Heather & Grant leave Canada

After a long and drawn out process our departure day has finally arrived and the beautiful sunny 21°C day that Toronto has put on is the best weather that has been seen here since October last year - maybe we should stay?  No - we are well beyond the point of no return at this stage to be changing our minds now!

Bernard update:
He departed Vancouver on-time just before midnight on Tuesday and as the eastern time zone folks were getting into their work days and the early risers on the West Coast grabbed their first coffee on Wednesday morning, he was passing overtop of the Hawaiian Islands.  All has gone smoothly so far and with 5 ½ hours in the air behind him, there is only another 10 hours to go.

As for Heather & myself, we leave Toronto this evening 'wheels-up' at 8pm.  We wish it was earlier in the day as we are all packed and ready to go.  The time spent just waiting seems to pass so slowly - at least it is a nice day for a walk outside.

Fast forward ➡➡ to 6pm Wed 29 April 2015, and WTF? - Where are The Farrows? at the moment?

We are checked in all the way through to Adelaide.

• Air Canada will take us from Toronto to Vancouver (5 hours);

• After a 1½ hour stop in Vancouver we continue with Air Canada through to Sydney (15 ½ hours of flying time);
• A 6 hour connection time in Sydney awaits us but that was our choice so that we can comfortably clear immigration and customs.  You never know how long things can take when you tick the 'citizen returning to resume residency' box on the entry form.  We also need to get from the international terminal across to the domestic terminal in Sydney (a 5 minute walk then a further 5 minute bus ride away);
• A refreshing shower, a change of clothes and a strong coffee or two in the QANTAS lounge will help make us feel a bit more human again before our final flight;
• QANTAS (stands for Queensland And Northern Territory Air Services), also known as 'The Flying Kangaroo' (see logo below), will take us on the last leg from Sydney to Adelaide (1½ hours)

With 22 hours of flight time and about 8 hours of processing and waiting in various airports along the way we will have been en route for around 30 hours by the time we collect our bags (hopefully) in Adelaide.  Needless to say (but I will say it anyway), we will be shattered by the time we get to my sister's house in Adelaide late on Friday afternoon.

So, to answer the question posed earlier, WTF? - Where are The Farrows? at the moment?  - we have just settled into the comfy chairs in the Air Canada lounge at YYZ (Toronto) for a pre-flight cocktail or two.  If we were smart we would have our drinks standing up because we have nothing but being seated for hours ahead of us.  Not so sure how smart we are but we ARE ready to go!

 

Heather sending final Facebook goodbyes from the Maple Leaf Lounge in Toronto

That is it for now.  There will be at least 30 hours of 'radio silence' from us while we move ourselves from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere, and do a bit of 'time travelling' as we cross the international date line (we leave Vancouver on Wednesday, fly for 15 ½ hours but when we land in Sydney it will be Friday) - Thursday never happens!

Stay tuned for our next blog posting which will be our first from Down Under...

PS: Have been tracking Bernard's flight - he has just landed in Sydney.  That first pee on Aussie soil after 20 hours in his crate is going to be some sweet sweet relief !!!