What if you lived in Australia? - Page 96

**palo5** · July 17th, 2013, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winebeavis

But in all seriousness, I'm hoping to spend at least 1 day in wine country, hopefully it won't be crowded in September. And pop a cork with Tmee or whoever is in the area if they feel like it

I don't know how you'd find all our friends. Australia is not small, and they seem all over it, from WA to Tasmania, and nice places in between

But so far, no one's admitted coming from Northern Territory or Queensland. Are there any Sydneysiders?

**winebeavis** · July 17th, 2013, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by palo5

I don't know how you'd find all our friends. Australia is not small, and they seem all over it.

No no no. That's not what I meant. I'm going to Australia because I have always wanted to since I was a young boy. If any VEF member is nearby and wants to have a drink, I'm willing --not expecting. If it is mutually convenient, I'm game. but please, this is not a tour where my goal is to meet VEF members. If it lines up where I meet anybody, that's great. But it's not the point of the trip. If I meet no VEF members in person that's okay too. Going to Australia and not having face to face encounters with VEF members is fine by me. I don't expect anything. But the invitation is open.

Bottom line is, I'd do this trip even if I never knew VEf existed. Sorry if I made it sound like I was going out of my way to meet up with all VEF folks. That's not the case by any matter. I can't possibly see all of what I want during this trip even if I did it with no sleep.

**Tmee2020** · July 17th, 2013, 05:03 AM

I'll just throw a few ideas out there, seeing we have a couple of visitors.
Sydney hotels and restaurants are expensive.
For better value eating try Chinatown- especially for Yum Cha; Thai (of which there is a lot); and mediterranean- Lebanese, Greek, Turkish, and Moroccan if you can search those places out. Pub food is pretty good.
There is good walking access to the harbour and environs. The Rocks is touristy and expensive, but the old parts are interesting to walk around. It's fun to walk across the Harbour Bridge too.
The whole area of Hyde Park, The Domain and Botanic Gardens is nice to stroll around. That leads to Macquarie Street, which is beautiful, and the Intercontinental is a great place to stop for a cup of coffee. It's the old Treasury building and has a beautiful foyer. If you get tired there is a great public library at Circular Quay where you can go and relax for a couple of hours.
Art Gallery NSW is good for a morning. It has a very good collection of Heidelberg School paintings, though there are more at the NGV in Melbourne.

The Powerhouse Museum is not to be missed. This is the Boulton & Watt steam engine- a couple of famous names there. It is one of the first rotative steam engines ever built, and is the oldest surviving.

Wineries:

Nearest to Sydney is the Hunter Valley, a bit over 2 hours drive north.

If you get to Melbourne: nearest~
Mornington and Yarra Valley, which I'm not familiar with;
Heathcote, a little further away;
Bendigo and Great Western/Grampians, further away still but both beautiful places.
There's Geelong too which I'm sure ES could advise you on.

Adelaide:
McLaren Vale, Barossa and Clare Valley.

**winebeavis** · July 17th, 2013, 10:26 PM

I'm pleased to learn that Australia is participating in a type of reciprocity system similar to that of the United States GOES system. The GOES system isn't incredibly widely known here, but it basically allows you to skip customs by going to a kiosk and getting you passport and finger prints scanned. You also need to resemble your photo in the system. Then you leave with no line. On some airlines in some airports you get to skip TSA as well.

Here's the details of Australia's SmartGate:

SmartGate
Streamlined entry into Australia

SmartGate is a simple way for eligible travellers arriving into Australia's international airports to self-process through passport control.

The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service will extend the use of SmartGate to US Global Entry members on a trial basis from 1 November 2012.

To be eligible to use SmartGate in Australia you must:

be a currently registered member of the US Global Entry Program
be flying into Australia
travel on a valid US ePassport; and
be aged 16 years or older.

SmartGate performs the customs and immigration checks usually conducted by an Australian Customs and Border Protection officer. It uses the data in the ePassport and face recognition technology to securely and efficiently process passengers.

Benefits of using SmartGate

SmartGate gives you a choice about how you are processed at passport control in Australia.

You can choose to be cleared by an Australian Customs and Border Protection officer or use SmartGate to self-process. Using SmartGate to self-process may be faster than waiting for a Customs and Border Protection officer, particularly during busy travel periods.

