LOCATION: Brisbane - Sydney
What's happening?
Here we go. A celebration of @Mac turning 70! I know, it is a few months early, but we are limited by the weather in Antarctica and need to go "early." Means all the hoopla and celebrations can be extended from March to May!
And, if you are travelling this far - definitely need to make the most of it. So, to get the ball rolling we’ve got two weeks in Antarctica on the cruise ship Silver Wind (Silversea line) and then four weeks as plane hopping land tour of South America taking in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.In order to stamp his authority on ownership of this celebratory trip, @Mac started the morning with a very committed rendition of "Happy Birthday " - trying to impress on me that this one is all about HIS celebration of 70. Ha ha, see how long that lasts! So many competing distractions coming up, our anniversary, my birthday and even Easter. Might be a challenge to maintain focus on @WJMac.
Have to laugh, he sang the birthday song so many times at dinner in the restaurant tonight, a guest from another table came and wished him Happy Birthday. Well at least someone is listening.
This little leg of the journey Brisbane to Sydney, was not without some lead up angst. When the first booking was made 12 months out, we had opted to tick the box that said Brisbane to Sydney at 7 am "tomorrow" - with just a 2 hour layover in Sydney before jumping on board a connecting flight to Santiago. As the months closed in, we were reading of an increasing number of delays on that first leg and called on Amanda at @Travel Associates to get us there a day earlier. The flights to Santiago are only "every other day" so if we had missed that connection - we would have missed Silver Wind’s departure.
Mind you, that now seems totally insignificant, given the woes of the world unfolding in the Northern Hemisphere around the Middle East. We have been receiving regular QANTAS and Travel Associates updates assuring us that it is all "business as usual" for our destinations.
So here we are in Sydney a day early, and we successfully met up with the other members of our travelling group. @LoRi (@Loraine and @Richard) is a familiar duo for our travel companions - and we finally get to travel with our new addition (our non starters from Africa), @DeLoy (@Deb and @Lloyd.) We are all from the volleyball fraternity in our late teens (gosh, subtract those numbers … a long time ago) but the men go way back to school friends.
In the leadup, do feel the universe has conspired to take care of us. Ticked off some incidents in the last two weeks - dead fridge, dead toaster, alarms in the hot water system and a blackout which sent the security lights a little haywire. But, thankful it all happened before we went so we could fix it!
Did survive nervous waits and close shaves with the fence replacement, the approval of a new credit card and the finalisation of UK, Morocco and Fiji travel plans. There were a few "Nervous Nelly" moments - but all items on the "To Do" list have been finalised. @AuntyGail can 100% attest to the fact that ONE of us was still packing and checking the list (and in an absolute ball of sweat) at 11.28 when departure was scheduled for 11.30. I wonder who that could be? Hmmm.
The Adventure
You guessed it .... defs not me.
All good, because we had the benefit of @AuntyGail to transport us to the domestic terminal for an early afternoon getaway. Know that we have severe luggage limits for later in the journey (Galapagos catamaran, Amazon Lodge and 360 train to Machu Picchu) but it certainly doesn't feel like it at the moment - we are dragging plenty of winter gear on this first leg. Must mention our Canadian Connection here - have got lots of special gear to keep us warm and dry thanks to @Mindy and @Ian.
Extremely simple transit through Brisbane airport and the flight was perfectly on time. A quick one to Sydney, just time for one show for @Mac and a convenient snooze for me. No complaints although did feel we were in training for the chill of Antarctica - the cabin was freezing. Had a good laugh because the controls for @Mac's on screen show were also on the armrest between us. As I fell asleep with my elbow on the armrest, apparently I was playing havoc with the volume controls. Took him about three ear splitting events to work out what was happening!
Had our very own tall dark and handsome tour guide waiting for us at the gate in Sydney. Thanks @Richard, was great having a local to get us to Rydges. A perfection location for a layover nestled right beside the international terminal.
Settled into Smithy's Bar and caught up on @DeLoy's flight news, compared checkin info, installed esims and compared meds before heading upstairs to dinner.
Was a little reality check to note the "average age" of the fellow diners - starting to get a little scary that we "blend in!" Will be very interesting to check out our fellow cruisers.
PS And for the JPC fraternity - yes, we are following in the footsteps of @Helen and @Andrew! Been very grateful to receive insider tips from @Helen in the lead up to our adventure.
Survival Barometer
Steps 10 557
Weather: Brisbane 29, Sydney 28
Health - well, that is pleasing - clean bill of health to start the journey. Mind you, I keep saying, we have enough meds on board to start a clinic in the Andes
Can you believe this?
Here’s a fun and slightly mind‑bending fact about visiting Antarctica from Co Pilot
Well under 0.002% of the world’s population ever sets foot there in a given year.
To put that in perspective, recent seasons have seen roughly 75,000–100,000 tourists make the journey south . With a global population of more than 8 billion, that means:
- For every 100,000 people on Earth, only about 1 visits Antarctica in a typical year.
- You’re statistically more likely to climb Mount Everest, win an Olympic medal, or be struck by lightning than to visit the seventh continent.
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