Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Author

Immigrate in Australia


adski

9-Nov-2004
4:07:25 PM

So your principal interests are sport, bouldering, surfing, mtb, no traffic, job. In that order?

Well we love bolts up here in Newcastle as our rock is crap and it's the only way to stay safe. Did three routes on Sunday at a local crag and had holds break on two of them, yeehar! But if you're into exchange students, we have a particularly high quality concentration of scandinavian ones. ;-) Climbing's primarily a social activity anyway, right? And everybody knows Newie's the premiere surfing town in Oz.


BundyBear

9-Nov-2004
4:54:56 PM

Mr Jack,

As mentioned previously on the premier climbing forum in Oz, the Sutherland Shire in Sydney's South has it all. Its the only spot to live...

1. Good local Climbing
2. Royal National Park (1st NP in Oz)
3. Good Surf
4. Port Hacking - Great waterways - Seakayak, etc.
5. Good Access to Nowra (via Wollongong) and Mt Keira
6. Good Access to Blue Mountains
7. You could get a job as an engineer at the Kurnell or the gong.
8. 3 hours drive to see Trent and the newcastle gang.


nmonteith

9-Nov-2004
5:30:39 PM

Just remeber the basics of popualtion... if you want minimal traffic than i would steer clear of livin gin Sydney or Melbourne!

Melbourne 3.6 million people
Sydney 4.25 millon people
Newcastle 500,000
Hobart 189,400


vwills

9-Nov-2004
5:35:07 PM

I climb and I surf and I chose to live in Newcastle. But if MM moves here I might reconsider!


klareralt

9-Nov-2004
6:22:59 PM

So...

Representing the healthy minority of Scandinavian students in Newcastle, I take it upon myself to spout a few comments....

Newcastle is a special city, ver special, in very many ways. I think you could do a lot worse in Australia. But I also think it's a place you love or hate. I love it.... for now ;-) I think every garbage bin in Newcastle says "Great lifestyle, Great future, Great place" or something... Long Live Mark Richards and Andrew Johns...

It's true, though, you can climb bolts (and trad too, if you get to know the right people.... ssshhhh), go on two wheel up and down steep hills, surf as long as the sun is up, and then some. But if you find any bouldering apart from the manky church wall, let everyone know.

From the time I spent in Canada, it seems a bit stange to go to Australia if you're a keen outdoors person, though. Most stuff is more extreme in Canada. The mountains are higher, the snow is better, hills are steeper.... maybe the insects won't kill you, but grizzlys will....

I'll get in trouble for this....

Andy


Nick Kaz

9-Nov-2004
7:32:19 PM

On 9/11/2004 klareralt wrote:...and trad too, if you get to know
>the right people.... ssshhhh..

you and you secret circles

>I'll get in trouble for this....

Damn Straight...;)


JamesMc

9-Nov-2004
9:40:06 PM

Jack,
You might also think about Geelong. It is a small city / big town with something like 100,000 or so population. It has a fair amount of automotive industry, dominated by Ford, so you should have little trouble getting work there with your CAE skills.

It's better than Melbourne or Sydney, because you can breath the air, and better than Adelaide because you can drink the water.

Geelong is slightly closer to the Grampians than Mebourne is. Close to the surf. There's lots of 4wd roads in the nearby Otway Ranges. These may be good for MTB, but that's not my thing.

You might consider trying to find a job first, then getting your new employer to sponsor your visa. There's quite a shortage of engineers here at the moment, and at least 2 auto companies have until recently been actively recruiting overseas.

James Mc

Melbourne.


mousey

9-Nov-2004
9:43:22 PM

>Long Live Mark Richards
hell yeah!!

jack_lasportiva

9-Nov-2004
11:40:42 PM

On 9/11/2004 klareralt wrote:
>From the time I spent in Canada, it seems a bit stange to go to Australia
>if you're a keen outdoors person, though. Most stuff is more extreme in
>Canada. The mountains are higher, the snow is better, hills are steeper....
>maybe the insects won't kill you, but grizzlys will....

Well, I hate cold weather, I don't like snow sports very much... Canada is damned cold. I live in Quebec city which is about 5000km away from the canadian rockies... it's like another country for me at the exception of the immigration thing. But I agree, western Canada is my second choice.

Scandinavian students... cool !

Jack


klareralt

10-Nov-2004
12:57:59 AM

Tell me about it... I lived a year in Hawkesbury, half way between Ottawa and Montreal. Just on the Ontario side.

I have fond memories of my boogie men freezing and nose hair breaking from a sniff of fresh, 40 degree below air in the morning. Or when the rain falls in subzero temperatures, covering everything in a pretty, but cold and deadly coat of ice. I saw cars sliding along at 5 ks an hour on the road, wheels locked up, and completely unable to stop, because everything was covered by freezing rain.

