Raised $7,620 for Pregnancy Loss Australia
Thanks to Kylie, Pete, Colin, Kate and Liz for their donations in the last week.
I've shut down the donations page now so that the final funds can be transferred from Everyday Hero to PLA. If you haven't got around to donating yet you can do so directly through the Pregnancy Loss Australia website.
In total we received 63 donations over a 6 month period and absolutely shattered the original aim of $4,000.
And thank you again to everyone for your donations, shout outs, following the journey etc.
It's hard to believe it was 2 weeks ago already. I've had 4 flights since then too.
Detox has commenced.
I can't rule out that my brain will concoct an equally quirky marker for a future birthday, we'll see.
Now that the fundraiser is officially over I'll begin the process of thanking everyone individually. With 63+ of you, it'll take a little time.
Cheers
13 May 2013
05 May 2013
Terrafirmaustralis
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
And the thanks continue to Camille, Alissa, KB, Wayne and Mossy.
Just before I complete the tale from last week (we got up to Adelaide) I should mention about this morning.
Today was/is International Bereaved Mothers Day. Pregnancy Loss Australia held their annual walkathon in SA and invited us down to come say 'hi'. So we did. There were hundreds of people there and it's nice to know that our fundraiser is going to such a worthwhile cause.
Just before the walkathon got underway we were introduced to the crowd and got to say a few words. Once again Jo stole the microphone. Not really. Jo handed over a symbolic cheque which was actually a legitimate cheque complete with signature. So she needed to grab that one back... From what I understand Everyday Hero send funds across on a fortnightly basis while the fundraiser is in progress.
The weather was kind to everyone, not bad for late autumn.
Now, back to the mission re-cap...
Because we had a number of visitors and not much time in Adelaide I had to upload photos and publish my blog post in the short dash from the bar to the gate for our flight which was already in final boarding. 60 seconds well spent there...
So it was off to Perth on one of the three long flights on the mission. We had exit row for this flight - or at least we hoped we did. Some of our other flights had a change of aircraft between the time we selected our seats and the actual flight meaning that our exit row seats were no longer. Thankfully the Perth flight was okay.
When we were in Melbourne we checked in with a couple (Dal & Marianne) that we were meeting to let them know we were still good to catch up and head out of the airport. However, once we got to Perth that's when Jo hit the wall. We exited the aircraft and went straight to the bar for the final mainland beer (so that we could finish the day 1 mission). On the way to the bar we had a quick chat with a nice couple from our flight and they kicked in $20!
While we were handling the logistics I got a text from someone else (Shadi) who just realised that today was the day! So we finished our beer & blog updates and headed out of the secure area to grab a coffee for Jo and meet Shadi. We were soon joined by Peter and then Dal & Marianne.
Jo made the call that we'd stay put in the airport so we all cleared security and there were no surprises as to who was pulled aside for the explosives test.
For the next couple hours we had a few drinks and a catch up in the airport bar and it was a nice (almost) end to the day. With about two hours to go until our flight we parted with our company and headed into the Qantas Club.
Jo was trying to rest but there were some loud conversations around us. Including one bloke who was complaining to his mate because a job that he was going for was only paying $1,647 per day, no negotiation and only on the days he worked. Yep, welcome to mining country. Before I get accused of eves dropping this was the kind of person/conversation that was deliberately projected to be overheard.
Because of our status credit chasing the remaining for flights were booked with points and in business class. We knew we were on an A330 for the Perth Melbourne flight but didn't realise it had skybeds. Best. Thing. Ever. As soon as the seatbelt sign went off we pressed the buttons to get the seats into their sleeping position and I was asleep within minutes. Jo wasn't as lucky sleep wise but we still got some good quality rest.
Some people have asked if I had a beer on the two extra transits through Melbourne. No is the answer to that. There was a fair distance between gates for our Melbourne - Hobart flight so it was nice to stretch the legs a bit.
Hobart was probably the biggest mystery as far as getting a beer was concerned but it was actually pretty easy, with a twist...
When you disembark at Hobart you effectively exit the secure area straight away. In other words, you're not in the terminal. Even if transiting you need to clear security again. Although we were on the same aircraft back to Melbourne this made it a little more interesting. Fortunately we had plenty of time and I enjoyed a breakfast Boags.
The home stretch was ahead of us. Jo had her first bite to eat in 68 hours on the Hobart-Melbourne flight. We had about 2 hours in Melbourne and then it was off to Adelaide. We were met at Adelaide airport by my mum and eldest sister and Jordan the real estate guy! Our arm was twisted into a celebratory beverage (it was 1pm by this time) and the mission was finally over, 37 hours after leaving the hotel in Darwin.
Oh, and we've been asked to keep the fundraising open a few more days...
And the thanks continue to Camille, Alissa, KB, Wayne and Mossy.
Just before I complete the tale from last week (we got up to Adelaide) I should mention about this morning.
Today was/is International Bereaved Mothers Day. Pregnancy Loss Australia held their annual walkathon in SA and invited us down to come say 'hi'. So we did. There were hundreds of people there and it's nice to know that our fundraiser is going to such a worthwhile cause.
Just before the walkathon got underway we were introduced to the crowd and got to say a few words. Once again Jo stole the microphone. Not really. Jo handed over a symbolic cheque which was actually a legitimate cheque complete with signature. So she needed to grab that one back... From what I understand Everyday Hero send funds across on a fortnightly basis while the fundraiser is in progress.
The weather was kind to everyone, not bad for late autumn.
