Now for something completely different

[Blackduck59]

14 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

We have a spare queen bed you use, Rosie and I would be very happy to host you and your lovely wife. Note, That at this stage, we are away mid January and also in March.

Thank you so much for the kind offer, we are most grateful. Our itinerary shows us in Canberra on either the 31st of January or the 1st of February. Is there anything we could bring from the great white north that you and Rosie might like?

[MicCanberra]

4 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thank you so much for the kind offer, we are most grateful. Our itinerary shows us in Canberra on either the 31st of January or the 1st of February. Is there anything we could bring from the great white north that you and Rosie might like?

No worries, don't worry about bringing anything, fitting everything in your luggage is hard enough already,  You can email us at my CC name at outlook dot com.

[Blackduck59]

Just now, MicCanberra said:

No worries, don't worry about bringing anything, fitting everything in your luggage is hard enough already,  You can email us at my CC name at outlook dot com.

Thanks Mic. Something like smoked salmon or maple syrup doesn't take much room.

[MicCanberra]

3 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thanks Mic. Something like smoked salmon or maple syrup doesn't take much room.

Rosie says to surprise us then.

[Blackduck59]

1 minute ago, MicCanberra said:

Rosie says to surprise us then.

No problem, you see if we make room in the outgoing bags for things we would leave along the way in Oz then we have room in the incoming luggage for things we buy in Oz.

[Blackduck59]

1 hour ago, vada_9 said:

Have you thought about taking the car ferry from Sorento to Queenscliffe, across Port Phillip Bay.?

 

Also if you are interested in seeing koalas in the wild - best we have ever experienced was down the Cape Otway Rd on The GOR. ( nearly 1 in every tree).

Thanks so much for the suggestion, that is so helpful. On the trip we cancelled we had a place booked in Wallington which seems to be very close to the ferry terminal. That ferry would take hours off the drive and give us more time to look around the Geelong area. I think we will add this to our itinerary.

[Blackduck59]

So far many excellent suggestions thank you, with the ferry suggestion that gives us some time on the Mornington Peninsula and more time around Geelong. It also saves us from the Melbourne traffic on the way to the Great Ocean Road. We also get to see what the ferry service is like there. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, vada_9 said:

Have you thought about taking the car ferry from Sorento to Queenscliffe, across Port Phillip Bay.?

 

I'd recommend this option too, rather than driving through the city. Lots of things to see along the way on the Mornington Peninsula.

[By The Bay]

6 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'd recommend this option too, rather than driving through the city. Lots of things to see along the way on the Mornington Peninsula.

Save a few $$$$'s on tolls.🤑

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

No problem, you see if we make room in the outgoing bags for things we would leave along the way in Oz then we have room in the incoming luggage for things we buy in Oz.

That theory never works, Lyle. Trust me, I know.🤣

 

The best method is to have bags that expand but never leave home with them expanded. The other option is to pack an extra foldable bag inside one of your usual bags. Which method you use depends on the baggage allowances of the airline and the destination. Usually it's total kgs per passenger to most destinations and both methods work for that, however for US flights it's number of bags per psssenger with a weight limit of 23kgs per bag so method 2 works best. I'm not sure what the allowances for Canada are.

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thanks Mic. Something like smoked salmon or maple syrup doesn't take much room.

Ye gods, smoked salmon from Canada ? Australian quarantine service will incarcerate thee.👮‍♀️😇

Edited February 28, 2021 by NSWP

[NSWP]

Hey Lyle, let us hope the dust has settled by January, but have you given consideration to your plans if 14 days quarantine is required on entering Australia. I fear it is something to consider, no matter how awful.

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thanks Mic. Something like smoked salmon or maple syrup doesn't take much room.

No food into Aus, inc. smoked salmon. Easier if you can just tick "no food" on immigration form.  I just had maple syrup on banana pancakes for breakfast.  So I Checked, it is 100% pure Canadian Maple Syrup, in a beautiful glass bottle.  So don't bring maple syrup, which is heavy.  Bring light unbreakable things.  One of my favourite Canadian souvenirs is a small moose key ring, which I use as a Christmas decoration.  

[BRANDEE]

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

So far many excellent suggestions thank you, with the ferry suggestion that gives us some time on the Mornington Peninsula and more time around Geelong. It also saves us from the Melbourne traffic on the way to the Great Ocean Road. We also get to see what the ferry service is like there. 

Just a heads up..we purchased honey in Napier NZ on our cruise but the Australian immigration confiscated it at the Sydney airport before we got on the plane to go home.

[Aus Traveller]

3 minutes ago, BRANDEE said:

Just a heads up..we purchased honey in Napier NZ on our cruise but the Australian immigration confiscated it at the Sydney airport before we got on the plane to go home.