SmartGate is a simple two-step process involving a kiosk and a gate.

US Global Entry Program members are advised that the trial does not change the visa requirements or the visa process for travel to Australia. For more information about obtaining a visa to enter Australia, visit the Embassy of Australia website.

**Grey Wolf** · July 17th, 2013, 11:20 PM

Beware Those From Across The Sea......

**deepsepia** · July 18th, 2013, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winebeavis

I'm pleased to learn that Australia is participating in a type of reciprocity system similar to that of the United States GOES system.

Remember to get your visa for Australia while you're still in the US. Its completely electronic-- basically just a number that gets associated with your passport #, there's no actual visa stamp. Costs a bit of money

**palo5** · July 18th, 2013, 07:46 PM

This is not meant to be provocative. But is it possible that life in Australia wasn't so treacherously competitive until they discovered gold?

**winebeavis** · July 18th, 2013, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepsepia

Remember to get your visa for Australia while you're still in the US. Its completely electronic-- basically just a number that gets associated with your passport #, there's no actual visa stamp. Costs a bit of money

Good point. The ETA is A$20. I got an email from Qantas (of all things) telling me about that.

Appears there's different types of visas too.

**palo5** · July 18th, 2013, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepsepia

Remember to get your visa for Australia while you're still in the US. Its completely electronic-- basically just a number that gets associated with your passport #, there's no actual visa stamp. Costs a bit of money

That's right, they use electronic visas. I had this two and a half years ago. I tried to describe t's upthread (ca 11/2010)

It is a fast way to give visas. And no doubt cheaper for all. But at the time, they didn't tell you if if you had the visa, so you had to call the nearest AU contact

I hope they have efficientized it and and now email applicants

**winebeavis** · July 19th, 2013, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by palo5

I hope they have efficientized it and and now email applicants

Got it immediately. It was as simple as clicking the "next" button on the online application. Pretty easy nowadays.

EDIT: And received an email confirmation as well.

July 17th, 2013, 05:03 AM	#953
Tmee2020 Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Aust Posts: 4,195 Thanks: 209,989 Thanked 71,456 Times in 4,151 Posts	I'll just throw a few ideas out there, seeing we have a couple of visitors. Sydney hotels and restaurants are expensive. For better value eating try Chinatown- especially for Yum Cha; Thai (of which there is a lot); and mediterranean- Lebanese, Greek, Turkish, and Moroccan if you can search those places out. Pub food is pretty good. There is good walking access to the harbour and environs. The Rocks is touristy and expensive, but the old parts are interesting to walk around. It's fun to walk across the Harbour Bridge too. The whole area of Hyde Park, The Domain and Botanic Gardens is nice to stroll around. That leads to Macquarie Street, which is beautiful, and the Intercontinental is a great place to stop for a cup of coffee. It's the old Treasury building and has a beautiful foyer. If you get tired there is a great public library at Circular Quay where you can go and relax for a couple of hours. Art Gallery NSW is good for a morning. It has a very good collection of Heidelberg School paintings, though there are more at the NGV in Melbourne. The Powerhouse Museum is not to be missed. This is the Boulton & Watt steam engine- a couple of famous names there. It is one of the first rotative steam engines ever built, and is the oldest surviving. Wineries: Nearest to Sydney is the Hunter Valley, a bit over 2 hours drive north. If you get to Melbourne: nearest~ Mornington and Yarra Valley, which I'm not familiar with; Heathcote, a little further away; Bendigo and Great Western/Grampians, further away still but both beautiful places. There's Geelong too which I'm sure ES could advise you on. Adelaide: McLaren Vale, Barossa and Clare Valley. Last edited by Tmee2020; July 17th, 2013 at 05:07 AM.. Reason: Library

July 17th, 2013, 11:20 PM	#955
Grey Wolf Rat Catcher Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 18,944 Thanks: 360,265 Thanked 482,009 Times in 19,976 Posts	Beware Beware Those From Across The Sea......

July 18th, 2013, 07:46 PM	#957
palo5 Former Staff Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 16,579 Thanks: 452,836 Thanked 222,661 Times in 16,567 Posts	This is not meant to be provocative. But is it possible that life in Australia wasn't so treacherously competitive until they discovered gold?