Now, back to the mission re-cap...
Because we had a number of visitors and not much time in Adelaide I had to upload photos and publish my blog post in the short dash from the bar to the gate for our flight which was already in final boarding. 60 seconds well spent there...
So it was off to Perth on one of the three long flights on the mission. We had exit row for this flight - or at least we hoped we did. Some of our other flights had a change of aircraft between the time we selected our seats and the actual flight meaning that our exit row seats were no longer. Thankfully the Perth flight was okay.
When we were in Melbourne we checked in with a couple (Dal & Marianne) that we were meeting to let them know we were still good to catch up and head out of the airport. However, once we got to Perth that's when Jo hit the wall. We exited the aircraft and went straight to the bar for the final mainland beer (so that we could finish the day 1 mission). On the way to the bar we had a quick chat with a nice couple from our flight and they kicked in $20!
While we were handling the logistics I got a text from someone else (Shadi) who just realised that today was the day! So we finished our beer & blog updates and headed out of the secure area to grab a coffee for Jo and meet Shadi. We were soon joined by Peter and then Dal & Marianne.
Jo made the call that we'd stay put in the airport so we all cleared security and there were no surprises as to who was pulled aside for the explosives test.
For the next couple hours we had a few drinks and a catch up in the airport bar and it was a nice (almost) end to the day. With about two hours to go until our flight we parted with our company and headed into the Qantas Club.
Jo was trying to rest but there were some loud conversations around us. Including one bloke who was complaining to his mate because a job that he was going for was only paying $1,647 per day, no negotiation and only on the days he worked. Yep, welcome to mining country. Before I get accused of eves dropping this was the kind of person/conversation that was deliberately projected to be overheard.
Because of our status credit chasing the remaining for flights were booked with points and in business class. We knew we were on an A330 for the Perth Melbourne flight but didn't realise it had skybeds. Best. Thing. Ever. As soon as the seatbelt sign went off we pressed the buttons to get the seats into their sleeping position and I was asleep within minutes. Jo wasn't as lucky sleep wise but we still got some good quality rest.
Some people have asked if I had a beer on the two extra transits through Melbourne. No is the answer to that. There was a fair distance between gates for our Melbourne - Hobart flight so it was nice to stretch the legs a bit.
Hobart was probably the biggest mystery as far as getting a beer was concerned but it was actually pretty easy, with a twist...
When you disembark at Hobart you effectively exit the secure area straight away. In other words, you're not in the terminal. Even if transiting you need to clear security again. Although we were on the same aircraft back to Melbourne this made it a little more interesting. Fortunately we had plenty of time and I enjoyed a breakfast Boags.
The home stretch was ahead of us. Jo had her first bite to eat in 68 hours on the Hobart-Melbourne flight. We had about 2 hours in Melbourne and then it was off to Adelaide. We were met at Adelaide airport by my mum and eldest sister and Jordan the real estate guy! Our arm was twisted into a celebratory beverage (it was 1pm by this time) and the mission was finally over, 37 hours after leaving the hotel in Darwin.
Oh, and we've been asked to keep the fundraising open a few more days...
02 May 2013
Donations closing Saturday...
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Belated thanks to In2 Solutions, Chris and Lauren. And timely thanks to the Sybiz crew and Candy who I met this morning at a Commonwealth Bank SME Forum. We are now at $6,590 would you believe?
PLA have their annual memorial walk-a-thon on Sunday morning and I am going to head on down to say g'day.
I'm going to close off the Everyday Hero page on Saturday night so that I can let PLA know the final tally on Sunday morning.
I haven't really reflected on the mission as yet and my city by city blog posts were a little pre-fabricated as I have mentioned previously. So here's a brief run down of the experience...
We headed to Darwin on the Saturday morning (rather than Sunday) to increase the chances of being better rested for the mission. That was a mistake. A night club in very close proximity to the hotel made for an interrupted night's sleep on the Saturday. We probably would have been better staying at home! I should clarify that I'm not complaining about the club or the noise - not everyone is 40!
Then we had this misfortune of the morning WWII tour not happening (we've been refunded already). So we got up early for no good reason. We tried to sleep a bit on Sunday afternoon and maybe did a little but not a lot.
We got organised to head to the airport around midnight and checked out of our hotel. Darwin airport was pretty busy at that time of night. I had kept an eye on the on time performance of the in-bound flight and all was looking good. It got close to boarding time and the staff announced there would be a delay of around 10 minutes for catering issues! We ended up leaving 9 minutes late - Brisbane was one of our tightest connections so any delay was potentially threatening. However, we were 2 minutes early into Brisbane.
As I've also mentioned previously I wasn't overly familiar with Brisbane airport but was pretty confident I could find a breakfast beer with my name on it. Speaking of beer, this is an interesting documentary on the subject.
The downer was that I couldn't get a local beer in Brisbane.
We had a comfortable amount of time in Brisbane without having to rush too much.
Our next flight to Canberra was one of the few paid flights - most the flights we got with frequent flyer points. We used points to upgrade this one though as our original itinerary had a 30 minute stopover in Canberra and a change of airline back to Virgin. In some respects it was lucky that Virgin changed their schedule as we were 10 minutes late into Canberra so that would have left us with 20 minutes. In other words we would have been disembarking at the same time our next flight was departing. Hence the business class upgrade - one or two minutes earlier off the plane was essential.
I did manage to sample a local brew in Canberra.
It was economy class for the next couple flights and when I had booked the flights I was able to select exit row. Unfortunately there was a change in aircraft and on the mammoth 25 minute Canberra-Sydney flight we didn't have exit row.
