Getting Ready To Go

Two hundred years ago if you wanted to go to Australia, you might just steal a pair of shoes, or pickpocket a silk handkerchief and you could be sent on a sea voyage lasting up to eight months and finishing at Botany Bay. Many examples of this can be found in court records and transcripts at the Old Bailey.

As a travel plan , though, it wasn’t ideal. You would typically have been held below decks, with your quarters being poorly ventilated, dark and damp. No private cabin either. You would instead have been sharing this space with many people you wouldn’t want to invite round for tea.

Hygiene, too, would have been a major concern with unsanitary conditions, and scurvy and dysentery being common maladies due to a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables.

All in all, then, an experience to be avoided by even the most hardened traveller.

Now, however, thanks to people like the Wright Brothers and Boeing, you have a choice of airlines offering an attractive alternative for your antipodean travel plans. The journey time is measured in hours rather than weeks and months, the food’s better, you can enjoy an alcoholic beverage while watching a film and you’re far less likely to contract a debilitating disease. Sure, there’s a cost to it, and having a criminal record might mean you’re denied entry rather than welcomed, but overall I’d say it’s an improvement.

And it’s one I’m taking advantage of,  as after having had to delay my travel plans due to covid, the fallout from it, and unexpected redundancy I was finally ready and able to plan a trip to the other side of the world. I booked the flights nearly a year ago.

I quickly discovered a wide choice of airlines who would offer to take me, with varying routes, travel times, comfort levels and fares. The route wasn’t too important to me, as at thirty-five thousand feet my surroundings and view would be much the same no matter what part of the globe I was travelling over – particularly if it was cloudy or dark. I planned to go  for a month, so a few hours difference in travel times was similarly a secondary concern. Legroom and food quality I perceived as being much the same with any long-haul operator for a similar travel class, so it came down to cost. And this varied widely.

I ended up booking my flights through Flight House UK, flying the major part of the route with Qatar Airwaysand the last leg with Jetstar, a subsidiary of Quantas. Flight times approximately seven, ten and four and a half hours, with stopovers in Doha and Bali of three and six hours. Total journey time then of approximately thirty hours, with just over twenty-one hours spent in the air. It could have been done in less time for five hundred pounds more, but I can amuse myself in Denpasar airport for six hours and keep my money for the holiday.

Having sorted out how to arrive at the Australian border, the next step was to ensure they’d let me in. I discovered I’d need a eVisitor (subclass 651) visa, and this was quickly and easily obtained online from the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. It’s free of charge and allows multiple entries in a twelve-month period, for up to three months at a time. You need to be tuberculosis free and have no criminal convictions, which means most of us are eligible. The recently jailed rioters will be excluded from entering the country when they’re once again able to travel, and it’s hard to argue with that decision.

As this will be my first long haul flight I began to wonder about a dress code. Not for reasons of appearance or etiquette, but more from a wish to be comfortable and fresh- smelling, not only for myself but also for my fellow travellers, who I hope will reciprocate. The internet offered a number of suggestions, but I consider myself too old for trackie bottoms and too young for elasticated waistbands. I’m therefore going with comfortable jeans and a t-shirt, with a denim jacket which can be easily folded into my cabin baggage should it become surplus to requirements as we venture into warmer climes.

My cabin bag can then hold clean undies, socks, shorts, t-shirt and sandals ready for a quick wash and change en route. Or I can look for a shower before changing into clothes and footwear more suited as the temperature rises. I should arrive in Cairns airport at 6am so want to be comfortable as the day hots up.

On this subject of personal hygiene, one thing to watch is the toiletries you want to take in your cabin bag, as the rules have changed and changed again this year. Currently you may carry liquids, gels, pastes and aerosols in containers up to 100ml (3.4oz) in your hand baggage. Containers larger than 100ml cannot be accepted even if only partly filled. Your containers should be carried in a transparent, resealable, quart- or litre-sized bag no larger than 20x20cm (8x8in). All items need to fit comfortably in the plastic bag so that it can be sealed. Airport security will ask you to produce your transparent bag of liquids separately for screening.  There’s always the option of  solid body wash and shampoo bars if you’re running out of room for liquid essentials.

I did hear a story about someone who had no need to carry any liquids in their cabin baggage, so bought ten 100ml bottles and filled them with spirits   instead, thereby increasing what booze they were able to bring through by having it under the radar. It may just be an urban myth, but in any event Border Force officials are unlikely to be impressed with your ingenuity should you get caught.                                                                                                                                    

There are no restrictions on baby foods and medication. However, you may be required to present a prescription for medication you want to take on board, and in my case will also have to declare it  to Australian Border Force on arrival As I order my prescriptions via the NHS app this information is on my phone which makes life easier.

Getting to the airport is sorted. I’ve been able to book one of the staff car parks for the month at no cost, and I’ll just leave my car there and use the free staff bus to Terminal One. The customer car park next to it would cost around two hundred pounds for the same facility so it’s a useful perk. The bus runs every fifteen minutes, and Terminal Two is just a few minutes undercover walk from where I’ll get dropped.

As it’s a special trip I’ve booked into the Escape Lounge at Terminal Two. I can go in and relax up to three hours before the flight, and get free WIFI, charging points and complimentary food and drink including beer and fizz. My staff discount will only enhance a great start to my journey, and it’ll be good to get refreshments without having to consider the cost. It’s also more of a space to relax than the general departure lounge.

I nipped into a local charity shop yesterday and picked up a Daniel Hechter cabin bag and an Antler small briefcase stroke laptop bag for the journey. Both are in good condition, and only ten pounds for the pair. Result!

I didn’t originally reserve my seats on any of the flights and have had various thoughts around what to do. I’d just about decided to book a window seat on the longer legs when I spoke to Kerry and Conor in Australia, who’ve made the journey a number of times. Their suggestion was to book an aisle seat in the middle row of seats. The reasoning behind it is that you can stand and stretch your legs when you want without having to climb over other people, and the passenger next to you could well know the person sitting on the other side so will be more likely to disturb them when they want to move. Even if they’re not together it still gives me a fifty percent chance of not being disturbed or woken up. Makes sense, so I’ve now booked seats accordingly. I didn’t go for extra legroom (at extra cost) as I’ve been advised I won’t need it

As well as offering suggestions Kerry and Conor have also sorted out transport for me. I’ll have the use of Conor’s Triumph Bonneville, and a Triumph Speed Triple a mate is lending us while I’m there. For any non-biker readers that translates as ‘good’, or ‘bonzer’ in the local vernacular. A helmet, riding jeans and jacket are also being provided, so I just need my Doc Martens which I’ll be wearing to travel in, and my gloves. A car will also be available for me to drive, although with a bike, sunny weather and dry roads on tap it may not be necessary!

That, I think, is everything sorted except the packing and a new pair of shorts. There’s definitely a lot more thought and expense gone into this compared with those journeys two hundred years ago, but there’s also, I’m sure, much greater excitement and anticipation.

My next post will take a look at exactly where I’m going to be travelling to, so keep checking back to get the full background before the adventure begins.