Heading to Hobart

Finally, back to the airport

A short ride from home, we made it to the Qantas domestic terminal at Perth airport in good time. Not that we needed to worry. A bag drop. A fast transfer through security, with no queues (a “benefit” of COVID?), and we soon had a glass of Australian sparkling wine in hand, people watching. How good are airports for this? Not the sparkling wine, although that IS good. The people watching. Find me a better place to just sit and watch humanity go about its daily business. Fascinating.

We had a 13.00 flight from gate 18 at Qantas terminal 4. I had thought that our flight to little Tasmania, one of the only places we can visit without the need to quarantine upon return, would be quiet. After seeing people in the airport with red and black scarves I quickly reassessed. Due to the pandemic, changes had been made on the mainland and now folk were heading to Tasmania for the Aussie Rules. Called the AFL, this is a weird mash up of 1970s porn star outfits and Gaelic football. Truly odd. It turns out the “Bombers”, whoever they are, play in Launceston on Sunday.

74 weeks in Western Australia

After 74 weeks in Western Australia we were finally leaving her borders. Who knew it would be so long? Way longer than we planned when we landed in March 2020 on our last minute flight from Sydney. What we hoped would be a brief hiatus to our world travel plans has turned into an extended stay in Australia’s largest state. 

We have been very fortunate to be living in Perth through the worst of the pandemic. What is now disappointing is the hard line taken by the pocket dictator, state premier Mark McGowan. Whilst the federal government is looking to a way of living with COVID, and some state premiers providing glimmers of hope to their residents once vaccination levels reach 70% to 80%, McGowan remains defiant. 

Just this week he reiterated his stance. Saying publicly that he “will not tolerate” the thought of opening WA up to the rest of Australia whilst COVID is in the community. Regardless of vaccination levels. Looking out across the world, rather than the insular Western Australia view, and seeing parts of the world living normal lives, does cause me angst and frustration. I have travel in my soul. A deeply ingrained wanderlust. Take that away and you take a piece of me away with you. I want to be whole again and I am not sure how long I can resist the lure of foreign lands.

Masked up, and not

Masks are mandatory in the airport and for the full length of your flight. We were grateful for the wine in the airport, giving us a brief respite from the uncomfortable, annoying feeling of wearing a mask. Being able to only remove them to eat and drink, on the plane never had I taken so long over a tiny pasta dish and a glass of, too chilled, Merlot. Not wanting to return to the confines of the mask I had a second cold mini bottle of red. 

Still being winter, and seeing that the temperatures in Tasmania were markedly lower than those we had been having in Perth, a bit more wine won’t do me any harm. It should add an extra layer of insulation for when we get to Hobart.

Wheels down in Hobart

The flight was scheduled for over 3 hours and we had wheels down in Hobart, Tasmania at 6.41pm, some two hours ahead of Australian Western Standard Time. Back on the same time zone we had whilst living in Sydney, this could play havoc with the timings of the Premier League games we want to watch. 

Hobart is the capital of Tasmania and whilst we had visited before, for a long weekend, we had never ventured further. This time will be different. After two nights in the capital city we will pick up a car and go on a road trip for just over a week. We have many wineries and whisky distilleries on our itinerary. For those in the know, I am told Tasmania is a foodies paradise. We should be able to keep ourselves entertained then as we have been know to like a bit of food and wine. And, I am partial to the odd drop of whisky.

One whisky tasting down and I already know it is going to be a good holiday. Watch this space for updates…