We had a bit more time in Sydney than forecast so that was nice. Knowing the airport quite well there was no problem finding a place for a quick drink.
Then it was off to Melbourne and a surprise visit from my sister Jane and her other half Rob/Bob/Bobbie. They're both lawyers and spent a couple hours with us in the Qantas Club. I had to check to make sure they weren't on the clock! That would have been expensive. They bought me a Carlton Draught to ensure I had a local brew in Melbourne. Nice.
It was nice to have a decent amount of time in Melbourne to recharge (us and our phones).
Next stop was Adelaide - we'd upgraded this one to business as well to get an extra couple minutes at home base. We were met there by John, Toni & Eli as well as Grant, Shane and Matt. Alison rocked up too. As with all visitors we had at the airports they all generously donated as well!
It was a little funny having a chat at the gate and then having to re-focus on getting a beer and the other little rituals at the airport such as completing the blog post and updating photos. So we were having a nice chat over a drink and then we realised it was time to go so Jo and I finished our drinks and bid our visitors adieu.
So, Jo has just told me this post is too long and I should split it into two. At this stage we're 5 flights down so maybe she has a point... Stay tuned.
Belated thanks to In2 Solutions, Chris and Lauren. And timely thanks to the Sybiz crew and Candy who I met this morning at a Commonwealth Bank SME Forum. We are now at $6,590 would you believe?
PLA have their annual memorial walk-a-thon on Sunday morning and I am going to head on down to say g'day.
I'm going to close off the Everyday Hero page on Saturday night so that I can let PLA know the final tally on Sunday morning.
I haven't really reflected on the mission as yet and my city by city blog posts were a little pre-fabricated as I have mentioned previously. So here's a brief run down of the experience...
We headed to Darwin on the Saturday morning (rather than Sunday) to increase the chances of being better rested for the mission. That was a mistake. A night club in very close proximity to the hotel made for an interrupted night's sleep on the Saturday. We probably would have been better staying at home! I should clarify that I'm not complaining about the club or the noise - not everyone is 40!
Then we had this misfortune of the morning WWII tour not happening (we've been refunded already). So we got up early for no good reason. We tried to sleep a bit on Sunday afternoon and maybe did a little but not a lot.
We got organised to head to the airport around midnight and checked out of our hotel. Darwin airport was pretty busy at that time of night. I had kept an eye on the on time performance of the in-bound flight and all was looking good. It got close to boarding time and the staff announced there would be a delay of around 10 minutes for catering issues! We ended up leaving 9 minutes late - Brisbane was one of our tightest connections so any delay was potentially threatening. However, we were 2 minutes early into Brisbane.
As I've also mentioned previously I wasn't overly familiar with Brisbane airport but was pretty confident I could find a breakfast beer with my name on it. Speaking of beer, this is an interesting documentary on the subject.
The downer was that I couldn't get a local beer in Brisbane.
We had a comfortable amount of time in Brisbane without having to rush too much.
Our next flight to Canberra was one of the few paid flights - most the flights we got with frequent flyer points. We used points to upgrade this one though as our original itinerary had a 30 minute stopover in Canberra and a change of airline back to Virgin. In some respects it was lucky that Virgin changed their schedule as we were 10 minutes late into Canberra so that would have left us with 20 minutes. In other words we would have been disembarking at the same time our next flight was departing. Hence the business class upgrade - one or two minutes earlier off the plane was essential.
I did manage to sample a local brew in Canberra.
It was economy class for the next couple flights and when I had booked the flights I was able to select exit row. Unfortunately there was a change in aircraft and on the mammoth 25 minute Canberra-Sydney flight we didn't have exit row.
We had a bit more time in Sydney than forecast so that was nice. Knowing the airport quite well there was no problem finding a place for a quick drink.
Then it was off to Melbourne and a surprise visit from my sister Jane and her other half Rob/Bob/Bobbie. They're both lawyers and spent a couple hours with us in the Qantas Club. I had to check to make sure they weren't on the clock! That would have been expensive. They bought me a Carlton Draught to ensure I had a local brew in Melbourne. Nice.
It was nice to have a decent amount of time in Melbourne to recharge (us and our phones).
Next stop was Adelaide - we'd upgraded this one to business as well to get an extra couple minutes at home base. We were met there by John, Toni & Eli as well as Grant, Shane and Matt. Alison rocked up too. As with all visitors we had at the airports they all generously donated as well!
It was a little funny having a chat at the gate and then having to re-focus on getting a beer and the other little rituals at the airport such as completing the blog post and updating photos. So we were having a nice chat over a drink and then we realised it was time to go so Jo and I finished our drinks and bid our visitors adieu.
So, Jo has just told me this post is too long and I should split it into two. At this stage we're 5 flights down so maybe she has a point... Stay tuned.
30 April 2013
And... relax...
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Not only have we made it home we have accomplished what we set out to do.
And we've raised $6,320! We'll keep the kitty running for a few more days because some people were wanting to work out how much to donate based on the relative success of the mission - and because we were 100% successful that makes it easy to decide how much to donate.
Big congrats to Jo for not only backing my crazy idea (she backs all my crazy ideas) but for actually coming along for the not so easy ride.
It was my birthday but I think she may be getting a present!
Here we are toasting the end of the mission:
If you have been following this blog the posts have got a little out of sequence but I have resequenced them now. The iPhone app used the post creation date as the default post date. That meant the 'cooking show' (prepared earlier) posts that I set up about 10 days ago posted as 20 April as the date. Happy to be back on the PC.
