Hello Australia

Thursday 21st February
Hello Australia
 After a relaxing morning (Wednesday 20th) at Thatches of Bryanston, we set off for the airport and the start of an epic journey. Our flight left SA just before 7:00pm. The sun was setting on our starboard (right) side as we reached our cruising altitude. I have never seen such a magnificent sunset high above the layer of clouds . I wish that I had the camera handy.
We were not lucky enough to be upgraded but our Premium Economy seats were comfortable enough with plenty of leg room.
We flew East into the rising sun so only a few short hours after we left Johannesburg and the setting sun, the sun was rising again. Our flight was due to land at 14:45 Sydney time which was 9 hours ahead of South Africa time (5:45am) our breakfast was served at 11:30 (2:30am SA)

We had over 5 hours to wait for our connecting flight to Cairns (1 hour behind Sydney time), by which time the sun was setting again and we felt as if it was still mid-morning. I know that this is nothing new to seasoned travellers, but to me this was a new experience. My mind was shattered (due to the lack of sleep) but my body was ready to meet the day. We finally arrived at out hotel in Port Douglas at 11:30 local time : a little more than 26 hours after leaving the Guest House in Johannesburg.

We did have a nasty moment as we were waiting for our connecting flight. Ian was reviewing the travel itinerary and noticed that the transport that was scheduled to collect us in Cairns and take us to Port Douglas (a 1 hour drive) had the wrong time against it. The time they had been given was our flight departure time, not the arrival time. After much frustration while trying to contact someone we had to leave things to chance. As it turned out, the mistake had been discovered and rectified before we even found it.