Anyone know what day it is?

Australia / November 2, 2006 / John / 4

Well, we’ve arrived safe and well. The flights were fine, if a little dull, with only the Edinburgh->Heathrow hop being particularly bumpy. With the exception of the Aussie pilot on the Hong Kong -> Sydney run, of course, who said “It’ll get bouncy for a minute cos we’re about to fly through a typhoon, but she’ll be right.”

By the last leg, the journey was getting pretty tiring because we only had a fifty minute stopover in Hong Kong. An extra hour or two to stretch our legs, or even better an overnight stop for some shopping, would have made all the difference. As it is, though, it was survivable. The children were very good – plenty to keep them occupied, and we all managed to get a nap.

We arrived in Sydney at nine o’ clock at night and went through immigration and customs without incident. Driving home with our relatives was very wierd – we drove over the Sydney Harbour bridge, right past the opera house, but only vaguely registered because we were so zonked. Stopped off in a services place and had a cookie and a bit of banter with the cleaning chap before spending an hour chatting and passing out at 3am.

One nice thing, though, is that there were half a dozen wild kangaroos waiting to see us when we arrived. I don’t think the idea of kangaroos just bouncing about in the countryside has actually sunk in to the kids, but they know now :) 

Driving was odd at night because you could have been anywhere (if it weren’t for the constellations being upsides-down). In the morning, though, it was a bit different.

First of all, the dawn chorus is less of a gentle symphony to nature and more of a scandinavian death metal band. There aren’t many things that sound like a kookaburra. Then there’s the cicadas. Stepping out the door in the morning is a really strange thing – the heat and humidity on top of the noise of the wildlife is just incredible – it’s just teeming with life.

Popped into Newcastle for a run today. It looks a lot like New Orleans – lots of clapboard houses, flat roofs and wrought iron verandas. Everywhere you look there are bright purple Jacaranda trees.

I’m just off to do a bit of CV polishing. It’s 28 degrees outside. It’s a bit hot.

John

UNIX geek, wannabe cook, musician, book-lover, and all round good-guy.