I may have commented before about the way Australian airports operate. Fair dinkum, mate would certainly apply to their smooth and occasionally slightly eccentric operation. Today is not the day for sightseeing and it is not the day for walking anywhere either. The rain is sheeting down, though it's still 'bloody hot mate'.
Alice Springs airport is not the largest in Australia and one or two things are missing, covered walkways all the way to the door of the plane being one of them. So at the gate Qantas issue each passenger with a large red and white umbrella and an odd little line of red and white domes snakes out across the tarmac to climb up the steps to the aircraft door, where the cabin staff retrieve the umbrella and drop it down to be recycled for the next passenger snake.
But it all works efficiently in common with everything else at the airport. The check-in queue disappears in seconds because they open more desks. Clearing security is quick, because there are enough staff and x-ray machines. It has yet to take more than about ten minutes from drop-off at the terminal to airside lounge at any of our stops. What they are doing looks the same as we do at home. Why our UK, European and American airports are all so bloody miserable to get through, God alone knows.
Although it is sheeting down with rain, we hear the same comment about Ayers Rock. How lucky we are to have the chance to see it when it's raining! I didn't feel lucky in India when on the only day we had to visit the Taj Mahal it was bucketing down. My photos are apparently very rare - the Taj Mahal on a miserable day with water running off the dome. Great, but I didn't think it was that much fun. However, by all accounts Ayers Rock after rain goes an amazing colour and has waterfalls running down it's sides. I'm not convinced. I suspect we're being humoured by our Aussie hosts who don't want us to feel disappointed. Well we have today, tomorrow and the next day to catch it looking spectacular, so fingers crossed.
Right now it's time to grab a Qantas brolly and head off across the runway to find a plane.
Alice Springs airport is not the largest in Australia and one or two things are missing, covered walkways all the way to the door of the plane being one of them. So at the gate Qantas issue each passenger with a large red and white umbrella and an odd little line of red and white domes snakes out across the tarmac to climb up the steps to the aircraft door, where the cabin staff retrieve the umbrella and drop it down to be recycled for the next passenger snake.
But it all works efficiently in common with everything else at the airport. The check-in queue disappears in seconds because they open more desks. Clearing security is quick, because there are enough staff and x-ray machines. It has yet to take more than about ten minutes from drop-off at the terminal to airside lounge at any of our stops. What they are doing looks the same as we do at home. Why our UK, European and American airports are all so bloody miserable to get through, God alone knows.
Although it is sheeting down with rain, we hear the same comment about Ayers Rock. How lucky we are to have the chance to see it when it's raining! I didn't feel lucky in India when on the only day we had to visit the Taj Mahal it was bucketing down. My photos are apparently very rare - the Taj Mahal on a miserable day with water running off the dome. Great, but I didn't think it was that much fun. However, by all accounts Ayers Rock after rain goes an amazing colour and has waterfalls running down it's sides. I'm not convinced. I suspect we're being humoured by our Aussie hosts who don't want us to feel disappointed. Well we have today, tomorrow and the next day to catch it looking spectacular, so fingers crossed.
Right now it's time to grab a Qantas brolly and head off across the runway to find a plane.
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