[Tatoosh]

Hello, I'm a retired US citizen now living in the Philippines. I will be looking for information to assist my two young brothers-in-law to work in Australia in the future.

About myself, I am sixty, enjoy reading mysteries, fond of history and food. I watched a fair amount of British TV in the USA that was rebroadcast on the US Public Broadcasting System. I hope to visit Australia as a tourist and to take a couple of short courses in cheese making while there, sometime in the next 2 years.

I will post in other threads questions about assisting my in-laws on their quest for good jobs and a better life. But just for info they are a 24-year-old electrician and a 22-year-old cook/hotel management student who will graduate with a bachelors and a cookery III certificate in 2 years. Both currently reside in the Philippines.

 

[Wanderer]

Hi Tatoosh, I've answered your query re the BILs with not too much joy for them unfortunately as they sound like good lads.
It must be a thing of being near 60 to enjoy good mystery novels, food and some history and then the eye sight gets worse damm it!
How do you handle the humidity of somewhere like the Philipines?

 

[Tatoosh]

Yes, thank you very much for your honest and straight-forward answers. My brothers-in-law are pretty good guys, I am very lucky in the in-law department compared to some I know.

While the humidity where I live can be quite high, today was 90 percent, the temperature is balmy and even chilly at night. Sadly the smell of pine trees is overcome by the diesel jeepneys and trucks. The area is very overpopulated for its infrastructure. But the weather, in general, is pretty good, particularly if you don't mind rain and clouds often. They grow strawberries almost all year round here though Jan through March is the high season.

I have long admired Australia though I only know bits of its history. Luckily the History Channel here in the Philippines often features segments focusing on Australia. Growing up in the USA, we were mostly exposed to Ned Kelly, Crocodile Dundee, and The Man from Snowy River.

I look forward to visiting Sydney and possibly Perth in the next couple of years. My first stop will be a cheese making class, since I want to add that to my (and my brother-in-law's) repertoire.

 

[Wanderer]

For the Cheese making, you ought to consider Tasmania or even King Island in the Bass Straight between Victoria and Tasmania for they have their own Cheese.
I've read of a swiss guy who was a cheesemaker in Tasmania who claimed Tasmanian Cheese was as good as Switzerland's best, having a look for him, plenty of references for Swiss Cheese and found Ueli - King Island Dairy: Meet The Cheesemaker
Coicidentally the same name as one of my Swiss BILs but he has never been called that and the family refers to him as Mr. Jim!

As good as what Sydney can be, it is still just another city, just a great harbour to go with it, perhaps a bit like San Francisco I imagine.
If you want to get away from the city grind and see some good natural country and interesting smaller villages, great weather and lower humidity, you ought to plan on heading down the south coast from Sydney a bit, perhaps cut across through some of the Snowy Mountains and down into Victoria and also Cheese in Gippsland east of Melbourne, they having a Deli Trail - an article on it - Great Escape (The Age) and another on the area
Gippsland Travel Australia - Melbourne, Victoria - La Trobe Valley, Phillip Island, Lakes National Park
If you can manage the flexibility for time, you can tour cheaply enough too, rental cars being down to nearly $30/d on a longer rental and then you can keep accommodation costs down by trying out various older pubs along the way Welcome to Gday Pubs | G'day Pubs - Enjoy our Great Australian Pubs
You'll probably be able to find a Cheese making course easy enough, maybe even on the cheap if you can find a Cheese WWOOF Australia Official Website place.

Saw a Cheesecake recipe myself today - Cream Cheese beaten up and blend in Lemon Butter 1:1 put on to an oatmeal cookie in a cake cup and feeze for a couple of hours and decorate with your strawberries, and what about Kiwi fruit, they do them there too, but plenty of tropical fruits no doubt, maybe Passion fruit too?
Kiwi Fruit - Kiwifruits Facts, Nutrition Data and Health Benefits
How To Grow Passion Fruit? By Growing Passionfruit Seeds...
And for the base - Exclusively Food: Anzac Biscuits Recipe

In the south of NSW and Vic. you can get to see the Ned Kelly and Man from Snowy River country easily enough, maybe do a horse ride if up to it and All The Rivers Run was another Aussie series about old paddle boats on the Murray, so a lot of history all through that region, goldfields and all and some great wines country too.
Check out places like Beechworth, Bright, Rutherglen, Echuca, Walhalla, Maldon or google the Golden Triangle and Victorian Wines and you'll get some good sights and jump on Google Earth and you'll see the country without leaving home.

Have a good one

 

[Aussieboy07]

Well Wanderer
You are definitely a good ambassador for Australia and quite knowledegable. I also believe there is a small cheese factory in a very small town called Kenilworth near the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane. Don't know if they have classes maybe try google to find it. This is a little bit out of the way but then you could continue up to the great barrier reef. LOL l'd never thought I would be sitting and chatting about cheese good luck