I’m sorting through some old documents today, and found this one for renting a home: a tenant’s guide to the rules for renting in Queensland

This is from some time ago, when we moved from the Netherlands (back) to Australia in 2007. Back then, we had a young baby and found an apartment for the three of us in Ascot, Brisbane. I remember at the time, competition was quite high for rental properties, with lots of people turning up for viewings. We were successful though and lived there for 8 months until we bought our own property. What differed from my experiences in the Netherlands was that there, I was surprised that a lot of rental properties expect that you do your own flooring and lighting. In Australia, this is usually already done.

I grew up in Maleny and first moved to Brisbane when I finished school. Friends and I rented properties in West End and Paddington. Back then, I also remember signing rental agreements. Each time, you pay a security deposit/bond, which you are supposed to get back when you leave the place in good condition. Sometimes there is a dispute, in which case it’s then referred to the RTA: residential tenancies authority.

For more information about renting a home in Queensland, you can visit:

www.rta.qld.gov.au

If you have any experiences or tips for those renting in other states in Australia, please comment below.

Renee

My Dutch Australian children have spent a few years of their life in Australia, but we have now settled in The Netherlands. When we left Australia in 2012, our girls were aged 3 and 5. They still remember a lot of things about our life there, but it’s sadly fading fast.

While in The Netherlands, we still try to hold on to the Australian side of our identity. I speak English with them, we observe days such as ANZAC Day and Australia Day and I provide some tastes from my homeland from time to time like Milo, Vegemite, Tim-Tams and Lamingtons.

We’re very fortunate though to have regular holidays to Australia. So on our holiday here last Christmas and now again this Christmas, I’ve made a very conscious effort to “top up” on those experiences in Australia, many of which I had in my childhood.

Here’s what we’ve done so far, have you got any other suggestions?

Seen a snake

Thought I’d get this one out of the way immediately!  We saw a snake in the Buderim Forrest Park – then watched him catch and start to eat a baby goanna.  Pretty unique Australian experience for the girls!

Slip, Slop, Slapped

I grew up learning the importance of protection from the hot summer sun, now my daughters are learning to make sure they (and papa and mama) are slathered in sunscreen!

Helping papa with his sunscreen

A video posted by Renèe Veldman-Tentori (@zestee_renee) on Dec 12, 2014 at 6:02pm PST

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Dug a deep hole in the sand

Remember the simple pleasure of digging a hole in the sand near the shoreline and “discovering” water there?

Chatted to a wallaby

At Couran Cove resort on South Stradbroke Island, we found several friendly wallabies to chat to.

Devoured mangoes

Yum!  Though you can find mangoes in The Netherlands, they are nothing like the delicious, sweet, juicy Bowen Mangoes in Queensland – we’ve been having one a day!

Bomb-dived

Jumping in the pool over and over and over again!

Run up and down a sand-dune

The beautiful blue sky is a lovely backdrop for this pristine sand-dune on South Stradbroke Island that the girls just couldn’t resist covering in footprints.

Watched Bananas in Pyjamas

I grew up with a different version of this but the theme song is the same!

Ridden a bike with a helmet on

Though the girls are regular bike riders in The Netherlands, they need to wear a helmet here which they find very hot.

What other Australian experiences should I work on adding?

Renee

To bring you up to speed if you’re not yet a regular on this blog, I’m a Dutch Australian who grew up in Australia, then married a Dutch man and lived in The Netherlands from 2002-2007.  In December 2007, we moved to Brisbane but then our family relocated to The Hague last year (July 2012).

I received the most wonderful Christmas present from my parents – a plane ticket from Amsterdam-Brisbane (return!) for my daughters and I and we flew on Saturday.  After a 25 hour journey with Emirates, when we landed in the early hours of Monday morning, here are the first five things I did when I arrived back in Australia from The Netherlands.

1.  Hugged my family 

It’s been 17 months since my girls have been in Australia and just over a year for me (as I returned for 2 weeks in November 2012 for my brother’s wedding).  It was sooooo good to hug my mum, dad and brother at the airport!  Also just wonderful to see my parents have the chance to hug their grandchildren instead of just talking on Skype. The next day I got to hug my other brother and sister in law.  Amazing.

2.  Saw the Southern Cross

We flew with Emirates and arrived in the early hours of Monday morning.  As I looked out the car window on our trip from Brisbane airport to where my family live on the Sunshine Coast, I immediately spotted the Southern Cross constellation amongst the stars and my heart literally skipped a beat.

3.  Marvelled at the landscape

The trees and mountains here are so different to The Netherlands – instead of flat open fields dotted with sheep, cows and windmills, the landscape flashing by along the Bruce Highway is what I grew up with – soaring eucalyptus trees, the unique shape of the Glasshouse Mountains, pine tree plantations, green and white road signs.  I didn’t consciously register all the individual elements, but together, I felt like I was surrounded by home.

 4.  Ate a mango

Even though it was around 3am when I walked into my parents kitchen, I could not resist that mouth-watering aroma of the Bowen Mangos.  Juicy, sweet deliciousness!  Though you can buy mangoes in The Netherlands the taste and aroma are just nothing like these ones you get in Queensland.

5.  Listened to the birds

We all went to bed after that long journey at around 4am – and it wasn’t long afterwards that the birds started their morning chorus.  The calls of kookaburras, magpies and more shattered the silence.  Like the landscape, it was all completely familiar to me, but not to my 6 year old daughter.  Though she lived in Australia for several years and would have heard them often, obviously being away for the last 17 months had wiped it from her memory.  “Mama, I can’t sleep, what is that scary sound?!”  The kookaburra sounded like a witch to her!  This filled me with mixed emotions.  There was a level of laughter that welled up, but also sadness that my little Dutch Australian didn’t know the sound of a kookaburra!  We lay in bed together for a while, identifying the calls and I realised that I couldn’t actually identify too many – but this wonderful Backyard Birds website we found later has changed that.  Here’s a noisy minor.

So if you flew from The Netherlands to Australia – or vice versa – after a length of time away, what are the first five things you did (or would do?)

Renée

All photos are my own apart from the Southern Cross one (credited above)

Dutch Australian is a community of those with connections to both Australian and The Netherlands.  This blog follows the adventures of our Dutch Australian family as well as highlighting information and articles of interest to dual nationals.  You might like to read more about me, get to know other Dutch Australian people and explore other articles on the blog.  Come and chat to others over in the Dutch Australian Facebook community, we’d love to meet you!  If you’ve enjoyed this post, I’d really appreciate you taking the time to comment below or share.  You can also contact me directly and sign up for our e-newsletter to keep up to date.