Off to Oz… And back again.!
Well, the trip is coming together – slowly but surely. And I am starting to get excited. Currently fly Vancouver – San Francisco – Sydney – Hamilton Island – Airlie Beach. Once there, stay overnight then off on a 4 day, 3 night cruise… Pictures of the ship and link to the site below. Booked into the 4 share cabin – hope nobody snores too much (however, with the jetlag may not actually care – I leave Vancouver at 5pm on Sept 21st and don’t arrive in Airlie Beach until probably 7pm local time on the 23rd (= just before midnight on the 22nd in Vancouver – about 31 hrs in transit, ARGH!). This would be why starting off with a cruise (everyone said I should see the Whitsunday Islands, and I figured would be a good way to get over my jetlag).
http://whitsundaysailing.com/tallship_home.php?wp=14&nsm=57
September 21, 2007
Well, all that above was before I left on the trip… Here’s how it actually went. Once again, I got off to a somewhat frenetic and inauspicious start. No BC (cat) issues this time – he left the night before my departure to stay with Gordon (one of my new co-workers). But, I’ve borrowed Vicki’s luggage again, then given it back. The pile of stuff to take along with me has been growing, and at the eleventh hour, I have realized I need a bigger suitcase… VICKI! Dial, leave a message, continue packing… Vicki calls back, Brennan lets me in to get the suitcase, re-pack (for about the fourth time), and call a cab. It’s 2pm and I have a 5pm flight to the US, given new guidelines, starting to cut it a bit close. Cab arrives, and it is a good day to be leaving town – under 10 degrees and pouring rain. However, at W. 8th and Granville, things get a bit dicey – the windshield wiper snaps off my cab (have I mentioned it’s pouring?). So, the driver calls dispatch (who seem somewhat disinterested), and I stress. Eventually decide to get the driver to
drop me just the other side of Broadway to add the possibility of the 98B line as a travel option. Just as we are getting my baggage out of the trunk, my driver manages to flag down a SurDel taxi. Everyone is happy – me, the trip
is finally back on-track, the driver – he’s been deadheading back to the airport, so is happy for a fare. Traffic, well…
At the airport. Check in. Sit and wait. Hey, there are sparrows inside the terminal! Watch the birds, listen to music, read my magazine, and – wait. Board the plane, fly to San Francisco – time to change planes. Following signs to the International Terminal… Follow, follow, follow – no signs! Head in what seems to be the right direction – communication breakdown, not the right place. Traipse across the terminal – it’s not that late, but very few apparent staff around. Try a few service phones – no luck. Finally, find a man at an info booth at the other end of
the terminal… Who sends me back toward where I started (I love the mechanics of traveling! Grrrr). Stop at the Qantas counter, confirm my seat, clear through security, and again – wait! Being at a destination – great! Getting there… Not so much… Finally, the plane is ready to load.
I thought it might be a Canada vs. everywhere else thing, but a few people have said it might be a Qantas thing – load first class, load business class, and now it is a free-for-all (there are a few colourful modifiers running through my head on that one)! Thrilled. This is just nicely in keeping with the trip so far – and I am so looking forward to fifteen hours on a plane! Why do people in the first thirty or forty rows rush on to the plane?? All they succeed in doing is blocking the aisles – and I’m heading for row 73! Mood, improving by the minute (yeah, right). Arrive at my seat – electrical system for entertainment unit in my foot-well; this, is not in the info on the seating charts! – or I would have sat in the other seat … I’m back here for two reasons: I can’t sleep on planes, so at least this way I can
stand for part of the flight without disturbing too many people; and, according to the seating charts – the seat beside me is one of the last ones they fill on the plane – great theory! Oh, yeah, and, all the overhead bins anywhere near my seat are full. Plan B?
I realize that the guy standing behind me in the aisle, is waiting patiently for the seat beside me. ARGH! Move out of the way. Continue my little princess fit of trying to figure out what I might want in the next fifteen hours, before I stow my carry-on. At this point, I’m sure I resemble an oversized squirrel (and one who is suffering from a bit of a princess complex at that)… If it weren’t for the fact that my new seatmate is almost as unimpressed with the situation as I am – I think he’s a bit amused (except for the preference for business class vs. back row of
cattle-class with a crazy lady…). Unpacked. Sit down. Recover from snit. Best to introduce myself – try to prove not a crazy lady, and well… We’re stuck together for the next fifteen hours – whether we like it or not.
Introductions over, proposal is put forth that perhaps we should just drink… I’m in! Although, in the end, one drink each with dinner. Much chatting – art (showing of collection which I keep with me on my daytimer), renovations (the photos were originally mixed in – picked the wrong folder to start), work, insurance (once a geek, always a geek – regardless of situation, apparently), travel… By the end of the flight – I have definitely made a new friend – who, I promptly lose in customs! I’m out, and done with quarantine, and… No Chris, no Henry. Off to get change and make some calls. Only reach Chris’s voicemail – leave a message. Let’s try Henry. He is ten feet away. Meet up, head to car, off to Henry & Raelene’s for a few hours before my next flight. Coffee, bath, laundry – they’re my heroes!
