We have arrived

We met up with Scott and Ashley in the Vancouver airport.  Their flight was delayed so it was nice to catch up with them one last time before taking off.  Have a great time in New Zealand, Scott and Ashley!

When we boarded our plane and found our pods, we were treated to champagne and orange juice, instructed on how to operate our seats which fully reclined to lay flat and had a built in massage function.  Tara's pod was just across the aisle from mine.  I felt like a bit of a jerk reclining and drinking my champagne while everyone sitting in coach had to walk past us to their seats.  We were then presented with our menu for the flight which included various options for supper (including filet), dessert, snacks, breakfast, and various wines and spirits.  Once we were in the air I put on a movie, had my supper and then took a bit of a nap.  Tara was asleep before dessert came and slept  most of the flight.

Once we arrived in Sydney, they made us sit in the plane at the gate while they "sprayed the aircraft."  Tara and I were expecting them to spray the outside of the aircraft, but the flight attendants came through the cabin with aerosol cans and sprayed everything and everyone in the aircraft with some sort of chemical.  Going through customs was a piece of cake.  For two people who are moving to Australia for the next few years and have lots of other unaccompanied goods coming at a later date, I was expecting more than "How was your flight" from the customs officer.  Then we went on to the quarantine inspection station where they X-rayed our bags and made sure we weren't bringing anything into the country which may impact the Australian ecosystem.  The upside was that I got my golf clubs cleaned for me.

Then we went on to Virgin Airline's domestic check-in and had to re-check our 6 bags.  Tara and I have been trying to figure out what our baggage allowances were but were prepared to pay extra for our bags on this domestic flight.  The allowance was 69 kg each and we were under by 2 kg's, another great surprise!

The flight from Sydney to Gold Coast was quick, and we were met on arrival by the transfer that was arranged for us.  We were taken to our furnished apartment in Broadbeach which is a block from the beach in a very nice hotel.  We'll be staying here for up to 6 weeks, or until we find a place of our own.  We spent the afternoon unpacking and made a quick trip to the Apple Store for new power cords and I was pleasantly surprised when they threw in a free cord for my IMac.  We made supper, ate, and were in bed by 7pm.

This week, Tara has a bunch of things to do at Bond Uni for orientation, and I've got to contact work and the relocation company to work out a few things.  But I'll most likely be riding on Tara's coat tails this week and pretending to be a uni student along with her.  I also need to pick up a surf board and try to catch a few waves, although the water seems pretty cold right now and I don't have my wetsuit with me.