17,125 kilometres, 22 hours flying time, eight weeks away from home

 We are exactly one hour into our grand adventure, flying Cathay Pacific, seated near the emergency exit doors and watching time tick ever so slowly. Daryl, despite having had only a brief nap once we boarded is now immersed in a movie fest, drinking cold beer and ignoring the fact that we have a further 23 hours of flying time to go before reaching our final destination of Manchester, England. The lovely hostess brought an array of beverages so I have chosen to sample the local red wine selection, it is chilled, I am confused by this concept and while it tastes quite pleasant, I need it to warm. Fortunately, we have another eight hours on this leg of the journey after which we will land in Hong Kong. I suspect my liquid berries will reduce nicely to room temperature and if I shut my eyes while sipping, I can pretend I am drinking from a fine wine glass, instead of a plastic cup! Oh, the sufferings of the privileged. Daryl’s movie must be good, he is chuckling beside me. 

Our plane is full and so far, the infants, toddlers, teenagers and most adults are behaving very nicely. We hope, off course, for a smooth flight. I suspect Daryl will not sleep much, he is nervous and not relaxed about being confined for what is effectively 24 hours. I may need to slip some sleeping tablets into his beer. While saying goodbye to our loved ones at home was hard, I am quietly getting more excited about the prospect of eight weeks of leisure and pleasure, at least for the most part. 

Dad has joined us on this journey and will travel with us to Wales. Reduced to the size of a small box, his ashes are carefully sealed and housed in my carry on luggage. He would be pleased, this trip hasn’t cost him a cent. Soon after mum died in 2016, Daryl and I begged him to travel back to his homeland of Wales and see his family. It would have been more than 25 years since his last visit. Just when we thought we had convinced him, even offering to go with him, he stubbornly refused, citing farming obligations, costs, weather and a myriad of excuses to not travel. He assured us once he got the farm in order, he would visit. He seemed hopeful, even happy about the prospect of travelling to see them, his brothers and sister, nieces and nephews he had never met, but shortly after this time, he suffered a stroke and his travel plans were put to rest forever. I have no doubt it was a great regret for him. In his delirium and confusion he often spoke fondly of his youth and his family, so now it is time to take him home. So a part of him remains in Sale next to his wife and the other part will be interned with his parents on Tuesday. While he will return to his birthplace, we will meet his side of the family for the first time. I suspect it will be a day of mixed emotions

Our first destination , Hong Kong, is a success. After muddling our way through security, we have located the Plaza Lounge and are currently enjoying free spirits and copious amounts of Asian delicacies. A shower and then back on the plane for the final leg of our journey! Poor Daryl,  he looks so tired. Surely he will sleep next flight! 

As many of you know leaving the country for a lengthy period of time takes a lot of organising and planning. I am still a little stunned we have made it. In preparation for our departure we have finalised plans for the kitchen renovation; these will start upon our return, had more paddock fences completed and new red gum posts driven into the ground along the driveway ready for wiring; they look amazing. A few tonnes  of firewood has been brought up from the morass and we finally burnt the ever growing bonfire pile. Daryl’s new toy, the bull blade, made short work of the tea trees and the fire burnt for a few days. The dreaded 

drought brought much heartache and robust discussions around what 

to do with our stock. In the end we kept our breeders, hopefully now in calf, and bought grain, lucerne and hired a retired farmer to look after them. We hope this investment is the right decision. With the hens rehoused this only leaves the alpacas, dogs and cats, all of whom Bek will look after, while she juggles year 12 studies, her part time job, youth mayor commitments and plans her own adventures overseas in 2020. 

We have been blessed by offers of help from many friends and family and we are grateful to everyone who is helping out while we are living the tourist dream. 

Until next time 

N.