The Long Journey Starts

Thursday 29th March – The Long Journey Over

Awaking early I began by a final check over my gear. After ensuring that I had my passport, cash, credit card and flight itinerary I decided that the rest was not important and quickly stuffed it all back into my bag. It was hard to concentrate on much so I decided to just sit and read to pass the time until Noel and Jenny arrived to pick me up. Soon after noon we were finally underway. The first stop was at Rick and Anne’s house to swap to a larger car and share the drive to the long term car park near the airport. From there we caught a minibus to Tullamarine, arriving soon after 4 pm. It had taken over 3 hours so far and we were still in Melbourne.

We were soon joined by the rest of our team and checked our luggage in for the first leg to Perth. This period is always an exciting time with everyone keenly looking forward to the adventure that lies ahead. Once the luggage is checked in you can’t help feeling that you are finally underway. All that remained was to spend a couple of hours drinking coffee and chatting in one of the airport cafes.

Our flight left Melbourne soon after 8 pm and arrived in Perth at around 9.30 pm local time after a three and a half hour flight. Here we had to collect our luggage and transfer from the domestic to the international terminal (a 20 minute bus ride away). We quickly cleared customs and, once again, sat down to wait in the departure lounge for our 11.50 pm flight to Johannesburg. It is this interminable airport waiting that I find one of the most frustrating things about long distance travel.Read more