As some of you might know it was our first flight off the African continent and Rebecca’s first flight anywhere. Durban to Jo’burg was a great flight, Becca received special attention and was allowed to visit with the captain and co-pilot in the cock pit… the captain asked her if her fluffy toy had a boarding pass… she really enjoyed that. Jo’burg to Perth was just so awful. We sat in the middle of two families – both with young kids… and they basically cried non – stop. Becca was awesome, she only had one complaint at about 3am to say ‘I never thought flying could be this bad’… she had a little cry, but then managed to get about an hour’s sleep. Bern and I were awake the whole eight hours…
At Perth we waited ages for our luggage, only to find that two bags were missing… but the delay helped us when it came to clearing customs… we sailed through… No worries! Throughout the flights we all sailed through customs and security… BUT at the domestic boarding area from Perth to Adelaide was quite simply a NIGHTMARE! Ah man, even writing this makes me stress again!!
The first issue was that we were carrying a ‘vuvuzela’ and had to explain that it was not in fact a weapon of mass destruction, but that it was in fact similar to a bugle or trumpet used at sporting matches. You can just imagine the look on the Aussie officials faces, thinking ‘ Bloody South Africans’… then Bern and I couldn’t get through the metal detectors without the damn things beeping… Geepers, it was so bad, we just couldn’t get through. Everything metal had to be taken off… this included all jewelry, belts, shoes… it was so bad… and all I kept thinking was we had gone so far, why at the last stop did we have this nightmare… eventually we got through… somewhat embarrassed!
The Perth to Adelaide flight was great, amazing conditions, we were able to see land most of the way. So flying into Adelaide was a real treat. We got to see a birds eye view of our new beautiful city. Weather was stunning! Arrived to be met by our new Aussie friend Bob, and the government meet and greet volunteer. For those who don’t know – the South Australian government provides a free meet and greet service to skilled migrants. Basically a volunteer is supposed to meet you at the airport and take you to your destination, as well as show you around the city and set you up with tax, medical etc etc. But Bern and I were quite confident that we could do this ourselves. So we were met by Sylvia (Tuesday) on Tuesday 18h30 Adelaide time, only to request that she showed us were we lived and handed over our keys. She was adamant that she should take us on a sightseeing tour! As much as we had explained that the last time we had slept was on Sunday night, she just couldn’t get it into her head that we wanted to put our feet up!
So after a slight sightseeing detour, we arrived at our flat. As part of the meet and greet service they organize you very reasonably priced rental.
The flat was very neat and welcoming, two bedrooms, one bathroom and kitchen. The flat is also furnished with major appliances and beds etc. Unfortunately one of the bags that was lost contained Becca’s sleeping bag. Bob offered to take us to the local ‘Big W’ so we could buy a cheap sleeping bag to get us through the night. So off we trooped to the Big W and purchased the sleeping bag with some of the money Qantas had given us because of the lost bag. (We were given $120 for the inconvenience). Bob, very kindly also took us to a look-out spot called Windy Point. From there we were able to see the city of Adelaide. This was at about 8 in the evening, and still very light outside.
That’s one of the things we are having to adapt to, the sun is still out, shining at 7pm, it only really gets dark by 8:30pm.
Becca doesn’t fancy the idea of going to bed whilst the sun is still out.
Bob dropped us back off at the flat, along with our new sleeping bag, to get a good night’s rest… BUT… we couldn’t get the door to unlock. So there we were, jet lagged, tired and hungry with no food nowhere to sleep, outside our front door trying to open the damn lock… it took us ten minutes… the longest ten minutes of our lives I am sure. We couldn’t even phone anyone… no mobile phone, and we didn’t know anyone’s number!
We eventually got in… hungry still, with no food, thirsty, but not sure if we could drink the water… so we went to bed… to rest for the next day…
More adventures to follow,
Kirst
At Perth we waited ages for our luggage, only to find that two bags were missing… but the delay helped us when it came to clearing customs… we sailed through… No worries! Throughout the flights we all sailed through customs and security… BUT at the domestic boarding area from Perth to Adelaide was quite simply a NIGHTMARE! Ah man, even writing this makes me stress again!!
The first issue was that we were carrying a ‘vuvuzela’ and had to explain that it was not in fact a weapon of mass destruction, but that it was in fact similar to a bugle or trumpet used at sporting matches. You can just imagine the look on the Aussie officials faces, thinking ‘ Bloody South Africans’… then Bern and I couldn’t get through the metal detectors without the damn things beeping… Geepers, it was so bad, we just couldn’t get through. Everything metal had to be taken off… this included all jewelry, belts, shoes… it was so bad… and all I kept thinking was we had gone so far, why at the last stop did we have this nightmare… eventually we got through… somewhat embarrassed!
The Perth to Adelaide flight was great, amazing conditions, we were able to see land most of the way. So flying into Adelaide was a real treat. We got to see a birds eye view of our new beautiful city. Weather was stunning! Arrived to be met by our new Aussie friend Bob, and the government meet and greet volunteer. For those who don’t know – the South Australian government provides a free meet and greet service to skilled migrants. Basically a volunteer is supposed to meet you at the airport and take you to your destination, as well as show you around the city and set you up with tax, medical etc etc. But Bern and I were quite confident that we could do this ourselves. So we were met by Sylvia (Tuesday) on Tuesday 18h30 Adelaide time, only to request that she showed us were we lived and handed over our keys. She was adamant that she should take us on a sightseeing tour! As much as we had explained that the last time we had slept was on Sunday night, she just couldn’t get it into her head that we wanted to put our feet up!
So after a slight sightseeing detour, we arrived at our flat. As part of the meet and greet service they organize you very reasonably priced rental.
The flat was very neat and welcoming, two bedrooms, one bathroom and kitchen. The flat is also furnished with major appliances and beds etc. Unfortunately one of the bags that was lost contained Becca’s sleeping bag. Bob offered to take us to the local ‘Big W’ so we could buy a cheap sleeping bag to get us through the night. So off we trooped to the Big W and purchased the sleeping bag with some of the money Qantas had given us because of the lost bag. (We were given $120 for the inconvenience). Bob, very kindly also took us to a look-out spot called Windy Point. From there we were able to see the city of Adelaide. This was at about 8 in the evening, and still very light outside.
That’s one of the things we are having to adapt to, the sun is still out, shining at 7pm, it only really gets dark by 8:30pm.
Becca doesn’t fancy the idea of going to bed whilst the sun is still out.
Bob dropped us back off at the flat, along with our new sleeping bag, to get a good night’s rest… BUT… we couldn’t get the door to unlock. So there we were, jet lagged, tired and hungry with no food nowhere to sleep, outside our front door trying to open the damn lock… it took us ten minutes… the longest ten minutes of our lives I am sure. We couldn’t even phone anyone… no mobile phone, and we didn’t know anyone’s number!
We eventually got in… hungry still, with no food, thirsty, but not sure if we could drink the water… so we went to bed… to rest for the next day…
More adventures to follow,
Kirst
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