Travelling south

Months ago Majella booked Matt, our son-in-law and professional painter, to paint most of the interior of our house while we are away. That plan would avoid the painters and us having to work around each other, a win for both. However, it required us to declutter in preparation. Over the past few weeks we have removed everything hanging on walls and emptied most furniture pieces that will need to be moved. Some stuff has been given away and the rest is stored in the garage and a couple of rooms that will not be painted this time. When we return to our freshly painted house we will need to restore order.

Before we left this morning we moved a last few things out of the way. On the way out of town we dropped keys for Matt and then headed for the airport in Brisbane.

Our driving went smoothly. Traffic into Brisbane seemed lighter than usual; 50c public transport must be having the desired effect. By 9 am we had parked, shuttled to the airport, and were checking in. We relaxed in the Qantas Club until it was time to board around 10:30 am.

It had been overcast this morning and when we went to board the tarmac was wet from rain. We took off into mist but soon rose above the clouds as we headed south and west.

Our flight went well until, soon after we reached South Australia, the pilot advised that Adelaide had been foggy this morning but might be clear by the time we arrived 10 minutes ahead of schedule. A few minutes later he announced that it had not cleared and we were turning back to land at Mildura to refuel. Fortunately I had not booked a later flight and the delay would just mean a shorter wait in Adelaide.

It was after 3 pm when we finally departed Mildura. A change in time zones meant that the 30 minute flight to Adelaide took zero time on the clock. That was just as well because we had another flight to catch and having booked that separately some weeks after the first required us to collect bags, drop them, and go through security again.

Adelaide airport was clear of fog when we landed but we could see a thick bank of fog still lying on the sea, not far from the airport. We were relieved when soon after I turned on my phone I had a message from Qantas informing that our next flight was pushed back 50 minutes. That left us ample time to collect our bags, checkin, drop them, pass security, and relax a while in the Qantas Club.

We walked to the gate to be ready for boarding at 4:30 pm but that was pushed back another 10 minutes. It was a little after 5:20 pm when we finally left Adelaide heading south toward Kangaroo Island. There was still fog on the water below us but the sun was setting in the west with a display of colour.

Our flight to Kangaroo Island was short but the wait for our luggage was long. Fortunately we were able to sort out our rental car while waiting for bags and were away quickly once we had them.

Majella drove us into town where, after missing it on our first pass, we found our apartment and gained entry with the key from the box. After dropping our bags we walked the short distance to Drakes to pick up supplies for breakfast and then settled for the evening. We had both had enough snacks along the way to need no dinner.