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Travelling with bonsai
Posted: August 13th, 2013, 11:56 am
by Jason
Am heading over to Sydney at the end of the month, and am planning on checking out a few bonsai related sites. My plan was to just get a few pots, and enjoy twhat I can see, but I was wondering what the deal is with travelling with bonsai? Living in WA, I just assume that its not possible to bring a bonsai back with me with our strict laws, but is there anyway to do so? without it costing me an arm and a leg that is lol
Re: Travelling with bonsai
Posted: August 13th, 2013, 12:34 pm
by Pup
You could always chance your luck, a friend of mine brought one over in a box that mobile phones are packed in. It is still alive and thriving.
Enquire at WA quarantine office and get all the info there. I have heard of people bringing back trees just find out what the requirements are.
Do not try with any of the Myrtaceae, family though they are on the no no list because of Myrtle rust.
from a credible nursery should be OK.
Re: Travelling with bonsai
Posted: August 13th, 2013, 12:51 pm
by PAUL2229
yeah if its small enough put it in a box and take it as carry on luggage. if you cant do that and want to take it as normal luggage make sure you put as many of the orientation labels as you can fit, cover that box with arrows pointing up and FRAGILE labels otherwise it will arrive upside down and squashed
Re: Travelling with bonsai
Posted: August 13th, 2013, 12:59 pm
by cre8ivbonsai
Re: Travelling with bonsai
Posted: August 13th, 2013, 1:36 pm
by Jason
Learnt that the hard way too

Had an awesome pot come in the mail, only to find it split in two. Had fragile stickers all over it, and was well packed. Haven't been keen to risk it since lol
Pup wrote:You could always chance your luck, a friend of mine brought one over in a box that mobile phones are packed in. It is still alive and thriving.
Enquire at WA quarantine office and get all the info there. I have heard of people bringing back trees just find out what the requirements are.
Do not try with any of the Myrtaceae, family though they are on the no no list because of Myrtle rust.
from a credible nursery should be OK.
Yeah the Mrytle rust is a bummer, as it rules out most of my favorites, but I might drop the quarantine office a call and see what other options I have
I'd ruled it out entirely, but its good to know there is some hope at least
appreciate the responses

Re: Travelling with bonsai
Posted: August 13th, 2013, 2:13 pm
by PAUL2229
in close to eight years of working in logistics ive never had a problem with people throwing around fragile cartons, 99% of my stuff comes through the international cargo terminal so the guys working there are probably more aware of the labels than the guys handling baggage but I still think its your best option and if you really worried just put a Class 8 dangerous goods label on the package and I guarantee people will handle it with a lot more care lol
Re: Travelling with bonsai
Posted: August 13th, 2013, 4:52 pm
by Jason
Are there any 'must see' places that I should visit? I've been to sydney a few times, but never with Bonsai in my head. Am visiting my mum who lives over there, and have convinced her to check out a few places with me, maybe get an early chrissy present or something
So far, i'm hoping to get to Bonsai South, Ray Nesci (if I can get out there), and hopefully Auburn gardens

are there any 'must see' places for a bonsai nut in sydney?
Re: Travelling with bonsai
Posted: August 13th, 2013, 5:50 pm
by Josh
I would highly recommend the Chinese garden of friendship in Darling harbor. They have some bonsai but the gardens are well worth the time to visit. Allow a bit of time to wonder and enjoy. Say hi the Leong at Bonsai south, he is a top bloke and will take the time to talk. Enjoy and have fun.
Josh
Re: Travelling with bonsai
Posted: August 13th, 2013, 6:34 pm
by Jason
Josh wrote:I would highly recommend the Chinese garden of friendship in Darling harbor. They have some bonsai but the gardens are well worth the time to visit. Allow a bit of time to wonder and enjoy. Say hi the Leong at Bonsai south, he is a top bloke and will take the time to talk. Enjoy and have fun.
Josh
Cheers Josh, will definately add that to the list

I think that is not too far from where we are staying either, so will be perfect

Re: Travelling with bonsai
Posted: September 5th, 2013, 2:22 pm
by Jason
Well I didn't get in to see Bonsai South, but I did get in to see Ray Nesci's as well as the Japanese Gardens in Auburn, and the Chinese Gardens in Darling Harbour
Just want to say that Ray's was amazing! Was a torturous trip, being able to look but not buy, but the chat that I had with Ray more then made up for that. I was with him for a good couple of hours whilst he took me around his nursery, and showed me his collection and answered each of my questions. I didn't want to take up his time, but he seemed more then happy to take me around and show me the sites of the nursery, which was mind blowing for me compared to the few I've seen in Perth. I really had a great time, and just wanted to reccomend it to anyone who is thinking about dropping in or hasn't gone yet

Have my new Nesci Calender on my desk
Auburn Japanese Gardens was great, but unfortunately the cherry blossoms were only flowering half-heartedly, so wasn't at 100%, plus being father's day... its was quite chaotic. Nearly went for swim in the pond while dodging the young ones

Wasn't too bad, but could have done with a bit of work, there were a few trees recently chopped down that distracted a bit from the overall look.
The Chinese Gardens in Darling Harbour were amazing. So peaceful and tranquil, I could have quite happily stayed there all day sitting under one tree or another. Very well kept garden, that was almost in full bloom (weird seasons might be to blame for that) but still looked great. I did the 'pamphlet tour', which was just following the map around through the different sections of the garden, but it was really nice. Felt so strange to step out of the city into this peaceful garden setting!
Took a few photos which I'll post up when I get them onto the PC
