The joys of internal air travel Aussie style
Internal air travel in Australia is blissfully easy. A 20 minute cab ride from our hotel to the domestic terminal at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport to check in 45 minutes before departure is drama-free. So is clearing security; we do not have to remove shoes or belts or coins or false teeth or any other prosthetics. We do not have to surrender or consume all liquids. Relaxed common sense seems to be the order of the day. By comparison, domestic flying in the UK is torture!
We just have time for a quick browse round the shops and time to extend our hat collection by one each and it's off to the departure gate where our fellow passengers are concentrated round a TV screen. This really is a sport-mad nation. We had cable channels in our apartment devoted to rugby, soccer, Aussie rules football, basketball and of course cricket. Here at the airport as in almost every bar in the city, it's the winter olympics that seeems to be gripping the populace. Will the Aussies or won't they win a winter sports gold? This is the question that grips the nation. They certainly shouldn't. This country doesn't have any concept of winter. The English understand winter. They know it means months and months of cold damp grey ghastly weather. Here the winter temperature barely touches 15c. If you want snow here, you need to find a very high mountain. All we've seen so far is uninterrupted sunshine and blue skies.
As we climb to our cruising altitude on the short flight to Adelaide, we spot that most rare and elusive sights in Australia.........a cloud!
We are also getting our first taste of airline food Qantas style. The Muse has ordered the vegetarian quiche despite my previous experience with a dish that carried a similar name; remember the Portuguese sausage quiche? Clearly the Muse did not and it is with great sadness that I will have to report the premature and utimely demise of my travelling companion, for I fear she has chosen......poorly!
My ham salad on the other hand was the nearest thing to actual food that has appeared on our various flights. It was perfectly edible, before that is I put the dressing on it. This was a 'Birch and Waite' creation supplied as balsamic vinaigrette. The small package bore a 'best before' date. This dressing, however, wasn't best before anything except perhaps root canal surgery as its only effect was to numb my tastebuds thus ensuring that once again everything on the refreshment tray was tasteless. Well done Birch and Waite -perhaps a little less acidity next time eh!
Before we know it, we've landed at Adelaide. Another stunningly efficient airport. Within seconds of the plane reaching its gate, we've disembarked and are waiting at the luggage carousel. Precisely 20 minutes after touchdown we are checking our luggage in for our short hop to today's final destination. They sure know how to run their airports over here.
We just have time for a quick browse round the shops and time to extend our hat collection by one each and it's off to the departure gate where our fellow passengers are concentrated round a TV screen. This really is a sport-mad nation. We had cable channels in our apartment devoted to rugby, soccer, Aussie rules football, basketball and of course cricket. Here at the airport as in almost every bar in the city, it's the winter olympics that seeems to be gripping the populace. Will the Aussies or won't they win a winter sports gold? This is the question that grips the nation. They certainly shouldn't. This country doesn't have any concept of winter. The English understand winter. They know it means months and months of cold damp grey ghastly weather. Here the winter temperature barely touches 15c. If you want snow here, you need to find a very high mountain. All we've seen so far is uninterrupted sunshine and blue skies.
As we climb to our cruising altitude on the short flight to Adelaide, we spot that most rare and elusive sights in Australia.........a cloud!
We are also getting our first taste of airline food Qantas style. The Muse has ordered the vegetarian quiche despite my previous experience with a dish that carried a similar name; remember the Portuguese sausage quiche? Clearly the Muse did not and it is with great sadness that I will have to report the premature and utimely demise of my travelling companion, for I fear she has chosen......poorly!
My ham salad on the other hand was the nearest thing to actual food that has appeared on our various flights. It was perfectly edible, before that is I put the dressing on it. This was a 'Birch and Waite' creation supplied as balsamic vinaigrette. The small package bore a 'best before' date. This dressing, however, wasn't best before anything except perhaps root canal surgery as its only effect was to numb my tastebuds thus ensuring that once again everything on the refreshment tray was tasteless. Well done Birch and Waite -perhaps a little less acidity next time eh!
Before we know it, we've landed at Adelaide. Another stunningly efficient airport. Within seconds of the plane reaching its gate, we've disembarked and are waiting at the luggage carousel. Precisely 20 minutes after touchdown we are checking our luggage in for our short hop to today's final destination. They sure know how to run their airports over here.
