Brisbane, QLD


Wednesday, August 6, 2014

FLYING SOUTH

My sister in law, Ann, is visiting Australia from England. I haven't seen her since 2008 when we met her and my brother in Switzerland for a few days holiday together. Since then my brother has died so I was keen to see Ann again while she was here. She was going to celebrate her 80th birthday in Adelaide and we flew there to join in the celebrations with her family. Unfortunately Ann fell ill on the way to Adelaide and I never got to see her. She is now recuperating at her son's home in Wodonga. Albury/Wodonga are twin towns on the Victorian and NSW border. I decided to fly there to visit Ann before she returns to England later this month. This meant flying south in winter not a warming experience at all. I flew to Sydney on a 737 jet, there I had to change planes to a small Dash 800 with props and the cabin under the wings.

 It doesn't fly very high so I had a good view of the country. This is the south coast of NSW where there are lots of coastal towns.

 Then we turned inland and flew over other smaller towns but this one was quite big and I'm guessing it was Canberra, Australia's Capital City.

 Then we flew near the Snowy Mts and they were covered in snow which only happens in winter. The props are whizzing around in the photo. Soon we started descending into Albury airport. My nephew, David and Ann were there to pick me up.

 David is a lovely person who takes good care of his mother, he is a great cook and he is mad about photography so we hit it off very well. He has amazing photographic equipment. My inadequate Point and Shoot made a blurry shot here. Poor David lost his wife not long ago, her photo is on the wall. Then David took a photo of us from his tripod..
When David went to work, Ann and I had a chat fest for the three days that I was there.

 In the mornings there was frost on the grass, this was something different for me as we rarely have frost in Brisbane.

 By the middle of the day the sun was shining but it was still cold by my standards 12°C/53.6F. David has a nice house in Wodonga.

 I braved a short walk one day. It is a pretty town surrounded by rolling hills. Too soon it was time to hug Ann and say goodbye. David drove me to the airport in the morning, it was very cold and foggy.
My plane had to come from Sydney and it couldn't land in the fog. It was delayed an hour.

There were 3 small planes circling in a holding pattern but finally they popped out of the fog and landed. Luckily my plane turned around quickly and headed back to Sydney. I was just in time to catch my connection to Brisbane. I had a good time chatting but I was glad to get back to the warmer climate.

22 comments:

  1. Great pictures of your country.So and you have had a nice family meeting.

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  2. what a beautiful place he has! SO glad you got to visit with your sis-in-law and your nephew, too!

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  3. I enjoyed the flight with you, no motion sickness at all... glad you got to spend time with her and I would like meeting David myself and perhaps using that camera

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  4. How lovely that you finally got to see your sister-in-law finally. I enjoyed your view of Australia from the air. Being a Minnesotan, I have to say I might have jumped in that beautiful swimming pool, even if it is "winter" there. :-)

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  5. So glad you got to see your sister-in-law. David's camera and lens look like I'd need help lugging it around!

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  6. Wow---what gorgeous photos--especially from the airplane... Looks like David has a nice place there --and bet you two enjoyed talking photography together.

    So glad you got to see Ann. Hope she is feeling better now.. Will David go back to England with her ---or are there other siblings in England to help with their mother's care?

    That's just getting you READY for a trip to our area!!!!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  7. That lens is something else! I rarely look out the window when flying. Usually have my nose in a book.

    Loved your frost shot. Said winter very nicely. We are going down to Canberra in a couple of weeks. Brrrrrr I see they are having very minus mornings and that snow was on the mountains last time I was down there.

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  8. Betsyy: Yes David is flying back to London with her and staying there for a few weeks and he is doing some photography tours.

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  9. Diane, I am so glad you were able to visit with your SIL. Great shot of you, Ann and David. I would prefer the warmer weather too. Enjoy the rest of your week!

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  10. I do remember your early posts Dianne and so glad you were able to make that trip before your s.i.l. returns back home. Yes it's kind of a bit hard on our systems to endure the cold more than we're used to. Enjoy your sunshine now with nice memories

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  11. Good you were able to go and visit your sister in-law before she returns home to England, it would have sucked not being able to land due to fog.

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  12. I'm glad you had a good visit with Ann, even if you did have to venture to a chillier climate to see her. I think you got some wonderful photos from the airplane.

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  13. I think you are correct.
    That sure looks like Canberra from your plane. Great to know that you managed to see Ann.
    Cynthia - even as a Minnesotan, I have doubts if you would have taken the pool plunge.
    Colin

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  14. Happy to hear you were able to visit with Ann before she returned home. Sounds like a lovely visit with her and her son.

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  15. Lovely to be able to catch up with your husbands family....nice photos from the plane, always good to have...

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  16. The pictures taken from the airplane are very good ! 12 ° isn't cold, we have this often in Summer, but of course you are spoilt with your warm weather in Brisbane ! How nice that you could finally meet !

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  17. Our warmer climate is a real treat for those winter months. Look alike you had a wonderful time away, catching up with family. Ann looks much younger than her years! David sure has some camera gear - a hobby may well help him move on after his recent loss.

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  18. Glad to hear that you were able to connect with Ann and a three day chat fest sounds wonderful/ I looked back at some of your other posts and was amused by the tourists in summer clothes while the locals were wearing long pants and light jackets. We have had very hot summer here and i enjoy the heat. It does seem cold today at 12 "C. We've had rain all afternoon but it's welcome here with the crops ripening and due to be harvested in the next month or 6 weeks. In the springtime when the snow finally melts in late April or early May it's not unusual for young people to be seen in shorts and tank tops on the first warm day at about 5"C! We put our sweaters away until it freezes again…sometime in late August or if we're lucky in September. Keep warm!

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  19. A lovely long weekend getaway ! I'm glad you got to spend some quality time together. Xxx

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  20. how sweet of you to look her up and have a nice couple of days. It looks like a nice area. The temperature is about the same as we have here most of the time. It can get a lot colder here as well

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  21. I'm glad you were able to visit your sister-in-law and nephew, Diane and bring them some cheer! It did look cold there and I'm sure you enjoyed being back in warmer weather. Your photos form the plane are amazing!

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  22. Glad to know your sister-in-law has recovered. So good you got to visit with her and your nephew.

    An adventure to fly into the cold (we gray nomads usually do it the other way round, don't we?) I'd certainly rather live where you do because I don't do too well with cold. (We are having a relatively cold summer this year in Alaska -- a once-in-a-lifetime experience.... our summer will come when we get to Florida (in December probably -- I will be totally mixed up on my seasons.

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