Welcome To Australia

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Flight 815, flying nonstop from Vancouver to Sydney. We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments. We also ask that your seats and table trays are in the upright position for take-off. Smoking is prohibited, except for the smoking section at the rear of the aircraft. Thank you for choosing Qantas Airlines. Enjoy your flight...


For any eight year old, the prospect of spending over 18 hours in any moving carrier is exhilarating. Endless hours colouring in pictures of your favourite cartoon characters. The Countless games of Go Fish and I Spy and even the odd cat nap in between the in-flight entertainment. So you could imagine the looks on their faces, when they are told that they will be flying across the world on one of the most famous airlines in the history of aviation.

But for one rambunctious child, there was something more remarkable awaiting her than a ride aboard a big, jet plane. She was going to live in a world where kangaroos, koala bears and human beings lived in unison. The outback, with its dusty red roads and undulating sand dunes, would be her backyard. Barbie lived in this magical place and soon they would get to eat shrimp together with a real life bear!

This is a shrimp. Not a prawn

Who knew Barbie was from the land down under?

Sadly, none of these dreams came to fruition. Sightings of kangaroos and koalas were limited to the bush and wildlife parks. Barbie didn’t even live here and there were no signs of bears. Anywhere! Actually, those bears turned out to be beers! That’s right. Beer was available at the drop of a hat. Not that it would do her any good. She wasn’t even allowed to drink it! So she was left with no other choice, but to settle quietly into suburban life.

Flash forward several years and two plane rides across the world later and you pretty much had the same situation, except this time that little girl was no longer an eight year old.





Road trippers pass through Lithgow, NSW

 Holidays with friends and family soon followed. Long car rides up and down the North and South coasts of Australia ferried her to the coastal communities of Huskisson and Nelson Bay.


She dipped her toes into the tranquil, aquamarine waters of Port Stephens and basked in the summer sun on many of Australia’s beautiful beaches. She sampled some of the world’s finest wines and cheeses in the scenic Hunter Valley and even ventured out to the central west of New South Wales, picking fruit in the summer and travelling to Orange in the winter to witness the first snowfall of season.





             Gerringong, NSW         Photo: Sabrina Gewargis




        Fraser Island, QLD      Photo: Sabrina Gewargis



Sydney, NSW       Photo: Sabrina Gewargis



Hunter Valley, NSW      Photo: Sabrina Gewargis



She soon discovered that Australia was filled with several picturesque destinations and it was virtually impossible to choose a favourite location. She realised that it was the people and the experiences they shared that made these places memorable.
It didn’t hurt that she also lived in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, where its, magnificent coral reefs, mighty outback and exotic rainforests were all a part of the illustrious landscape. The natural flora and fauna of this glorious land were as unique as the people who inhabited this great nation. For that reason, Australia will always be the place she calls home. And who can forget that she fell in love here. Yes, Australia is where her heart is and will always remain.

Good afternoon passengers. This is your captain speaking. We are currently cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet. The time is 2:30pm. The weather looks good and we are expecting to land in Sydney on schedule. The weather in Sydney is clear and sunny, with a high of 35 degrees for this afternoon. If you look to the left of the aircraft, we should get a great view of the famous Harbour Bridge and Oprah House as we descend. Enjoy the rest of the flight and thank you for flying with us....