This trip was decided last year and booked in August 2016. It was an important one. I hadn’t been to Canberra since 2011 (home to my granddaughters Leah and Ella, now 10 and 12, my son Chris and daughter in law Christina and her partner Paul. Leah had been to visit me in 2012 and again in 2015.
It was also important in that I hadn’t spent a birthday with family since 2009!
It was always going to be a long day. Catching the 6am flight meant an early morning and that is something I don’t do well.
I didn’t finish work until late on Thursday, had to tidy and pack and was in bed around 11pm. I had set the alarm set for 1.45am and managed 1 hour 51 minutes sleep according to FitBit with 4 restless periods and 5 minutes awake.
I saw Phee before I left, he hadn’t come in to sleep that night, unusual for him.
I’m going to miss waking up to this face ❤
I was interested to see what the new M2PP would look like. This was the new expressway from McKay’s Crossing, south of Raumati, where I used to live, to Pekapeka; an 18km four-lane expressway along the Kāpiti Coast, and is the first of the Wellington Northern Corridor projects completed. I couldn’t see much as it was dark an it will also be dark when I return home. 😦
Flying over Wellington, the harbour to the rear.
Wellington was calm, the harbour still. It would have made a lovely night photo. The time at the airport went quickly, my suitcase was 20.3 kg and I was on the plane, the sun was just beginning to rise.
Onboard!
Preparing for take off.
I could see going over the top of the South and clearly saw the “Kiwi” shape of Farewell Spit.
Goodbye New Zealand
I started to watch a movie, couldn’t really find the concentration, ate breakfast, nothing spectacular. I chatted a little to the lady next to me She was English, had been in New Zealand for a few weeks and was going to Tasmania.
Mt Taranaki/Egmont on the horizon ,left and Mt Ruapehu just after the wing, right (if you look really hard.)
Melbourne was covered in cloud, down to 300 meters, so when we broke through the cloud we were almost touching down. Australia has a reciprocal agreement with New Zealand to have an easy entry system but I had honey and sauce to declare. All up I would guess I was out in 30 minutes.
I’m not sure what the shadow hill type thing is, maybe a hill, maybe not.
Australia . . . . . . . . . ❤
Preparing to land
From the international to the national section is an easy walk. I was transferring from Air New Zealand to Virgin Air, as Air New Zealand doesn’t fly in Australia. Easy . . . . . . nope! My 12.05pm flight had been cancelled (I found later due insufficient cabin staff), the 1 pm flight was full (I suggested as they had inconvenienced me they could upgraded me to first class, no such luck) so I had to wait until the 3.20pm flight. I was really peeved off. More peeved off than I had been in a long time. So I waited . . . . . . . . . .
Finally in the air to Canberra
Victoria, Australia
Starting to go down through the clouds
The Murrumbidgee river which passes Canberra
I had rung Christina to tell her I would be late, she had taken the afternoon off work and the delay meant that she kindly went and got Leah and Ella after school and they all met me at airport, what a bonus!
I was there ❤
Being Mobile 