After four weeks wandering about the southern and western regions of Australia, it’s is now time to return to the cooler climes of North America. I’ve had a great time Down Under, visiting Alice Springs in the red center of the continent, Adelaide and the wine growing country on the south coast, Kalgoorlie and Norseman in the Western gold fields and the forested hills and beautiful coastlines to the south of Perth. For sure I could easily stay another three months down here because I feel like I’m only just getting warmed up.
Warmed up, indeed! It’s summer Down Under and temperatures in Western Australia have been typically torrid. Daily highs have been in the mid to high 30s (That’s 90 to 100 degrees for you aficionados of Fahrenheit) with occasional forays into the low 40s. It’s been with no small amount of longing that I’ve noted the weather reports back home in
Alaska where a warm winter has high temperatures hovering in the 0 to -10 degree range. (That’s –18 to –25 for you devotees of the Centigrade scale).
In the face of my suffering, the locals have been incredibly kind. For example, many shop owners have allowed me to stand an extra few seconds in front of the open door of their refrigerated drink displays. A supermarket allowed me to spend almost an hour of undisturbed loitering in the freezer section. An especially big thank you goes out to the restaurant employee who offered to set up a small table for me in the walk-in cooler as I furiously fanned myself with the menu. I’ll never forget their kindness and generosity!
So – it is with mixed feelings that I now begin the long journey back to North America. I will surely miss Australia and her people, as fine a combination of beautiful landscape and fine folk as you’ll find anywhere on the planet. I will definitely not miss the searing tropical heat, accentuated by high humidity along the coastal regions.
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As always, I’m really looking forward to flying British Airways’ First Class once again. It is an experience I will never tire of and the prospect of
flying into the sunset whilst enjoying a glass of fine wine and a quality meal high over the Gibson Desert takes much of the sting out of returning home so soon after this all too short journey to Australia.
Originally, I had planned to return from Perth to Melbourne on the train. However, Virgin Blue launched a new sales promotion called
Happy Hour, wherein tickets purchased between 1:00pm and 2:00pm Sydney time could be had for as little as $1.00 each way! As tempted as I am to add a few more exclamation points to that price, it should be noted that those $1.00 fares are saddled with a minimum of $29.00 in taxes plus a $2.00 credit card fee if purchasing over the internet.
Sale markets varied daily and again, the fares were only offered between 1:00 and 2:00pm Sydney time, or 10-11AM Western Australia time. To be sure, the $1.00 fares were offered only on shorter markets like Melbourne to Canberra. On the third day of the sale, I found a $99.00 one-way fare from Perth to Melbourne that priced out at $131.00 all in. In near record time, I had a seat booked on DJ 288, the 6:00am departure.
Even though my rail ticket back to Melbourne was paid for via a RailPass, it was well worth the $100.00 USD extra paid for my air ticket to avoid going through the Hell that is Red Kangaroo Class travel on Great Southern Railways. The seats onboard the trains are comfortable enough but are not spaced sufficiently to allow a six footer like me to stretch my legs. Seat recline is minimal and on the ride out at least, the air conditioning couldn’t keep up with the searing heat of the Nullabor. Then there are the drunks. Every train I rode had them at some point. They're fine in the lounge car – entertaining even – but when, in the dead of night, they loudly take their show back into the passenger cars after a long day of drinking, they become more than a bit tedious.
I returned to the Perth suburb of Fremantle for two final days at the excellent YHA hostel before bidding adieu to my new friends and heading off to the train station. The commuter train station. Half an hour later I was in Perth, and an hour after that I was at the Perth Domestic Terminal, eagerly anticipating the prospect of three hours of blissfully peaceful air travel above rather than across the Nullabor.
An early morning departure time of 6:00am coupled with poorly timed and/or expensive early morning transport out to the airport meant that I’d be sleeping at the airport the night before my flight. In Perth as in most other Australian cities, Virgin Blue occupies the old Ansett Terminal. It was wonderfully air conditioned and looked to be a fine place to bed down for the night until I was informed by security that the terminal was closed at midnight and I’d have to vacate the building. Aw, jeez… Before leaving however, I checked at the ticket counter and managed to get myself assigned an exit row window for the next morning.
Outside the terminal, the night was hot and slightly breezy with just enough of a wind to stir up the thousands of starlings (I think they were) that call the trees across from the terminal their home. They all chattered noisily from their leafy perches and I was reminded of the soundtrack from Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller
The Birds.
Truth be known, if, as in Melbourne and Sydney, there had been a $69.00 AUD
Formule 1 style motel available on the airport grounds, I would have gladly handed over the cash. Alas, the only “airport” hotel in Perth cost considerably more than $69.00 and did not offer complimentary early morning transfers. As I was scoping out the possibilities for a spot outside the terminal, a policeman strolled by and I asked him if he had any recommendations for one in my predicament. To my great surprise, he recommended I head over to the Qantas Terminal where I was informed I could stay inside but that I’d need to check with Qantas first.
Moments later, I stepped into the somewhat less air-conditioned Qantas Terminal. A large crowd was queued at the check-in counters but I found a separate Qantas Service Center and asked the lady there about over-nighting in her terminal.
“Absolutely Not!” was her stern reply.
“But,” I sputtered, “the police told me…”
“Well they were incorrect. You must be out of the building at midnight!”
Something in the lady’s tone and demeanor told me that she was just a little too comfortable saying “Absolutely Not!” and so I grabbed my pack and waited for the line at the counter to die down. Later, I approached a group of three agents, one of whom appeared to be a supervisor based upon his uniform. I explained the situation, including the fact that I was flying with their competitor.
“I wish you hadn’t told me that” lamented the supervisor.
I could sense however that he was really leaning towards letting me stay. I explained that in truth, my preference would have been to fly Qantas, especially since they were partners in Alaska Air’s Mileage Plan. In fact, I even had two upcoming flights booked with Qantas and I was also a member of their Frequent Flyer Club, albeit a mere Bronze.
“Well, alright then” he relented. “Where are you planning to sleep?”
I pointed out a small area of seats in the distant corner of the building, where people apparently waited for the shuttle busses into Perth. I said I’d set my alarm clock for 4:45am and would be off the floor soon thereafter, i.e. before lots of passengers started arriving. He bid me a good night and I headed off to set up camp, hoping that the old biddy from the Service Counter wouldn’t see me and make a fuss. She didn’t and that’s the story of my night at the Perth Airport. I put it in this Trip Report to hopefully add balance for those of you who just can’t stand the prospect of reading about another Suite upgrade in a Starwood property.
