We were up at 7 and out of the hotel by 9:00 a.m. for our
flight at 11:25. We knew exactly where to return the rental car to, so no
worries there. Promptly into the shuttle van to the airport. As we neared the
airport about 7 minutes drive away,
three lanes of traffic ground to a halt. Grunts and moans from the shuttle
driver.
“Airport’s been a zoo
these past two days.”
“Is it always like this?” I asked.
“Nope, but it’s the Superbike World Championship. Everyone
is coming in for that.”
Our hearts sank, we remembered seeing the advertising for
that when we were watching the bikes at the race track a few days earlier.
February 26 to 28. We never gave it another thought…until now!! But there was
more.
“I can’t take you to your terminal,” the driver announced.
“We are not allowed to go there, but I will try and drop you as close as
possible.”
“Is it far,” Ray asked nervously. “Yeah, it is a long way.
I’ll show you where to go. Government restriction. Many passengers get really
angry at us, but there is nothing we can do” was the response.
I fast forwarded to the security line up, and immediately
started thinking of ways we could push through in time to catch our flight.
Well, I needn’t have
worried. Being a shuttle service, we had priority and were able to beat the
queue. Then we only had to walk “a long way” with our baggage to the terminal.
But that proved to be an exaggeration. It was only about as far as from one end
of the Toronto terminal to the other. Not far at all, and when we got in there,
sanity prevailed. This was a brand new terminal for Jet Star, the Australian
equivalent of West Jet. They apparently had designed the terminal to be traveler
friendly. There were self service kiosks to check in at, an automatic bag drop that
told you the weight of your bag and confirmed it was acceptable for travel. You
immediately go through security….easy….no shoes off, no belts off, no starting
up computers, cell phones, cameras….but ……all umbrellas must be opened!! Then
when you arrive at the departure lounge you can go on a shopping spree,
including Robin’s favourite store “Desigual” with its flamboyant colours, while
you wait for the departure gate to be posted about 30 minutes before departure.
There are mollifying notices to “relax” if you look at the board before the
gate is posted!! When the gate number is posted, you head immediately through
the gate and directly on the to plane without going through a second “check”
in. Very sleek!!
The flight was short,
about an hour, smooth, and efficient, and we were on the ground in no time
waiting for our baggage. As we stood waiting amongst the melee of passengers, a
woman pounced on Ray and at the same time we both recognized Sue and Peter
Morgan from Vancouver. We knew they were coming to Tassie but thought they were
flying on the 22nd . They thought we were flying on the 22nd
so we were all incredulous at meeting up with each other! We agreed to meet for dinner and went our
separate ways to find our luggage and pick up our respective rental cars.
As we drove from the airport to the hotel, we felt we would
like Tasmania. The scenery seemed comfortable, beautiful, and welcoming. We
checked into our rental “apartment” and were very happy with what we saw. But
we didn’t stay long, long enough only to change, and then we headed off to
visit Jimmy and Clare whom we had met on our West African trip. Jimmy was one
of our tour leaders, and Clare, his then girlfriend, travelled with us as a passenger.
Their acreage is in the beautiful Tasmanian countryside, half way up a
mountain, and minutes from Hobart. As well as their own house, they have built
two “eco” pods or rental units overlooking the Derwent Estuary. It is simply
beautiful. Since we last saw them they have married, and had a beautiful little
daughter named Priya.
On the way home from their place we stopped off for some
food for dinner, breakfast, and nibbles for the Morgans whom we had invited
over for dinner the following evening.
It was evening when we got back to the flat, and I took time
to walk around and look out from the balcony. The view looks over Hobart and
the estuary, from the top of a hill in West Hobart. It is also beautiful and
the quality of the flat along with this view make it a very enjoyable place to
stay.
We enjoyed a “home” cooked dinner, a bottle of wine, and a
good night’s sleep.
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