• 2004 - Swimming with the Crocs

Swimming with the Crocs

Regular readers of Australian News will remember articles from ex- Brit and Rastafarian Milton Westcarr, who now has stories to tell and advice to share.

"Four years have swiftly passed by since I first arrived in Adelaide in 1999. Presently, I'm still employed by the same company as a photocopier Service Engineer and travel to various locations in South Australia, repairing a wide range of machines.( High volume Copiers ,wide format printers and plotters in schools, Universities, offices and many industries).

Last year my cousin Sonia, who is a Registered Nurse from Gloucester, (UK) arrived in Adelaide to work for two years after being sponsored by a local hospital. There is a great demand for trained nurses across Australia, so her application was given top priority, but still took some time to process.

It's great having a new family member here with me, because we are the same age and go out to lots of places together, such as movies, night clubs, restaurants and we even went swimming in the sea on Christmas Day!

Sonia loves the lifestyle so much that she is applying for Permanent Residence.She will also gain maximum points because the hospital has offered her a permanent job. She has her own apartment and has made new friends all over Adelaide.

2003 was exceptionally busy for a variety of reasons: I had a school friend and his wife, who had emigrated for the SECOND TIME in three years to Australia.

They stayed at my house for a few weeks, then got their own place.But due to the dreaded homesickness, they returned to Gloucester again to be near their teenage children. They lasted six months the first time and three months the second! If they aren't all back in Australia by February 2004,(including children), then they will have to completely re-apply and start the emigration process from scratch, (with less points).

I must emphasise to all potential migrants, that even though the weather is hot and the blue skies are adorable, this will not prevent you from desparately wanting to return to Britain.( Or any country from which you emigrated).

The people that normally over come this powerful emotion, are the ones that have had a traumatic experience in the country that they have left and want a fresh start in Australia. Or migrants that have done plenty of research about their new country and aim to succeed, no matter what obstacles they encounter. I believe these are the ones that do well.

If, on the other hand, you had an excellent lifestyle before you emigrated, then it will be easy to find many faults and to constantly criticise your new adopted country.

The term, "whinging Poms," evolved from Aussies sick of hearing Brits bitterly complaining about how good England is, compared to Australia! Aussies say, " If it was so good why did you leave?" Or, "Why don't you go back there?" Which is so true! It's best to remember the reason why you left in the first place.

Also in 2003, I travelled to many cities performing as , 'DJ Jah Trintiy' including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin and New Zealand.

In NZ I met some teenagers there and one of them nearly drowned in a very strong rip current at the beach, while we were swimming, just before I went on stage. Fortunately he just managed to swim to safety, as the life guards rushed to save him. They warned us to swim between the flags. It was scary because the tide contained tremendous power, even in the shallow water.

In November I flew to Darwin for four days and attended three separate concerts, with friends who lived there. There was an Aboriginal Festival on the Friday; a Classical Music concert on the Saturday and then later that night, I performed at a beach party where I got bitten by heaps of mosquitos! (This resulted in large bumps over my face and body ouch! not good, most unpleasant.)

I also filmed a violent thunderstorm which caused flooding and structural damage across the region: wow! The lightning and rain were awesome and the temperature hot and humid.

The next day, I hired a car and drove deep in the bush, along dirt roads for miles, to Litchfield National Park with a female friend called, 'Freedom Summer.' We swam in a waterhole called, ' Wagni Falls,' which had two spectacular waterfalls, that cascaded into a deep pool. We were nervous about crocodiles that maybe lurking beneath the surface, watching our every move. I even went skinny dipping for the first time ever!

Australia is an adventure park, filled with abundant, natural beauty.This was certainly a memorable year. This month (Feb 2004) I'm off to Broome and The Kimberleys for seven days sight-seeing."

Author: Milton Westcarr

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