Hello from the One World first class lounge at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. Waiting for my 2205 departure on a double-decker Qantas A380 to Sydney, Australia. Flight time is 15 hours 5 minutes with arrival in Sydney at 0610 Friday. Lose a day going as we cross the international date line. After arrival I’ll continue onto Alice Springs in the Red Centre where our annual frequent flyer Memorial Day weekend will commence (“OzFest”). There’s a dozen of us on that flight up from Sydney with others coming from different directions. This will be my third time out to Alice since the mid-90’s. Can’t wait to take photos out there and share them.

Flew down to LAX on the 1525 AA flight on a 737-800 which left 20 mins late due to late arriving aircraft, giving me about 4 hours until the Qantas boarding. One of the good things about top tier elite status at AA is access to first class international lounges and I always take advantage of that.

This is a 13 day trip that includes time in five different cities in Australia (Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane).

Have a brand new HP 14 inch chromebook along for this trip that I just purchased yesterday at Costco. Seemed like a good time for something larger now that I have chrome down and it meets my travel needs (primarily internet access and speedy photo uploading).

I’m on an award ticket in coach using AA miles, and I have a window seat on the flight across the Pacific in the small economy class section at the rear of the upper deck (that deck is primarily business class). I’m told this section is reserved for elite frequent flyers. So far I have an empty aisle seat next to me and hoping it stays that way. Have been checking regularly for a business class seat and Qantas didn’t open any up the last few months over a range of dates I was checking. I’ll survive--isn’t the first time I’ve been in coach for this long a flight. At least Qantas has a decent entertainment system with seat back video. Do better on the way home where I do have a confirmed business class seat from Brisbane.

I connect to a Friday morning flight from Sydney to Alice Springs with arrival just after noon. Flight time there is just under 3 hours. Looking forward to meeting up with part of the group in the Qantas business class lounge at Sydney airport.

In addition to Friday and Saturday night in Alice Springs, we have a charter bus to Ayers Rock (Uluru) and will do Sunday night there. Plenty of sightseeing activities are planned and you will not be disappointed.

On Monday I fly down to Melbourne for three nights, followed by time in Sydney and Brisbane.

Some photos from this afternoon:



Entering the One World First Class International Lounge:



Food and drink (I had mushroom penne and beef Colorado, along with a Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz from the Barossa Valley which is wine country outside Adelaide that I have toured a couple times):





Photos from prior OzFests I have attended in Hobart, Perth, Cairns, Adelaide and Brisbane are on this page:
http://tom911.smugmug.com/Travel-Australia

I did not go in 2011 or 2012 due to the weak U.S. dollar (or strong Aussie dollar, however you look at it).

Next time I check in will be from the Sydney Airport.

New photos start here:
http://tom911.smugmug.com/Travel-Aus...-inc/i-Jsk2fcj

I will see you in the Domestic Business Lounge in Sydney in about ~8.5hrs.

I am looking forward to the do, as well as your TR and photos

Hi Tom...Enjoy OZ fest...

By chance, did you check on when the new C and F OW lounges were going to open up at TBIT?

Thanks...

Good morning this Friday from the Qantas domestic lounge at the Sydney airport. Arrived in the international terminal at 0601 Friday morning, exactly one minute after the airport curfew was lifted, which worked out perfectly. I’m sure Qantas has it timed to the minute to avoid being in the air any longer than they need to be. Rechecked my bag and then shuttle between terminals.

Enjoyed my coach seat in the rear of the upper deck in the very last row on the left side of the plane (A380). Did keep the empty seat next to me which gave me room to stretch. Very nice flight overall and I’d do it again.





Qantas has an excellent entertainment system with literally hundred of movies and CDs to enjoy. I started off with music and listened to “American Idiot” by Green Day and then moved onto the Moody Blues. Later in the flight I listened to Steely Dan’s Remastered album. Only one movie and that was Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit which I enjoyed.



Dinner was chicken or beef. Breakfast was hot (scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes) or cold (cereal).

Flight time was 14 hours 20 minutes once we were in the air.

I have met up with a bunch of frequent flyers in the lounge here and we’ll be heading to the gate shortly for our Alice Springs flight.

New photos start here:
http://tom911.smugmug.com/Travel-Aus...-inc/i-5DmQSgJ

They had a sign out that it was coming but I didn't ask "when".

Another great report -- does QF offer any mid-flight snacks in Y+? Also, do you get full recline in the last row?

Tom911 was travelling Coach, but yes, there are various light "shelf stable" snacks available in all classes.

Yes, there is full "recline" (as much as there is in any economy seat on this aircraft) - the base actually moves forward an inch or two as the back tilts to the rear.

No, I think you'll find he was traveling in economy. Qantas, being Australian doesn't have "coach", although we may excuse foreigners for using the word.

Sure - but I was looking to specifically differentiate between PE and Y.


Besides try telling that to our North American brethren ...

I'm sure that they're adult enough to cope. FT is an international community, after all.

No worries...I will check in a few weeks on my way to HKG.

Nevermind....It was posted in the CX forum the open date is scheduled for the 17th of June.

