the local pubs but had a bit of a bizarre evening. We went to the Halfway House first, only to find the chef had left and his replacement would not be starting until next weekend.
So we trooped down to the Whip and Collar where we asked if they were serving food. The staff looked at each other in amazement and said they would go and check, leaving us waiting in the bar with a man drinking a pint with a Harris Hawk standing on his wrist! We weren't feeling very confident by now so sloped of to M&S and bought a ready meal.
On the way home we popped into The Tree, which is always odd at the best of times. Ian asked for a pint of bitter only to be told the beer had only arrived yesterday so was not on yet.
This was all quite fitting as we have had a few strange nights out in Rickmansworth             since living here. We ended up back in the empty house eating the ready meal and drinking wine out of mugs, I think we may be doing this sort of thing a lot over the next few months.

Well the time has finally arrived. I got a call yesterday to say they wanted to come and do some pre-packing today instead of trying to get the whole lot done tomorrow.
This has thrown me into a bit of a panic, I wasn't mentally prepared!
However, they are here and packing stuff up with alarming speed. It's very strange to think we won't see any of this stuff again for about 4 months.

I have not posted anything over the last few days as packing is boring enough and I'm sure reading about it would be even worse. So, between packing and travelling down to Pagham to help Mum with a few things, nothing to report. 
Until today when Monty was granted his import licence! This is a bit of a relief, we now know he will be on his way about two weeks after us.

 Took time out from packing to go and see the poppies at the Tower of London.
After all the reports of police turning people away because the crowds were so huge, decided to get up at 6am and go straight up there. It was well worth the effort, as you can see, there was hardly anyone around.
So breathtaking and moving.