I know there are plenty of people to thank and I will get around to doing it - just not tonight - I want an early night and there's no way that'll happen if I thank everyone individually tonight.
Not only have we made it home we have accomplished what we set out to do.
And we've raised $6,320! We'll keep the kitty running for a few more days because some people were wanting to work out how much to donate based on the relative success of the mission - and because we were 100% successful that makes it easy to decide how much to donate.
Big congrats to Jo for not only backing my crazy idea (she backs all my crazy ideas) but for actually coming along for the not so easy ride.
It was my birthday but I think she may be getting a present!
Here we are toasting the end of the mission:
If you have been following this blog the posts have got a little out of sequence but I have resequenced them now. The iPhone app used the post creation date as the default post date. That meant the 'cooking show' (prepared earlier) posts that I set up about 10 days ago posted as 20 April as the date. Happy to be back on the PC.
I know there are plenty of people to thank and I will get around to doing it - just not tonight - I want an early night and there's no way that'll happen if I thank everyone individually tonight.
Hip hop hurray Hobart
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Next flight: QF1012 from Hobart to Melbourne 8:55am to 10:10am
Then: QF683 from Melbourne to Adelaide 12:10pm to 1:00pm
Status: On time, 2 more flights
Again, another city I've visited for work but not had a chance to spend some time here. Jo spent a week here over 10 years ago and we've had numerous attempts to organise a trip down here. It just hasn't happened yet.
Soon Tasmania, soon. The Skybed in the A330 from Perth to Melbourne was great.
Hobart beer: James Boags Premium Lager
Hobart photo:
29 April 2013
Perth - one day I will properly visit thee
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Next flight: QF648 from Perth to Melbourne 12:35am to 6:15am
Then: QF1011 from Melbourne to Hobart 7:00am to 8:15am
Status: ample time
I'm beginning to sound quite whiny now about only visiting certain cities for work. I think I've only been 3 times.
I find it to be a fantastic city that doesn't like to boast much because everyone would want to live there.
We had to rejig a couple flights with the mission so we've got a credit to use and I think Perth will be the destination.
So the mainland is conquered. One beer in every state and territory capital of mainland Australia in one day. Would I recommend it? No...
5 hours in Perth then back across to the other side of the country.
Stay tuned for Hobart.
Perth beer: little creatures pale ale. And yes I realise I misspelt draught in the Melbourne post. Oops.
Perth photo:
Adelaidelicious beer
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Next flight: QF595 from Adelaide to Perth 5:15pm to 7:05pm
Status:
So here we are in our home town. I know exactly where to get a beer in this airport. I think it's best that we don't have a lengthy transit here because the distraction of the next flight will keep our minds away from the thoughts of wanting to finish the mission here and now... We'll be back within 24 hours, just...
Adelaide beer: Coopers Celebration Ale
Adelaide photo:
First of three stops in Melbourne in 24 hours!
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Next flight: QF689 from Melbourne to Adelaide 3:40pm to 4:30pm
Status: all good
Thanks to Katrina of Adelaide Roller Derby fame for her donation and to Joanna for the same!.
We tried to cut this visit short once the Virgin flight from Sydney to Hobart got scrapped. It would have been good to get on an earlier flight to Adelaide but because a number of flights are linked on the same ticket the change penalties were too steep. Oh well.
Thanks to Katrina of Adelaide Roller Derby fame for her donation.
We were planning to come to Melbourne on the June long weekend but plans have changed.
In recent years I've visited Melbourne for work or parties - or work related parties!
Melbourne beer: Carlton draft courtesy of Jane and Bob - thanks for popping down guys!
Melbourne photo:
And the winner is Sydney
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Next flight: QF429 from Sydney to Melbourne 11:30am to 1:05pm
Status: Looking good, shouldn't have any hassles from here.
Jo's being a real trooper. You should bombard her Facebook page with words of encouragement :)
20 years ago this year Juan Antonio Samaranch announced the winning bidder for the host city of the 2000 Olympic games. I still remember the utter jubilation of the delegation as they heard their city named - and that was just the Chinese as they misinterpreted a commendation for Beijing's bid as if they had been awarded hosting rights.
Anyway, I never really understood Sydney until about 5 years ago. I'd visited dozens of times but for work. All I saw was the miserable hurried masses on public transport and work situations. Then, one time we sailed Sydney Harbour and it clicked - that was what all the fuss was about. To know the hurried masses were still scurrying about while we were silently sailing below was a watershed moment.
Sydney beer: Beez Neez
Sydney photo:
Yes we CanBE(E)Rra!
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Next flight: QF951 from Canberra to Sydney 9:55am to 10:45am
Status: looking good, a little bit of chill time here.
We've had a couple decent visits to Canberra over the years. It's a nice place but quite different from the other cities. From the air it's quite deceptive due to its layout and abundance of trees throughout the metropolitan area.
If you've not seen this yet, this kid is a gun. Lobbying for the renaming of Canberra airport in honour of Aussie David Warren who was instrumental in the invention of the black box. Please sign the petition.
Canberra beer: Zierholz German ale
Canberra photo:
Next flight: QF951 from Canberra to Sydney 9:55am to 10:45am
Status: looking good, a little bit of chill time here.
We've had a couple decent visits to Canberra over the years. It's a nice place but quite different from the other cities. From the air it's quite deceptive due to its layout and abundance of trees throughout the metropolitan area.