Come to think of it, Australia is pretty good...

If you come to Newie (as it's called by the locals) let us know, and we'll show you some crags, hand over some shark repellant and hang out, looking for people who wear socks in their sandals. They're probably scandinavian.... ;-)

Andy

Andy

jack_lasportiva

10-Nov-2004
1:14:06 AM

Andy, you described pretty well what is eastern Canada in the winter. Where I live, it's even colder than Hawkesbury. Hey ! it's passed midnight on your side of the big ball and you're still awake ? Please don't try to scare me with your shark tales ! Seriously, is sharks a big problem ? Also, when you climb, are there many killing bugs in jugs ? If you fall off your bike and lie on the ground injured more that 30 minutes, will you be eaten by a bunch on ants ?

Jack


shiltz

10-Nov-2004
7:33:24 AM

Its not the bugs in the jugs that I worry about most. Its the snakes behind the flakes. You'd probably last 30 minutes on the ground before the ants got you but I wouldn't want to lie there to much longer.


Phil Box

10-Nov-2004
8:32:53 AM

Why not the Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise region. Surf right on your front door and speccy climbing within an hour and a half.

jack_lasportiva

10-Nov-2004
9:03:13 AM

On 10/11/2004 shiltz wrote:
>Its not the bugs in the jugs that I worry about most. Its the snakes behind
>the flakes. You'd probably last 30 minutes on the ground before the ants
>got you but I wouldn't want to lie there to much longer.

That's it, I'm scared !


IdratherbeclimbingM9

10-Nov-2004
9:03:30 AM

On 10/11/2004 Phil Box wrote:
>Why not the Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise region. Surf right on your front
>door and speccy climbing within an hour and a half.

Too many Queenslanders ?

.. or expatriate Victorians !!


Breezy

10-Nov-2004
9:19:14 AM

On 10/11/2004 A5iswhereitsat wrote:
>On 10/11/2004 Phil Box wrote:
>>Why not the Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise region. Surf right on your front
>>door and speccy climbing within an hour and a half.
>
>Too many Queenslanders ?
>
>.. or expatriate Victorians !!

They have XXXX beer enough to keep me away for ever and a day.

climberman

10-Nov-2004
9:42:09 AM

Sportiva

Sharks, no not a big problem. They exist, but no problem. I surfed a lot for about 15 years in Sydney and never saw one, but maybe that's just lucky. Bugs and ants, likewise. Snakes, easy to take precautions.

Just move somewhere coastal, and make sure you see somewhere deep inland. If you're moving here to get a slice o' life the Aussie way go coastal, even if it's in a big city, live near the coast. Newie'd ber a good start, or Sydney, or the Wollongong. Melbourne has zero surf without a car (DONT tell me about that crap in Port Phillip please Melbournians...). Melb and Syd have reasonable city cragging but both have their local jewels a few hours away. Either way enjoy.

gfdonc

10-Nov-2004
10:32:50 AM

If Geelong is of interest they have a very active MTB community .. see http://www.gmbc.com.au/ .. the coastal tracks around Anglesea are awesome, great way to combine surf and biking in one weekend.
Plus, you can do after work trips to the You Yangs, midweek during summer.
- Steve


nmonteith

10-Nov-2004
1:11:58 PM

Geelong is not such a bad idea. 50 minutes drive from the big city of Melbourne, 20 minutes drive to the surf and the granite face/slab 'delights' of the You Yangs. An hour to good sport/trad climbing at Werribie Gorge and Camels Hump. And of course less than three hours to the Grampians. Apparently Geelong is having a bit of an urban makeover - their foreshore has all been glammed up with nice parks, resturants etc.

Check out this website for Geelong
http://www.intown.com.au/

in regards to the Gold Coast...

Pros - World class surf, cheap housing, an hour to Brisbane (pop 2million), beautiful rainforest mtns less than an hour away, fantastic mtb-ing with very active local scene, ok bouldering on beach, closest good climbing is full trad Frog Buttress (1 hour). 2 hours to more sport friendly climbing.

Cons - bloody hot in summer so you can't climb, annoying tourists galore, no world class climbing in Queensland compared to southern states, almost no sport climbing.

adamk

10-Nov-2004
1:33:09 PM

Nah forget about Geelong. I live in Jan Juc about 20mins from Geelong and the surf is always crap, not to mention shark infested... those mountain bike tracks down Anglesea are all deeply rutted and the salt air is highly corrosive and wrecks everything on your bike. Not to mention the rust holes it'll put in your car. Theres no night life, no chiks, everyone is on the dole and if you enjoy shredding a rope every month on heinous granite with two move routes at the YOU Yangs then good for you. Seriously Mr Sportiva Newie or the like is the go...give Geelong and it's coastal area's a wide birth. I cant wait to get away from the joint.

There are 52 messages in this topic.