Just after 7am on Saturday here in Alice Springs. I do have a segment ready covering Friday, but I have ran into a serious issue with wi-fi upload speed here: it is deathly slow. I have about 100 photos and all of 3 have uploaded over the last half-hour. I'm going to let them continue to upload while I go off to breakfast, but at this rate it will take all day to get them on-line. Wired internet is not an option with a chromebook.

The segment that was here has been deleted and replaced with a new one below with photos. 5/26/2014

Have just arrived in Melbourne after 3 days of being unable to upload photos. I just surrendered at the hotel in Alice Springs as their connection did not support an adequate upload speed and then last night in Ayers Rock just no time (and $7 an hour for wi-fi). Got all the Alice Springs photos up this afternoon while in transit in the Qantas lounge at Alice Springs Airport (ASP) and will start there.

FRIDAY

Gorgeous day here under bright blue skies and temperatures in the mid 80s. Perfect time to walk about the Alice Springs Desert Park where we spent a good 6 hours touring.

Departed Sydney Airport on the 0935 service to Alice Springs on a 737-800. I was in the third row of economy and had three seats to myself, so did get in a little sleep on the 2.5 hour flight. Gained 30 minutes in a time zone change with arrival at noon.

Group bus to our hotel, the Doubletree, and we were on our way. The city is 15km (8 miles) from the airport.



Arrived at the hotel just before 1300 which was just enough time to unpack and shower and we were back on the bus at 1330 headed to Alice Springs Desert Park.

At the park we viewed everything from lizards, snakes, birds and kangaroos to spectacular scenery. We also attended a bird show with several trained birds including an owl (incredibly silent when flying--you�d never know one is approaching you) and a falcon. The best thing here is the terrain as you�re surrounded by the MacDonnell Ranges of mountains.

Some thorny devils:







Had a cocktail hour in a picnic area with beer, wine, soft drinks and chips (one was chicken flavor, a new one for me). I enjoyed a Jacobs Creek semillon sauvignon blanc and a Coke Zero.

Back for the hour-long night time tour. We all donned headlights and turned on the red light which animals do not react to. Along the trail inside the park we saw bandicoots, an echidna, a wallaby and some other small animals. The zookeeper could pick them right out even though some of them looked like rocks. Tried to take some photos in black-and-white mode but difficult to follow the zookeepers brighter red light as she was searching for animals below the trees.



Back on the bus and we drove 10 minutes to Overlanders Steak House where the entrees were rump steak or barramundi. Appetizers consisted of camel, kangaroo, emu and crocodile. Back at the hotel just after 2300.

SATURDAY

Was up at 0600 to work on my trip report and photos, then down to breakfast at 0745. They feature a buffet breakfast with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms, as well as an assortment of cereal and fruit. Plenty there to start the day and no charge due to my Hilton Gold status.

On the bus just after 0830 with our first stop being the School of the Air. This is for remote students up through 9th grade to get their education via satellite and internet. When the program first started in 1951, everything was handled via mail pouch, then a radio network, and now the more modern system of internet and satellite teaching supplemented with home schooling with a tutor or parent. The closest student for the Alice Springs site is 60 miles away and the farthest almost 1,000 miles. There are currently 119 students at everything from cattle stations to police stations with a resident officer with children. These students do come into Alice Springs three times a year to meet their teachers and classmates for a week each time. Other states in Australia offer similar programs.

This is a panel sent in by students that reside in a rural police station and get their schooling from the school of the air, followed by some wall size panels from others:









Next stop was Alice Springs Telegraph station, originally built here in 1862. We toured the buildings and even had a viewing of the actual Alice Springs which had water at the surface. This was the original home of the first settlers here associated with the telegraph station. You'll also see a photo of the springs associated with Alice Springs ("Alice" being the wife of the original surveyor there).









On to Anzac Hill which is a war memorial with views of Alice Springs and the MacDonnell Ranges. The population here is about 25,000 and has been falling.






Then onto the Central Australia Aviation Museum which featured a DC3 and some older aircraft used by the Flying Doctors Service. They also had exhibits with old radio equipment.



Final stop was the Flying Doctors Service museum. Their aircraft serve most of Australia and they have 12,500 employees. We watched a video presentation and toured a small museum with old radio equipment and medical supplies. Their newest aircraft is made in Switzerland. On entry they have a video display showing every aircraft they have in the air whch is pretty impressive.





Dropped off in the city for a walk about and cafe stop for some to have BLT sandwiches. Purchased some supplies for our trek to Ayers Rock on Sunday (two big water bottles for me plus snacks), then a 2 mile walk back to the hotel which included a walk across the riverbed of the Todd River.



Drinks at the hotel bar at 1800, followed by dinner at their restaurant, the highest rated on in Alice, just after 1930. We enjoyed a number of items including a very good beef curry with rice.



Should mention that Alice is the midway point between Darwin to the north and Adelaide to the south, both about 1500km/900 miles away. In this part of the country you see “road trains” where are semis hauling 3 or 4 trailers to get supplies out here. There is rail service twice a week but it’s primarily a tourist train and not designed for shipping freight.

All of my Alice Springs photos start here:
http://tom911.smugmug.com/Travel-Aus...-inc/i-XNKcNZq