If you've not seen this yet, this kid is a gun. Lobbying for the renaming of Canberra airport in honour of Aussie David Warren who was instrumental in the invention of the black box. Please sign the petition.
I had been quite concerned about the possibility of an early morning beverage in Canberra airport, which is in the process of being redeveloped. When I did my initial research it didn't look promising but I'm very pleased to see that an option is available and, not only that, they serve the local brew.
Canberra beer: Zierholz German ale
Canberra photo:
Brisbane. What came first, the river or the city?
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Next flight: QF951 from Brisbane to Canberra 6:10am to 8:00am
Status: a little late
Like a number of Australian cities I'd visited Brisbane for business a number of times before enjoying it as a tourist. It's amazing what a contrast the business/tourist experience is. Brisbane is a great city and unfortunately we only have +/- 45 minutes in the airport this morning.
I should mention that the beer selection in the Australian state with the best year-round drinking weather is not enticing. It's a very parochial state and I think that's led to a conformist mentality when it comes to imbibing the amber. As some people say, Queenslanders wouldn't know what the xxxx a good beer was. There are some great pubs though - Story Bridge and Breakfast Creek are two of my favourites.
Next stop, the nation's capital, Canberra.
QF951 is one of the most reliably on time flights in Australia.
We did a points upgrade to business class for this flight and there's a chance we'll be rubbing shoulders with politicians making their way back to Canberra. I'll let you know next post. Hopefully they donate :) Stay tuned.
Brisbane beer: Crownie - no xxxx at cavu!!!
Brisbane photo:
Next flight: QF951 from Brisbane to Canberra 6:10am to 8:00am
Status: a little late
Like a number of Australian cities I'd visited Brisbane for business a number of times before enjoying it as a tourist. It's amazing what a contrast the business/tourist experience is. Brisbane is a great city and unfortunately we only have +/- 45 minutes in the airport this morning.
I should mention that the beer selection in the Australian state with the best year-round drinking weather is not enticing. It's a very parochial state and I think that's led to a conformist mentality when it comes to imbibing the amber. As some people say, Queenslanders wouldn't know what the xxxx a good beer was. There are some great pubs though - Story Bridge and Breakfast Creek are two of my favourites.
Next stop, the nation's capital, Canberra.
QF951 is one of the most reliably on time flights in Australia.
We did a points upgrade to business class for this flight and there's a chance we'll be rubbing shoulders with politicians making their way back to Canberra. I'll let you know next post. Hopefully they donate :) Stay tuned.
Brisbane beer: Crownie - no xxxx at cavu!!!
Brisbane photo:
Darwin, Charles Darwin
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Next flight: DJ446 from Darwin to Brisbane 1:15am to 5:25am
Status: Looking good, the aircraft was early into Brisbane.
Our 36 hours in Darwin didn't quite go to plan, missing out on our WWII tour. Next time.
Thanks to the A and the W in AWO and Anne Marie for the donations $6,000 smashed now!!!
This flight leads us into one of our tightest connections plus we're changing airlines in Brisbane. Unfortunately we had a really tight connection international/domestic earlier this month and I didn't get a chance to run reconnaissance for the beer location.
Darwin beer: fat yak
Darwin photo:
Next flight: DJ446 from Darwin to Brisbane 1:15am to 5:25am
Status: Looking good, the aircraft was early into Brisbane.
Our 36 hours in Darwin didn't quite go to plan, missing out on our WWII tour. Next time.
Thanks to the A and the W in AWO and Anne Marie for the donations $6,000 smashed now!!!
This flight leads us into one of our tightest connections plus we're changing airlines in Brisbane. Unfortunately we had a really tight connection international/domestic earlier this month and I didn't get a chance to run reconnaissance for the beer location.
Darwin beer: fat yak
Darwin photo:
28 April 2013
What are the odds?
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Thank you Lauren for you very generous donation. And thanks everyone for spreading the word - the blog hits have been going through the roof in the last 24-48 hours.
I've been tracking the on-time performance of our flights for almost 6 weeks and it's certainly sent the pulse racing on more than one occasion.
As of Friday, here's the stats regarding the on time performance.
8 out of the 38 days I have tracked have had a material flight delay. Yup, that means we would have been stranded had the mission been on one of those days.
1 out of the 5 Mondays within that period has also had a material delay - we would have been stranded in Brisbane.
So, this is a risky mission. There's a decent chance we won't be able to complete it as planned. That adds to the excitement. The biggest risks are the first and third flights.
And here's the flight schedule:
Thank you Lauren for you very generous donation. And thanks everyone for spreading the word - the blog hits have been going through the roof in the last 24-48 hours.
I've been tracking the on-time performance of our flights for almost 6 weeks and it's certainly sent the pulse racing on more than one occasion.
As of Friday, here's the stats regarding the on time performance.
8 out of the 38 days I have tracked have had a material flight delay. Yup, that means we would have been stranded had the mission been on one of those days.
1 out of the 5 Mondays within that period has also had a material delay - we would have been stranded in Brisbane.
So, this is a risky mission. There's a decent chance we won't be able to complete it as planned. That adds to the excitement. The biggest risks are the first and third flights.
