Tinkerblue

Travelling with Two Passports - The Joys of Dual Citizenship

I'm in the process of getting all my paperwork work ready for my next ship.

 

Can you see how faded the cover of my Aussie passport is? The Coat of Arms has completely worn off!

 I am Australian born and raised.  I am an Australian Citizen by birth.  In 2009 I became a Canadian Citizen. So now I have dual Citizenship.  I have two passports.  An Australian passport and a Canadian passport. I am however not a resident of Australia, I am technically deemed a foreign resident.  I am a Canadian resident.  In every day life it doesn't really matter which Citizenship I hold.  

For travelling and working on cruise ships it does matter.

For the longest time I was a Australian Citizen with Canadian Permanent Residency. I didn't really see the need to become a Canadian Citizen. As a resident I could do everything but vote, run for public office or join the Defence Forces.  Given that I didn't want to run for office or join the Navy, Army or Airforce I was okay with being a resident not a citizen.  

But back when Dave and I were still married and flying to the US lots in our plane it was an issue.  I had an Aussie passport with a US visa but I couldn't enter the US in a private plane or private boat only on a commercial flight, a cruise or at the land borders. We wanted to fly to the States a lot.  The San Juan Islands, the Oregon Coast, Everett, Seattle etc.  So I became a Canadian Citizen.

As a dual citizen the requirements for travel are that I am required to leave and enter  Canada with my Canadian passport.  I am required to enter and leave Australia using my Australian passport.  When I travel from Vancouver to Hobart to visit my family I use both passports.  I leave Canada and arrive into the US with my Canadian passport.

I can't leave the US for Australia on my Canadian passport because it doesn't have the correct visas to enter Australia.  I can't get the correct visas in my Canadian passport because Australian Citizens cannot be be issued Australian visas.  Doesn't matter if they are travelling on a passport issued by another country. 

So when I leave the US and then arrive into Australia I use my Australian passport.  Because I am leaving the US with my Aussie passport it has to have a US tourist visa in it. 

 

 

Working  on the cruise ships I use my Canadian passport.  I leave Canada to enter the US on my Canadian passport.  As a Canadian Citizen who is transiting the US for other countries on the ship I don't require a US visa. 

So I spend a fortune on passports and visas.  I have a Canadian passport valid for 5 years.  An Australian passport valid for 10 years. A US visa in my Australian passport also valid for 10 years.  

 

The Consulate cut the cover, that shows the passport is expired.

 I will be joining my next ship in Seattle in the US.  We will cruise in Alaska and Hawaii.  I will do that with my Canadian passport.  But then the ship will reposition to the Pacific and home port in Sydney, Australia. I have to enter and leave Australia on my Australian passport.  My Australian passport just expired this year.  I just applied to renew it.  

 

 

Holy crap is it ever expensive.  I had to have three sets of passport photos taken. Not because I needed three sets but because the Australian Consulate in Vancouver is really picky:

• The first set was 1mm too small or too large. I don't remember, just that it was 1mm out (the pair on the top right).
• The second set my face was too shiny (the pair on the bottom left).
• The third set was good (the pair on the top right).
• The single photo was for my medical, I was allowed to smile for that one.

 

 

At $15.00 per set, I'm already at $45.00. The renewal fee is $250.00.  Plus for the privilege of renewing it outside Australian I get to pay an overseas processing fee of $100.00. That's just under $400.00 for my passport!!!!!!

And guess what the US visa in my old expired passport is still valid.  It doesn't expire until 2018.  It gets noted that my US visa is VIOPP.  (visa in other passport). When it does need renewing it's another $160.00.  Crap.  So I need to take all three passports with me.  

 

Good thing my Canadian passport doesn't expire for another three years.  A 10 year passport will only be $160.00 plus photos. Anyway it will be less than $200.00.  Half the cost of my Aussie passport.

But on a high note...I had my "interview" and submitted my application to the Australian Consulate on Monday August 10th. They said with 8-10 business days for processing, I would have it back by the 21st at the latest.  They phoned on Thursday August 13th that it was ready for pick up.  4 days! Awesome.

