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...