A Mel of a Good Time

Hello good readers. As some of you may be aware one of my teaching colleagues, and friend, from England came to visit us for ten days whilst on her way to stay with some other friends in New Zealand. Mel arrived on Thursday 29th September at 5:30 in the morning. I had arranged to pick her up and since the airport she was coming in to was just over an hour away by car I had to be up bright and early. Suffice to say, in typical man style, I left it to the last minute and just wandered from the bed to the car and cursed the clock for the whole journey. By 6:30AM we had hugged each other and were on the road to Geelong. Just after 7:30 Mel was greeting Bec and Lucy and I was off to work, feeling like I’d been up a whole day already, but it was worth it.

Mel spent most of Thursday and Friday working through her jetlag and exploring Geelong, but once Saturday came around we entered full sightseeing mode and got totally immersed into seeing everything Australian. Over the course of the Saturday, Sunday and Monday she saw pelicans, cockatoos, lorikeets, kangaroos, koalas, deer, the Great Ocean Road, The Twelve Apostles, famous lighthouses, stunning vistas, stacks of rainbows, loads of coffee shops and had the Gold Class experience in one of our local cinemas. Wahoo! High five.

On the Tuesday and Wednesday Bec and I had work (yawn) so Mel used this time to explore the beautiful city of Melbourne and catch up with some relatives she hadn’t seen for a while. It was great to hear her enthusiasm for the place and reminded me of how lucky we are to be where we are (not that I’d forgotten).

Thursday and Friday were spent sightseeing around a place Mel had hoped we could go to together, but wasn’t sure if it would be a possibility: Sydney. However, it was and we arranged to go early (aaaaarrrggghh, not again) Thursday morning from our local airport, Avalon. By 6:10AM I had thrown a coffee away that I wasn’t allowed to take on the plane and we were taxiing up the runway bound for NSW’s capital of wonder and sights, and by 7:30AM we were saying hello to Jayne and Ronnie (our good friends that live in Sydney) and heading off to their apartment. Phew!

Once we had composed ourselves and soaked up some early morning sunshine Mel and I headed off on an adventure to see as much of Sydney as we could over the two days and one night we were there, and boy did we pack it in. Mel’s brand new camera certainly got put through its paces as it snapped shots of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Botanical Gardens, Chinese Gardens, bats, plants and skylines. It was a frantic few days but they were well worth having.

By Friday evening we were tuckered out and being driven to the airport by Ronnie (thanks again pal), and by 9PM we were back at home in Geelong sharing our adventures with Bec and Lucy.

Saturday rocked up and the realisation that it was Mel’s last day dawned on us. We took in some more local sights, watched Lucy horse ride and had a wonderful meal out in the evening. Bedtime came around fairly early because Mel had to get a 7:15 AM flight to New Zealand on Sunday, which doesn’t sound too bad until you factor in that she had to be there three hours before departure time and the airport was just over an hour away by car. OMG, a 3AM alarm.

By 4:30AM we had said our goodbyes and I watched Mel disappear (not magician stylee, obviously) through the departure gate. It felt a bit weird pacing through the airport on my own, and at such an unearthly hour; but I soon found some more company in the shape of a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . coffee cup. Yihah! The journey home was peppered with some good music and more clock cursing but by 5:30AM I was tucked up in bed again.

Mel’s ten days with us was over in a flash but it was one hell of a flash. We had a blast and I know Mel did too. We were so pleased that we managed to show her our little piece of Oz, and a piece someway from us. Thanks for a greeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaat time Mel, but what shall we do for your next visit? Let me think about it over a coffee. BFN, FAB.