Gotta say I prefer my new passport.  Inside the pages are a pretty blue with gum leaves, Aussie animals and scenes from Aussie life.  The old one was brown pages with I'm not sure what.  

 

Also my new passport is the new (well new to me, it's been since October 2005) electronic passport. It's got a smart ass chip in it loaded with my biometrics. Or something. Kind a scary.

 

 

I will however miss all the stamps in my old passport.  I wish most countries still actually stamped my passport.

 

 

 

 

 

Built by Convicts

 

My home state is one of the most beautiful places in the world. 

Lonely Planet just named Tasmania #4 of the world's top ten regions to visit in 2015. Calling Tassie "wild and dramatic, cultured and quirky." 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet Tasmania is also home to one of the harshest environments in the world - the remote south west wilderness. It was to this island state that over 70,000 convicts were transported in the 1800's. Sentenced to 7, 14 or 21 years for stealing a piece of fabric or a loaf of bread or some other trivial offence. Nowadays they just get a finger wagged at them. On this hostile island the convicts endured, survived and some even thrived. UNESCO lists Australian Convict Sites on its world heritage cultural listings, 5 of the11 sites are in Tasmania:

1. Port Arthur Historic Site
2. Brickendon and Woolmer's Estates
3. Darlington Probation Station (on Maria Island)
4. Coal Mines Historic Site
5. Cascades Female Factory.

 

Up until this week I had never been to the Cascades Female Factory. That's not entirely my fault. For most of the 20 years I lived in Tasmania the site was a paddock full of wallaby poop. Not an exciting place to visit. Also it's in South Hobart - it's cold and wet up there.

 

 

 

Sometime within the last 10 years some enterprising sole has developed the site and now it's a popular tourist attraction.

Rather than just visit the site we signed up for Louisa's Walk. Louisa's Walk is a strolling theatre moving from Cascade Gardens to the Female Factory and back - like a progressive dinner, only with no food.  Wear your walking shoes, and participate when asked.  It's a lot of fun.

 

 

On our tour Karissa played Louisa. A young widowed mother of 3 boys who was sentenced to 7 years in the colonies for stealing a loaf of bread to feed her family. She was not allowed to take her boys with her as the oldest was 14 and therefore able to support the younger two.

Jon played all the other roles...the magistrate, a ship's captain, the doctor, the head of the factory, and a few others.

 

 

 

Our tour into convict history started at the Cascade Gardens next to Cascade Brewery - the beer we drink here. (Sorry it's a slogan from I don't know when. I'm not even sure it was a Cascade slogan). Cascade is the oldest brewery in Australia. Tasmanians like their beer.

 

 

After Louisa was convicted and sentenced to transportation she boarded the Rajah for the many months long journey out to Van Diemans Land. The Quakers gave each woman fabric and cotton to keep them busy. Anything they made they could keep. Louisa made a quilt telling her life story to date. It includes squares with her deceased husbands name and the names of her three sons.

 

 

On arrival in Hobart Town Louisa was sent to the Female Factory. She was inspected and classified. Female convicts were classified as either criminals, xxxx or assignables.  I've forgotten the middle classification. Oops.

 

 

 

 

Inside the factory we heard many stories from Louisa's time there - picking oakum, seeking solace in the chapel, doing the laundry in cold cold water.  She was chosen by a man for work outside the factory only to be sent back to the factory when she became pregnant. After the baby was weaned (two weeks after birth) Louisa was sent back into the factory. Records show she was finally chosen/purchased by a gentleman who would eventually become her husband. Once she was married there are no further official records until her death certificate. She in her 70's when she died, quite old for the time.

 

 

There are no buildings at the factory, the yards are marked to indicate where structures had been, and there is a replica of a dark cell. I don't think we would have enjoyed the factory or learned anywhere near as much if we hadn't done Lousia's walk.  The tour was amazing. Jo, Irene and I both got caught up in the story, we laughed a lot. It lasted about 2 hours and was $35.00 each. Well worth every penny. 