Oh yeah, it’s September 23, 2007… (gotta love that date line!)
E-mail to parents, and such. Back to the airport. Check in. Pick up a message from Chris at the counter – Henry is highly amused. Clear security (Henry can come with me, which is very cool!), stop for a beer, then off to flight number three – Sydney to Hamilton Island. Even adjusted for the time difference, door to door I am finally going to be at about 34 hours, four airplanes (and the two cabs at the start) in transit!
September 24, 2007
Up, shower, breakfast, pack, leave some luggage at hotel, check out. Taxi in to Airlie Beach (http://www.sailingwhitsundays.
com/WhitsundaysPlaces.php?id=9 and see the photos above). Check in with boat company, drop bag, wander around. Go for a walk, play on the swings (when there are swings, they must be played on!), buy a big sunhat(crushable, and with a good tie so is pretty windproof – which will be tested in the next few days!), settle down to
read under a palm tree overlooking the harbour and the boats – take a couple photos. Wander a bit more, get some water shoes, have lunch, check e-mail (this is a recurrent theme). Back to the boat office, read my magazine, wait for time to catch the bus. On the bus, at the boat – and we’re on board! I have two roommates –
Georgina and Maude. No one snores, so, we’re okay. This trip is definitely looking up… Admittedly, it’s had its good moments thus far already.
September 25, 26, 27
The next three days and nights are great scenery, company, food, and lots of cool sights! We motor, sail, snorkel, swim, sunbathe, explore, and bushwalk. From out of the water we see sea turtles, cockatiels, local flora, prehistoric caves. From in the water – corals, giant clams, angel fish, parrot fish, and Nemo! Here’s the itinerary taken from the chart on board… The crew was friendly, the food was fabulous, and the boat, as you can see was beautiful! This was truly the perfect way to start my Australian adventure…
Here are links to the places described above… (and links to my other photos on Flickr – Whitsunday Islands http://www.flickr.com/photos/36013650@N00/sets/72157603001327765 A selection of photos from the set – but there are more than what made it into this missive…
Stonehaven http://www.ccy.com.au/s/stonehaven/ - We anchored overnight here the first night. Luncheon Bay http://www.sailing-whitsundays.com/WhitsundaysPlaces.php?id=23 and parrot fish (who make clicking sounds under water), and a giant clam, and corals, and angel fish, and… Didn’t dive, just snorkeled, but was lots of fun. Blue Pearl Bay http://www.sailing-whitsundays.com/WhitsundaysPlaces.php?id=56 More snorkeling, more of the above fish, no Nemo…
Nara Inlet http://www.ccy.com.au/area/narainlet/ (cave paintings) - This is where we did the bushwalk to the prehistoric caves and paintings. Also, from the vantage point up here is where the photos of the ship were taken. See the pictures below for more.
As you can see, the palm tree above grows about in a circle… Ah, the unique flora and fauna of Australia. The food on board is fabulous, the weather is perfect… This was a good plan (I may have mentioned this once or twice… It really is quite delightfully enjoyable and relaxing). Whitehaven Beach was crystal blue water, white silica sand (weird, it doesn’t get hot) and a bit too much sun for that day. By the time the boats came to take us back to the ship, I wanted a cold shower and a nap (just a touch of sunstroke).
Whitehaven Beach http://www.sailing-whitsundays.com/WhitsundaysPlaces.php?id=7 http://www.whitsundaytourism.com/things_to_see/water-based/whitehaven-beach.cfm
http://www.sailing-whitsundays.com/WhitsundaysPlaces.php?id=30
Hill Inlet http://www.sailing-whitsundays.com/WhitsundaysPlaces.php?id=23 - this is where we are overlooking in these photos!
Below… The sand is Whitehaven Beach. Without a nice big chart in front of me, I am piecing this together from the
summary and the links.
All in all though – very relaxing and pleasant. Sail back to Airlie Beach (although, we are going to a slightly different spot than when we embarked) Back to the hotel, check back in, have a swim, a bit of a relax, and out to dinner with Georgina (nice little Thai place). One more sleep and the adventure begins again!
September 28, 2007
Up, finish packing, breakfast, cab to the airport – flight number five, back to Hamilton Island. Followed by six – to Brisbane, and seven – to Adelaide. It’s cool, raining, and windy in Adelaide – kinda like Vancouver. And there is a rainbow over the city as the plane is landing. Takes a couple tries to get sorted out and off to my hotel. Check in,get organized, check e-mail nearby, head to a little place (Penang http://my247.com.au/adelaide/map/Penang-Malaysian-Chinese-
Restaurant.14431 ) for Malaysian/Chinese food near the hotel (on a recommendation from Jason, my travel agent) – yummy. Not to mention that I even managed to find it on the little back street, when I was hungry, cranky, and
tired... Back to the e-mail, then off to go to bed – have to get up at 5am for a 620am bus tour. I am staying at the Mercure Grovesnor (http://www.mercuregrosvenorhotel.com.au/location.html ), and would certainly recommend it for the price. Nice room – no view, opens onto an air passage, but I’m not there for long and mostly I want a shower and sleep!
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