Honey in a 'no-no'. I am surprised they confiscated it at Sydney airport when you were leaving the country. If you declared the honey as a food item on your entry card for arrival into Sydney on the Ruby Princess, it should have been confiscated at that time. The restrictions on honey are so severe, that for people entering Western Australia, if they have a container that once, in the dim past, contained honey, it will be confiscated.

 

Meat and meat products are prohibited, but many other processed food items are OK.

[BRANDEE]

12 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Honey in a 'no-no'. I am surprised they confiscated it at Sydney airport when you were leaving the country. If you declared the honey as a food item on your entry card for arrival into Sydney on the Ruby Princess, it should have been confiscated at that time. The restrictions on honey are so severe, that for people entering Western Australia, if they have a container that once, in the dim past, contained honey, it will be confiscated.

 

Meat and meat products are prohibited, but many other processed food items are OK.

The day we returned to Sydney was a real "show" to say the least (March 19th)  We were pushed off and out so quickly.  What is upsetting is we did ask at Napier if we could take it back to Sydney and back to USA and we were told yes.  There were many of us from the Ruby buying honey at the "bee farm".  Today is one year ago we landed in Sydney for our ill fated vacation of a lifetime.😒

Edited March 1, 2021 by BRANDEE

[Aus Traveller]

3 minutes ago, BRANDEE said:

The day we returned to Sydney was a real "shitshow" to say the least (March 19th)  We were pushed off and out so quickly.  What is upsetting is we did ask at Napier if we could take it back to Sydney and back to USA and we were told yes.  There were many of us from the Ruby buying honey at the "bee farm".  Today is one year ago we landed in Sydney for our ill fated vacation of a lifetime.😒

The people at the bee farm in Napier should have known that honey was a prohibited item to take into Australia. Maybe they did know, but if they told people that, they would have no sales. 😁

[BRANDEE]

4 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The people at the bee farm in Napier should have known that honey was a prohibited item to take into Australia. Maybe they did know, but if they told people that, they would have no sales. 😁

Of course, we ended up buying honey at the duty free shop at the airport..with many other Ruby passengers.

[Blackduck59]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

Hey Lyle, let us hope the dust has settled by January, but have you given consideration to your plans if 14 days quarantine is required on entering Australia. I fear it is something to consider, no matter how awful.

 

If there is Quarantine the trip is off, no thought required

[Blackduck59]

I would have researched the food regulations before leaving Canada. I am a resourceful fellow and am used to plan "B" or "C" or...

I'm guessing that someone here in Canada would get really bent out of shape if I tried to bring things like honey home with me. My cousin makes his living as a bee keeper in Saskatchewan.

[MMDown Under]

6 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

If there is Quarantine the trip is off, no thought required

Agree. No-one wants to quarantine for two weeks on a short holiday to Australia.  However, it is different if you are an Australian visiting family.  My friend, who lived in NY, quarantined for two weeks prior to Christmas.

[mr walker]

I'm really confused about people not being allowed to bring honey into Australia from NZ.

 

I travelled in NZ with a colleague a few years ago, and he was 'sold' on the health benefits of the Manuka honey. He purchased several commercially packed packs of various '+ levels'  & declared it upon arrival into Sydney with no issues. I recall is clearly as he was Vietnamese & each time the ABF officer asked him did he have anything further to declare, he would say "yes" , the officer would ask what he would would reply "more honey". 🙂 

He stayed in Australia for a few more days & then took all his honey purchases with him to Vietnam.

 

I have looked it up & found this: 

List of items you can and can't bring in (abf.gov.au)

Honey products are permitted into most Australian states and territories. Honey products must be inspected by a biosecurity officer on arrival, to confirm the honey items are free from contamination.

[Blackduck59]

3 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Agree. No-one wants to quarantine for two weeks on a short holiday to Australia.  However, it is different if you are an Australian visiting family.  My friend, who lived in NY, quarantined for two weeks prior to Christmas.

For me paying thousands of dollars to get somewhere and then paying to stay in jail for 2 weeks is a non starter. I feel the same way if we have the quarantine rules on my return, if we have the current return rules come next year; we won't be leaving Canada.

[OzKiwiJJ]

If South Australia had still had the requirement for NSW residents to be tested on days 1, 5 and 12 and self isolate until we got a negative result we would have cancelled our trip. Luckily they removed that requirement the Sunday before we left home.

[Chiliburn]

17 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

For me paying thousands of dollars to get somewhere and then paying to stay in jail for 2 weeks is a non starter. I feel the same way if we have the quarantine rules on my return, if we have the current return rules come next year; we won't be leaving Canada.

Just get on a drinking binge for 2 weeks Lyle, I’m pretty sure you can get alcohol delivered.

 

 

 

 I did a mock booking for you and the one way surcharge is about $AU700