Posted with Blogsy

Zoodoo. Who? Zoodoo!

Meerkat. You can adopt one. You can't take it home though.

 

When I was home earlier this year Mum had double booked herself.  She had agreed to take a unit of 6 guides to the Scout/Guide Regatta and she had committed to organising the medal presentations at the State Athletic Championships.  So guess what? She volunteered me and my friend, Jo to take the girls to camp.

 

No idea why they have a fake meerkat in with the real ones. Anyone? 

 

6 months later I'm home again. 6 months later I've been volunteered to help again.

 

Wallaby with a joey in her pouch. See the leg sticking out over the joey's head.  Ouch! Can't be very comfortable for the mum or the joey. 

 

In November the Guides of Tasmania are having an overnight event, ROAR 2014 at Zoodoo. Zoodoo is a wildlife park about 20-30 minutes from Hobart.  They needed a filler activity for the girls to do on the last afternoon.   

 

 A rare albino wallaby. Until this visit, I didn't even know they existed.

 

Mum, Jo and I planned a lovely day in Richmond. A bit of shopping in the village. Lunch at the bakery. An hour or so at Zoodoo. Umm. Yep. Day didn't go as planned.  Jo and I got sidetracked in town. Mum was busy at Guide House.  We didn't actually head out to Zoodoo until about 2 '0 clock. So no shopping and no lunch in the bakery.  Next time.

 

 When I was a kid an emu bit my hand and took my sandwich. Emus and I are not friends.

 

We need a take nothing, leave nothing activity.  So trivia it is.  As we wander the enclosures taking photos, taking notes about the animals, we are approached by a zookeeper. He thought we were animal activists preparing to make a fuss about animals in captivity. Nope, just girl guide leaders spending an afternoon of their holiday getting ready for a guide camp.  We need a life. 

 

For everyone that asks me what a Tassie Devil looks like... This is a Tasmanian Devil.  Note, it walks on all fours. It does not spin.

 

After being distracted by the devils.  And they very cute meerkats.  And the marmosets... Okay so we were easily distracted. But we did come away with 27 trivia questions and 24 trivia answers.

 

Devils are quite small and very ferocious. Don't stick your hand in front of one.  They will bite it off. I'm not kidding. 

 

We threw in two questions that might be a little bit tricky.  They're actually really easy.  But we suspect quite a few of the guides (and their leaders) will get them wrong.

 

Okay so they don't look all that vicious when they are taking a nana nap in the sun.

 

Let's see if you know the answers:

When is a bear not a bear?

Where does milk come from?

Lamingtons

 

A few weeks back Rose and I were paddling and chatting. She mentioned she had lived in Melbourne when she was a child, and she used to love these cakes covered in coconut and chocolate. Lamingtons? I promised to make her some.

On Friday night we were going to a wine and cheese party, what better contribution to a wine and cheese party than lamingtons?

I had forgotten that even though they are easy to make they are bloody messy.

Sponge Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk

 

 

Sponge Cake:

• preheat oven to 350F or 180C
• In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt
• Beat butter until soft (normally in an eletric mixer, but mine is in storage, so I used the old fashioned method, a bowl in a sink of warm water and a wooden spool).

 

 

• Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy 
• Add vanilla extract and beat until combined
• Add flour mixture and milk, in 3 additions starting and ending with the flour

 

 

• Spread the batter into 8x8 cake pan
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until skewer comes out clean
• Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes. Then cool completely on wire rack.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and refridgerate for several hours or overnight.

 

 

Chocolate Icing Ingredients

• 4 cups icing sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup milk

Chocolate Icing:

• Place sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a bowl over saucepan of simmering water
• Stir mixture until it becomes smooth and reaches a liquid consistency

 

 

Cut cake into 16 squares

Cover each of the 16 squares in chocolate icing - I did 4 at a time

 

 

Then dip in coconut (dessicated coconut is best, but I couldn't find any and used sweetened coconut)

Leave to set

Eat or can be stored in an airtight container for a few days

 

 

 

I made 8 of the squares as above. The other 8, I cut in half, spread a layer of blackberry jam and put them back together before covering in chocolate icing and coconut.