And here's the flight schedule:
| Date | Flight | Depart | Arrive | Take off | Land |
| 29/04/2013 | DJ446 | DRW | BNE | 0115 | 0525 |
| 29/04/2013 | QF951 | BNE | CBR | 0610 | 0800 |
| 29/04/2013 | QF704 | CBR | SYD | 0955 | 1045 |
| 29/04/2013 | QF429 | SYD | MEL | 1130 | 1305 |
| 29/04/2013 | QF689 | MEL | ADL | 1540 | 1630 |
| 29/04/2013 | QF595 | ADL | PER | 1715 | 1905 |
| 30/04/2013 | QF648 | PER | MEL | 0035 | 0615 |
| 30/04/2013 | QF1011 | MEL | HBA | 0700 | 0815 |
| 30/04/2013 | QF1012 | HBA | MEL | 0855 | 1010 |
| 30/04/2013 | QF683 | MEL | ADL | 1210 | 1300 |
No tour for you
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Thank you Shane for your donation - I still won't be able to bring any barra back for you.
We were meant to do a tour this morning and arrived at the designated pick up point ahead of time.
We have travelled extensively and realise that tour times aren't always as written. Apart from in Japan - they mean it. So we waited a while, figuring they may be delayed in other pick ups, but no.
No answer on the phone either. But they had an office up the street that was open early and we confirmed that we would miss out :(
It got us up early after our doof-doof interrupted night - there's obviously a club very close to the hotel.
Anyway, we went for a walk after our non-tour. Jo likes the heat in about the opposite way to me. I love it. So she shut me down pretty quick when I suggested that we should spend 6 months a year here when we retire.
After a quick bite for lunch we'll attempt to get some sleep and get moving again around 10pm and head to the airport around midnight.
Thank you Shane for your donation - I still won't be able to bring any barra back for you.
We were meant to do a tour this morning and arrived at the designated pick up point ahead of time.
We have travelled extensively and realise that tour times aren't always as written. Apart from in Japan - they mean it. So we waited a while, figuring they may be delayed in other pick ups, but no.
No answer on the phone either. But they had an office up the street that was open early and we confirmed that we would miss out :(
It got us up early after our doof-doof interrupted night - there's obviously a club very close to the hotel.
Anyway, we went for a walk after our non-tour. Jo likes the heat in about the opposite way to me. I love it. So she shut me down pretty quick when I suggested that we should spend 6 months a year here when we retire.
After a quick bite for lunch we'll attempt to get some sleep and get moving again around 10pm and head to the airport around midnight.
27 April 2013
Mini bar Darwin style
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Thanks to Ally & Adrian and Simone for your donations.
I just thought if check out the mini bar. I may only have one beer tonight.
Thanks to Ally & Adrian and Simone for your donations.
I just thought if check out the mini bar. I may only have one beer tonight.
Crawl Intentions
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Thanks to Ed and Al for their donations this morning. I consulted with my mission director this morning and decided it was best to up the target to help PLA even more.
One thing that I haven't mentioned on here is that I have applied to Guinness world records to see if this little trip is worthy of record status.
They have a service level of 4-6 weeks and I applied 5 weeks ago. They do have a fast track service for £400, I think.
Unfortunately they haven't got back to me which is cool. I didn't want to pay the fee and it's still within their service level.
Anyway, I am going to have to ensure I adequately document and verify the trip. I am not quite sure what they're after so I'll have a crack nonetheless.
I'll start a stop watch at the point of my beer in Darwin and stop it after downing a beer in Perth. There are a number of apps and websites that can verify flights etc. the catch will be verifying that I am on them.
In each airport I aim to get a photo next to something with a date on it. Whether that is a departure/arrival board or a newspaper. Ideally I'll be posting the photo before we depart. I think that should do it.
We are travelling with a Nikon slr and iPhones for the pictures.
We are using the iPhone's passbook app for our boarding passes so we'll chuck screen grabs of those up as well as maps showing our current location. Some transits are tight so the posts may not happen until we're on board the next flight...
Most, if not all, of these posts will be via the iPhone so there will be typos etc.
Thanks to Ed and Al for their donations this morning. I consulted with my mission director this morning and decided it was best to up the target to help PLA even more.
One thing that I haven't mentioned on here is that I have applied to Guinness world records to see if this little trip is worthy of record status.
They have a service level of 4-6 weeks and I applied 5 weeks ago. They do have a fast track service for £400, I think.
Unfortunately they haven't got back to me which is cool. I didn't want to pay the fee and it's still within their service level.
Anyway, I am going to have to ensure I adequately document and verify the trip. I am not quite sure what they're after so I'll have a crack nonetheless.
I'll start a stop watch at the point of my beer in Darwin and stop it after downing a beer in Perth. There are a number of apps and websites that can verify flights etc. the catch will be verifying that I am on them.
In each airport I aim to get a photo next to something with a date on it. Whether that is a departure/arrival board or a newspaper. Ideally I'll be posting the photo before we depart. I think that should do it.
We are travelling with a Nikon slr and iPhones for the pictures.
We are using the iPhone's passbook app for our boarding passes so we'll chuck screen grabs of those up as well as maps showing our current location. Some transits are tight so the posts may not happen until we're on board the next flight...
Most, if not all, of these posts will be via the iPhone so there will be typos etc.
Here we come Australia
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
We can now reveal the mysterious 'He who walks silently in the night' who bumped us over the $5,000 - thank you Matt of The Support House.
After months of planning we're finally set to roll, with our first flight to Darwin this morning. If you've only started following the mission here's a little collection of some tidbits from previous posts:
The whiteboard animation:
The interview:
The most popular post (click on photo):
We can now reveal the mysterious 'He who walks silently in the night' who bumped us over the $5,000 - thank you Matt of The Support House.
