Borneo?

[gemfyre]

I'll give mum a call tonight and ask how serious she is about all this. There's a lot of things that need to be organised.

- They just booked their flight, so how I do I get there?
- Is there space for me in the hotels/tours already booked?
- What will I do for spending money?
- Is it possible to get a passport in time? We're talking max 6 weeks here.
- I need to get my shots.

- I'd need to find a field guide! It'd bug me if I saw loads of awesome birds and couldn't find out what they were. (EDIT: I can get field guides off Amazon, will cost me around $300 for them though).
- Actually, getting the cats looked after isn't a massive challenge. Shell will feed Phantom and Matt could take care of Lil until he goes away (4 days), for that time Gill can feed her and stuff.

- I'll have to figure out how to get around Centerlink's dislike of people going overseas.
- I won't be able to go to Geraldton/Kalbarri with Matt and his folks.
- I won't be here for Matt's 30th.

If it was at all possible I reckon I'd take up the offer. I mean shit, "opportunity of a lifetime" springs to mind. But I honestly don't think it's humanly possible to get everything organised in time.

Comments

[jet-ski.livejournal.com]

the only problem I see here is the passport because turnaround times for getting passports aren't that great.... the rest of that should be able to easily be accomodated! :P

[jakie-em.livejournal.com]

passport is ok... like 2 weeks... it is the visas...

[jet-ski.livejournal.com]

mine took at least 4... though that was in 2000, maybe they have streamlined their processes since then!

[jakie-em.livejournal.com]

mine took next to no time... the only problem was getting the right photo taken at the chemist... it is smarter to get the pick taken at the PO

[stawberi.livejournal.com]

There aren't many (if any) shots to get, and you can fast-track a passport but it costs extra.

Visa's aren't tough for that area, depending on which countries you're talking about. Borneo is, of course, a couple of them. A visa application does require a valid passport, so you'd have to get that first and then you'd be cutting it close.

[stawberi.livejournal.com]

Also, I don't think it's any of Centrelink's business. You'd have to let them know you won't be working for that time maybe...

[lotus79.livejournal.com]

Wow, that does sound like the trip of a lifetime! You should so go.

That said... I'll have to figure out how to get around Centerlink's dislike of people going overseas.

That may not be possible--a year or so ago when Mum went to England for 3 weeks, she left me her form to post when it was due so they would still pay her.

Well, I posted it, and they paid her, but the bastards must check names on outgoing flights or something cos a month later they sent Mum a notice about it and made her pay it back. Assholes.

Hope you can make it work though! :D

[nyeve.livejournal.com]

Thats what happened to a friend of mine too.

It wont be a problem you going, but you should tell them and they will stop payment. Otherwise you will have to pay the amount back after your trip... and it is easier not to spend the money before paying.

Have fun on trip! Sounds awesome.