Going Away Gift... to Australia

[Piecey]

My brother is moving to Sydney on October 7th.

DH and I are trying to think of something creative to get him. We're not creative people, though.

The best I did was go to the bank and order some of their currency for him.

Anyone else have any ideas?? He'll only be taking what he can pack so something silly or whatever wouldn't really fly, because he wouldn't take it.

We're stumped.

 

[monkeybug]

Years ago when my good friend moved to Alaska, we bought her something called a circle journey.
http://www.circlejourney.com/index.asp
Basically it's a journal that you send back and forth. They fill a page or two with stories and pictures of what's going on in their lives, when you receive it you do the same. It ended up being a great keepsake! It really captured what was going on in her life, as well as her friends and family's (it was sent between a bunch of people) during her year in Alaska.

 

[downsouth]

Take him out to dinner to Outback!

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Guidebooks for Australia! He will want to do sightseeing, and this way he has a resource...I did this when a friend moved cross-country years ago. They appreciated it.

Good luck to him!

 

[tinatark]

international calling cards... international prepaid mailers... can you locally buy gift cards to businesses there?

 

[disykat]

Along with guidebooks - some maps.

 

[Piecey]

I didn't think about the guidebook thing!

He's moving to live with his girlfriend (her US Visa expired in April) so I guess I just figured she'd be his guidebook.
But he'll need something for when she's not around.

Thanks!

 

[ZephyrHawk]

There are food and other comfort items you often can't get in other countries. You might try finding out what American "rarities" there are in Australia and packing him a bag. I've heard (no confirmation) that peanut butter is scarce down there. Some friends of mine recently moved to NZ and say you can't get rubbing alcohol or many common OTC medicines.

 

[bumbershoot]

Message board for him, if he's interested: http://yanksdownunder.net/index/

 

[Piecey]

There are food and other comfort items you often can't get in other countries. You might try finding out what American "rarities" there are in Australia and packing him a bag. I've heard (no confirmation) that peanut butter is scarce down there. Some friends of mine recently moved to NZ and say you can't get rubbing alcohol or many common OTC medicines.

I bet that it's true!

When she was here she kept talking about how she didn't understand our fetish with peanut butter and she thought peanut butter and chocolate was just absurd.

 

[Huggles]

You might want to check just what edible items are allowed to be imported to Australia. I know their Dept of Agriculture has very strict quarantine regulations and a lot of foodstuffs are not allowed ( mostly fruit and nuts type stuff). Landing cards require all foodstuffs ( sweets etc incl) to be declared and penalties for not declaring items are severe.

 

[ellenec]

I have traveled to Aus. four times and loved it!! I have packed peanutbutter all four times without any problem as it is a processed food. Comfort foods are a great treat

 

[FinallyBoughtDVC]

Do NOT get anything made of wood, they will not allow him to bring it into Australia - so, now signs, plaques, albums, etc. made with wood products.

All the ideas already posted are great!

 

[Feej]

If he's into your confectionary, you might want to pack him up with Reece's etc. You can get it here (scarce tho'), but it's *really* expensive. For instance, a 3 Musketeers bar is almost $3. I'm sure I only paid a buck or so when I was last over there.

He can buy locally here if he wants - http://www.sugarfix.com.au/

 

[Melmac]

There are food and other comfort items you often can't get in other countries. You might try finding out what American "rarities" there are in Australia and packing him a bag. I've heard (no confirmation) that peanut butter is scarce down there. Some friends of mine recently moved to NZ and say you can't get rubbing alcohol or many common OTC medicines.

I have family in Australia (Adelaide) and this is what they miss the most from living here - is some of the food. Apparently, cherry-flavoured items like Jell-O and licorice are extremely rare. They also like grape jelly which you can't get. I can't comment on the peanut butter scarcity though.

If he's into your confectionary, you might want to pack him up with Reece's etc. You can get it here (scarce tho'), but it's *really* expensive. For instance, a 3 Musketeers bar is almost $3. I'm sure I only paid a buck or so when I was last over there.

He can buy locally here if he wants - http://www.sugarfix.com.au/

When I was in Australia a couple of months ago, I couldn't believe the prices of sweets! My uncle travels to a small town about 1 hour away every month and picks up two A&W rootbeers - at $4.50 each! Those are his treats. They are considered imports. My cousins love Reeses peanut butter cups and we mail them boxes from Costco all the time.

Also, I found books to be rather expensive too - for instance, the had all four Twilight books in soft cover (at the time, only the first two soft cover here) but they were about $25 each! Maybe if your brother has some favourites, you can get him some new copies before he leaves.

 

[Piecey]

He loves Reeses Pieces so maybe I'll pop into Sams in the morning and get him a bag.

His big party with the family is tomorrow and I'm not sure the currency will be in yet..

Thanks again for the great ideas!!

 

[manning]

There are food and other comfort items you often can't get in other countries. .

That proves it. Texas is another country. We had a co-worker who transferred to Houston. He is Polish and always pleaded with his family to bring polish sausage when they came done because he couldn't find any(that was years ago).

 

[bekkiz]

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson is a fantastic book about his travels around Australia. It is both funny and a nice recap of the history of the country. It might make good reading for the plane ride!

Not specifically Australia related, but about the South Pacific is the book Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz. I really enjoyed it.