After months of planning we're finally set to roll, with our first flight to Darwin this morning. If you've only started following the mission here's a little collection of some tidbits from previous posts:
The whiteboard animation:
The interview:
The most popular post (click on photo):
And a real interview which demonstrates clearly why I favoured the CGI version:
26 April 2013
Thank you all! We've smashed the $5k!
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Thanks to everyone for their donations - I know it's a tough time for some of you so I am really overwhelmed by your generosity.
And a special thanks to those that have donated since the last shout out - Jess, The Batten's, Dina, Megan & Liam, Bryan and He who walks silently in the night... And I thought he did his walks in the mornings...
And a special thanks to those I've never met! And to those from outside Australia. After Australia and the US, Germany is the most frequent visitor to this blog and I have no idea why - danke!
Here's the up to the minute supporters list.
Thanks to everyone for their donations - I know it's a tough time for some of you so I am really overwhelmed by your generosity.
And a special thanks to those that have donated since the last shout out - Jess, The Batten's, Dina, Megan & Liam, Bryan and He who walks silently in the night... And I thought he did his walks in the mornings...
And a special thanks to those I've never met! And to those from outside Australia. After Australia and the US, Germany is the most frequent visitor to this blog and I have no idea why - danke!
Here's the up to the minute supporters list.
| He who walks silently in the night... | 26 Apr 13 | $200.00 AUD | I have no more to say - you are Legends! |
| Bryan McIntyre | 26 Apr 13 | $30.00 AUD | You're crazy Jack Black - good luck |
| Megan and Liam | 26 Apr 13 | $40.00 AUD | Here's $1 for every year you've been on this earth! Happy Birthday!! |
| Dina | 26 Apr 13 | $50.00 AUD | Happy Birthday and Cheers |
| The Batten's | 26 Apr 13 | $20.00 AUD | Thank you Jo for your past support xxx |
| Jess Willoughby | 26 Apr 13 | $10.00 AUD | Good Luck. Want 2 donate more but this was the last $10 in my account til next week |
| Mauro (Jamie's mate) | 24 Apr 13 | $20.00 AUD | Good luck, all the best |
| Jamie Roberts | 24 Apr 13 | $200.00 AUD | Happy Birthday Ben, Have a beer for me too mate!!! Well Done. |
| John K | 23 Apr 13 | $91.00 AUD | Thanks for all the support you've shown this cause, have a great day! |
| SYDNEY | 23 Apr 13 | $100.00 AUD | BESTOF LUCK |
| Progressive Business Technologies | 23 Apr 13 | $300.00 AUD | What a great way to spend a birthday! Have a good one and best of luck! |
| The Parto's | 23 Apr 13 | $50.00 AUD | Good work Ben and luv your birthday photo, place looks familiar! :-) |
| Harcourts Gawler | 22 Apr 13 | $300.00 AUD | Harcourts Gawler supports Pregnancy Loss Australia |
| Andy | 16 Apr 13 | $50.00 AUD | Ben you're an idiot but I like idiots! Next challenge is to do similar in another continent. |
| Tony Sheehan | 16 Apr 13 | $100.00 AUD | Is it a rule that you have to drink the local brew in each state? Extra kudos for drinking anything from WA. |
| Tara Ryan | 15 Apr 13 | $50.00 AUD | Good luck Ben! |
| Mez Piggott | 15 Apr 13 | $50.00 AUD | Ben see you in Perth for a Wine - I don't drink beer !!!! |
| Groupsupport | 15 Apr 13 | $100.00 AUD | 2 wks to go Ben you'll have to up your training to Match Fit. |
| Shadi & Riehana | 14 Apr 13 | $30.00 AUD | Good Luck Ben, great cause and looking forward to having a glass of milk with ya. I dont like the sound of you flying under the influence FUI. :) |
| Sybiz staff | 11 Apr 13 | $200.00 AUD | From all the staff at Sybiz - go fly away! |
| Marilyn | 11 Apr 13 | $50.00 AUD | Good luck Ben |
| Bec | 09 Apr 13 | $30.00 AUD | Good luck Ben! |
| Jobie 1 | 09 Apr 13 | $20.00 AUD | $1500 to go! |
| bt :0) | 06 Apr 13 | $30.00 AUD | Gotta crawl before you walk! Happy 40th! xo |
| Deepak | 25 Mar 13 | $100.00 AUD | Good luck !! Not sure what happens when they don't serve coopers? |
| Robyn | 18 Mar 13 | $80.00 AUD | Intrigued about the training regime involved here.... Hope to join you in either Sydney or Melbourne for a beer. Donating $10 for each city to help you achieve your goal. |
| Random CGI Woman | 16 Mar 13 | $20.00 AUD | Drink responsibly Ben |
| Debbie | 16 Mar 13 | $50.00 AUD | Great idea, great cause |
| Usage Business Solutions | 13 Mar 13 | $200.00 AUD | go big Ben O, cheers for your effort and all the best for the 40! |
| L Onaprayer | 12 Mar 13 | $149.00 AUD | Oh, we're half way there |
| Nat & Jorge | 10 Mar 13 | $40.00 AUD | Enjoy! |
| Sue & Graham | 05 Mar 13 | $50.00 AUD | |
| Visionaries | 04 Mar 13 | $200.00 AUD | Great fun and a great cause |
| Bulldog | 02 Mar 13 | $200.00 AUD | Apparently you get two heads on your beer in Tassie |
| Bethany & Amelie | 01 Mar 13 | $30.00 AUD | We think you're funny Ben |
| Alphabiz | 23 Feb 13 | $100.00 AUD | Have a great time Ben |
| Mags and Peter | 23 Feb 13 | $100.00 AUD | Enjoy Ben |
| Emma, Sarah & Mega Tron | 21 Feb 13 | $50.00 AUD | Good luck!!!!! |
| Marlene & Mal | 20 Feb 13 | $50.00 AUD | |
| Chappy, from 'Iron Eagle' | 18 Feb 13 | $30.00 AUD | You can do it! |
