Journey - Part II

The trip Singapore – Adelaide was just as smooth as the first part of the trip, and this time the flight was even better. There were kids on the plane who made some noise during the flight (specifically, cheering on Alvin and the Chipmunks) and when we were flying over the Australian desert, it got a bit bumpy, which had to be at a time when I would have liked to go to the bathroom, of course. But the great thing was that the flight was not fully booked, and I got four seats in a row to myself. So after dinner, I was able to stretch out and sleep without being crammed into a half sitting, half lying position. Of course I was still on a plane and it isn’t the same as sleeping in a bed, but it is as close as you can get to a good night’s rest. We arrived in Adelaide early in the morning, and were treated to a glorious view of the city lights and the ocean while the sun was rising.

In contrast to America, Australian customs was very relaxed and didn’t take very long. And even my luggage had made it there alright. Security was really funny. I did not have to go to a scanner. Instead, me and a couple of other passengers were asked to stand in a line and then they brought out a beagle (yes, dog!) who sniffed us and our luggage. He spent some extra time with me because I had my riding gear in the bag and I think he must have liked the smell of it, but of course I couldn’t say so because I had ticked the waver box saying that I had not been in contact with farm animals for the last month (bad girl). He didn’t bark or anything, so we were unleashed onto Australia. I had about 45 minutes left before Mark was going to pick me up, so I had the chance to go wash my face and brush my teeth, which is a good thing to do after 25 hours of traveling. I even managed to get Mark some coffee. Of course I hadn’t thought about how I was going to get two suitcases and the coffee to the pickup area without spilling the coffee, but somehow I made it.

Flaxley is located some 45 minutes from Adelaide in the Adelaide Hills and I got a first glimpse at the country this way. Mark’s place is pretty cool, lots of space for the horses and cattle, and huge, huge trees in the turnouts. The birds are quite fancy here, they have got cockatoos and parrots living on the property. There are also kangaroos around, but unfortunately I haven’t seen those yet.

My first day in Australia became quite exhausting, because after we got to Austin’s Peak and Mark showed me around, I had to change and go ride some horses at his friend’s place. The first one was alright, even though she was not well ridden, but when I was riding the second one, I had one of those jet lag lows and thought I was going to start crying, everything just shut down for a while. I didn’t cry, though, and after I got some juice and green tea, I was better again. Mark then rode his own horses while I was on pole duty. The rest of the day is a bit blurry to me, but I spent some time with the other girls and got to know the stable routine, helping with the feeding etc.

Later that day, I spent some time entertaining Mark’s kids while he and Belinda were packing their stuff for Canada. For that night, I was Imogen’s favorite new toy. We went to town to grab dinner and then me and the girls drove back home while Mark and Belinda dropped off the kids at Mark’s parents’ place for the week. My first night was okay, but I woke up every couple of hours and at four, my night was over.