 

 

 

Related articles

Homemade Baklava

9 Pound of Fruit Cake

ANZAC Biscuits

The boss's son has been studying ANZACs at school. ANZACs are/were the Australia New Zealand Army Corps, they fought in WW1 in Gallipoli, Turkey.

His teacher mentioned ANZAC biscuits and gave them a copy of the recipe.  He asked if I could make some for him to take to school. I know I probably should have told him to make them himself, but I like baking and it's been awhile since I've made ANZAC biscuits. So I baked them.

 

The story behind ANZAC biscuits is that they were made by the wives to send to their soliders overseas because the ingredients would last forever and the biscuits would survive the shipping to get to the troops.

 

 

The recipe is simple:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup dessicated coconut
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp water

 

• Preheat oven to 180C or 350F
• Combine flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a bowl
• Melt butter and golden syrup in a saucepan over low heat
• Mix baking soda and water, then add to butter & golden syrup
• Pour the liquid mix into the dry ingredients, mix well
• Spoon on to baking sheet, about a tablespoon per biscuit, allow room for biscuit to spread during baking
• Bake for 15-20 minutes

 

 

ANZAC biscuits are really easy to make and taste good, I don't know why I don't make them more often. They're also good when you add wattle seeds, but for some reason wattle seeds are not readily available in Canada. I wonder why. I do have some but they're in storage at Michelle's. Next time.

Related articles

9 Pound of Fruit Cake

Homemade Baklava

Jo and I - Impossible to Take a Decent Photo

I wanted a recent photo of Jo and I.

Neither of us can stand still, keep a straight face, or take the whole posing thing seriously.

So there were many outtakes. My favourite photo is the last one. Who knows what we were laughing at.

It is Goodnight and Not Goodbye

Excuse the sappy Girl Guide campfire song lyrics.

We had our last supper at Mezethes Greek Taverna at Salamanca Place. Jo and I tried to eat there last year, but no go. This year we finally made it. We dragged my Mum and Dad, Nan and Shaun and Kelly along with us.

I'm going to miss them all. A lot.

Photos are:
Shaun and I. Do we look like brother and sister or what? Just think he's my little brother.

Kelly and I. Shaun's partner and my friend.

Nan and I.

Dad.

Mum.

The Return of the Birds

Remember the birds? http://tinkerblue.typepad.com/tinkerblue_the_daily_tink/2011/12/advent-calendar-day-6-buy-a-new-decoration.html

Well they followed me to Australia.

There were birds everywhere at Floriade. And my Mum gave me one (the white one) to take back to Vancouver with me.

Weekend in Hobart Recap

Saturday:
Salamanca Market with Jo for falafel, carrot cake and wood boxes.

Floriade at St David's Cathedral with my Nan, Kelly and Jo.

Lunch at Mt Nelson Signal Station with my Nan, Kelly and Jo.

Sausage Sizzle for dinner to celebrate Irene's birthday with Jo, Claire, Cristie and Joanna.

Sunday:
Watched the Canucks game live with Sharyn, Kath, Garin, Karen and Tony. We lost in a shoot out but still fun to watch.

Bubbly, dinner and a movie (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) at the State Theatre with Mum, Dad and Jo.

Watched the One Day International between India and Australia on TV with my Dad. It was close, but India won with 2 balls to go.

Monday (public holiday):
Dinner at Fish Frenzy on the wharf with Mum and Dad.

Evening at the Royal Hobart Regatta watching the Roulettes (like the Snowbirds or Blue Angels), listening to big band music by the Australian Army and watching fireworks.

A great long weekend with family and friends. I'm going to miss everyone when I leave next week.

The Odd Things I Buy

Three weeks in Australia and this is what I've bought to take back to Canada with me.

Vegemite
Milo
Turkish Delight Chocolate Bars
Mint Patties
Freddo Frogs
Turkish Delight Tim Tams
Black Forest Chocolate
Rocky Road Chocolate