| Eponymous | 11 Feb 13 | $131.00 AUD | Crack the grand! |
| Jane | 08 Feb 13 | $30.00 AUD | Great idea Ben! Have a beer for me :) |
| Dom & Josh xx | 18 Jan 13 | $30.00 AUD | Nice one Ben, all the best for your adventure :) |
| KK | 24 Dec 12 | $50.00 AUD | Merry Christmas |
| Phil Graham | 20 Nov 12 | $30.00 AUD | springs, steel springs... |
| Kristin | 18 Nov 12 | $30.00 AUD | Thanks, Ben :) in loving memory of my son, Jaxon |
| Ellen | 13 Nov 12 | $50.00 AUD | Good on ya Ben - great cause! |
| John K | 12 Nov 12 | $100.00 AUD | Good luck, make it a local one at each port! |
| Kylee | 10 Nov 12 | $50.00 AUD | Love it!!! Hope you have a great day and raise a heap x |
| Jo x | 10 Nov 12 | $164.00 AUD | Getting you 1/8 of the way baby! |
| Matt, Emma, Molly & Lucas xxx | 09 Nov 12 | $100.00 AUD | You can do iiiiit! Great cause, great achievement (reaching 40!) x |
| Ally | 09 Nov 12 | $50.00 AUD | You go, Boy |
| Jen | 09 Nov 12 | $36.00 AUD | how could I not donate given the selfless way you will be spending your 40th? |
| Jane and Rob xx | 09 Nov 12 | $100.00 AUD | Good luck, Ben! See you for a beer in Melbourne |
| Tori | 08 Nov 12 | $50.00 AUD | Really proud to support you with this Ben. xx |
BAC of beyond
Raising money for Pregnancy Loss Australia - please donate through Everyday Hero
Thank you to Jamie, Veronica & Chris, Michelle, SPIL, Grant, and Mum for your ANZAC day donations we're now at $4,800!
I admit that my mission doesn't involve the most responsible example of the consumption of alcohol. I have a routine doctors appointment about 2 weeks after the mission - the 40 year, 120 point safety check - so I hope my doctor isn't following my blog.
In any case, on day one we are visiting 7 cities over a 19+ hour duration.
I was intrigued as to the BAC reading after 7 beers over 19ish hours and the answer is 0.00%. Maybe it is okay if my doctor is reading this.
A few people have been asking whether we're leaving the airports and going to pubs. Unfortunately we just won't have time and/or don't want to risk it. With the exception being Perth at the end of day 1. We hope to be on schedule so we can escape and meet up with some friends for a meal.
I guess the other constraint is public perception... Airports are one of the only places where it's not frowned upon to be having a drink early in the day. I think people just assume that those that are drinking in the a.m. have obviously flown in from somewhere exotic with a diametrically opposed time zone. So whilst we may have enough time to escape the airport in Canberra I think it's best to avoid the social stigma and stay put.
I've also been asked why we are starting in Darwin. There are two reasons, the first is that we needed to start at an airport with a generous or non-existent curfew. That restricts it to Darwin, Perth and Melbourne. Darwin was the only one of those three in which it was possible to originally complete the mission.
Well the alarm is set for tomorrow morning and the taxi is booked so hopefully flight 1 of 11 is uneventful.
Thanks again for your support, if you have subscribed to the blog there appears to be a delay in the feed so you may wish to bookmark the blog for the next few days to track our progress.
Thank you to Jamie, Veronica & Chris, Michelle, SPIL, Grant, and Mum for your ANZAC day donations we're now at $4,800!
I admit that my mission doesn't involve the most responsible example of the consumption of alcohol. I have a routine doctors appointment about 2 weeks after the mission - the 40 year, 120 point safety check - so I hope my doctor isn't following my blog.
In any case, on day one we are visiting 7 cities over a 19+ hour duration.
I was intrigued as to the BAC reading after 7 beers over 19ish hours and the answer is 0.00%. Maybe it is okay if my doctor is reading this.
A few people have been asking whether we're leaving the airports and going to pubs. Unfortunately we just won't have time and/or don't want to risk it. With the exception being Perth at the end of day 1. We hope to be on schedule so we can escape and meet up with some friends for a meal.
I guess the other constraint is public perception... Airports are one of the only places where it's not frowned upon to be having a drink early in the day. I think people just assume that those that are drinking in the a.m. have obviously flown in from somewhere exotic with a diametrically opposed time zone. So whilst we may have enough time to escape the airport in Canberra I think it's best to avoid the social stigma and stay put.
I've also been asked why we are starting in Darwin. There are two reasons, the first is that we needed to start at an airport with a generous or non-existent curfew. That restricts it to Darwin, Perth and Melbourne. Darwin was the only one of those three in which it was possible to originally complete the mission.
Well the alarm is set for tomorrow morning and the taxi is booked so hopefully flight 1 of 11 is uneventful.
Thanks again for your support, if you have subscribed to the blog there appears to be a delay in the feed so you may wish to bookmark the blog for the next few days to track our progress.
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