restoration

I am about to have 16 Christmas Eve’s in a row, each day notching up my levels of hyper excitement one step further.  On 31st October, scheduled at 7.15pm, I will be on board a BA flight to London Heathrow.  My long-dreamed of Australian expedition will have begun.  Following an overnight at one of the hotels near Heathrow, I will board Singapore Airlines flight 317, bound for Melbourne after a brief stop in Singapore.

Since I started university in 1993, I have enjoyed approximately 3 weeks in total of what could properly be described as holiday.  For all but three calendar years since my first trip in 1997 (1998, 2000, 2004), I have made a trip to East Africa, following my heart (and my Lord’s desire) to get know the people, the culture, the land and the faith of that region.  Yes, the odd short safari has snuck into my schedule, but holiday in the classic sense, it is not.

When I returned from my last trip, in September 2007, I strongly felt that 2008 was to be a fallow year in my African adventures.  A chance to recoup and recharge, with a view to potentially taking my parents out to Uganda in 2009, though that is now unlikely.  Of course, I wasn’t to know that this year was to be so professionally challenging and, in retrospect, I realise that (1) there is no way I could have devoted enough energy to planning an Africa trip, and (2) that a month in the Australian sunshine would be exactly what I needed when November comes around.

After booking my flights at Easter, I did neglect my preparations somewhat, only beginning to get properly organised recently.  A plethora of internal travel has been sorted, as well as a nice hotel for the first stop of my trip in Melbourne – despite the trouble with not realising that the Melbourne Cup would be on at the same time.

From my arrival in Melbourne on the evening of 2nd November, where Ian will be joining me, I will go onto see my old friends David & Jennifer Read and their five children in Wagga Wagga for a couple of nights.  I haven’t seen them since 1990, when they left Edinburgh holding tightly to newborn, first son James.  Then its onto Sydney and, I think, Ian’s house-sitting place on the beach.

Sydney will possibly lead to Newcastle, where Stuart (a friend I went to school with) and his partner Brad are now located.  But that’s all a bit confusing at the moment, because I’ve actually got a flight booked from Sydney to Brisbane on the 15th.  And Brisbane = a short but loud bundle of Aussie fun.  Otherwise known as Natasha.  Then it’s up the coast to Townsville to see Anne & Bernie, and finally onto to Cairns where Jaq and her brood now reside.  This last stop is a very pleasant surprise, facilitated by their move from Perth earlier this year!

So, that’s what a year of anticipation will lead to.  I may take a few photos, so prepare to be bored rigid by them at some stage.  My hope is to write as I go around, but that depends on whether I can actually figure out availability of the Aussie wi-fi system.