Day 1 – Australia/New Zealand Adventure

(March 5, 2025 to March 7, 2025) – by Ann Silverthorn with Jim DeDad)

After eight months of waiting, it was finally departure day for our March 5-24, 2025, AAA/Collette “Australia’s Outback to New Zealand’s South Island” tour. We slept until 7:30 a.m., because our plane wasn’t scheduled to leave until late afternoon. I made scrambled eggs, English muffins, and Impossible sausage, a hearty breakfast to prepare us for the 21-hour trip.

After last-minute packing and miscellaneous tasks, we got on the road to Pittsburgh International Airport at 11:15 a.m.  Weather was perfect, parking was easy in the long-term/rapid walk lot, and check-in went smoothly for our United Airlines flight. We were more than three hours early, and we had lots of time to kill, but it went fast as we got a bite to eat and wandered around.

We boarded the Boeing 737-700, a model manufactured between 1997 and 2019, and this one seemed like it may have been one of the first. We settled and sat a while until the captain announced that a “winglet” had been damaged, and they had to call for maintenance.  

According to a Google AI overview, “On a Boeing 737-700, winglets are small, upward-curved extensions at the wingtips designed to reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency, ultimately saving airlines money.” 

The captain said, most likely, they could file off the remaining part, and the plane just wouldn’t be as fuel efficient. Not a safety issue. No worries.

The minutes ticked on while we waited for maintenance to arrive, and we became quite concerned about our connecting flight in Houston, because we had a 55-minute layover and quite a walk from one terminal to another (we did not make these flight arrangements). 

A passenger on the troubled side of the plane said two men had come, taken pictures, and left. That was a good sign, right? A while later, the captain came back on and said there was good news! They now had a work order. I thought the good news would be that we were leaving. In just a few minutes, the captain announced that the plane had been repaired, although according to the people on the other side of the plane, no one had ever returned after the photos were taken. . . 

I tried not to worry while we bumped along across the country. We were toward the back of the plane (not our choice), so the engine noise was loud, but we landed just fine. The crew was aware that some of us had tight connections, so they asked the passengers who had a few minutes to spare if they would remain seated while we deplaned. Do you think the passengers did that? I was about to start climbing over seat backs.

We had briefly conversed with another couple on our same tour to Australia, and we all ran together to the international terminal, arriving just before the gate closed. Whew! Our bags even made it onto the Sydney plane, a newer Boeing 787-9 (manufactured from 2007-present). 

I knew flight would be long, and I told myself that this tiny space in basic economy would be my new home and that I wouldn’t count down the hours until we landed. Why basic economy? Well, we forgot to ask for an upgrade, and once we thought of it, all the Premium Plus seats that were left were in places like, next to the bathroom. When we booked this tour, we sort of “set it and forgot it.” Usually, we make all of our own travel arrangements. Our fault for not being on top of things more. 

In any case, a 17-hour flight is 17 hours no matter what class you’re seated in. I recall way back to May of 2001, when I flew business class for work from Detroit to Tokyo. It was still miserable, just more room and more wine. 

What a trooper I was–crossing the International Dateline and skipping a day ahead, keeping myself busy with movies, and napping–until we had eight hours to go. I had guessed four or five hours remaining before looking at the seat-back map. I did my best to go back to sleep, so I would be refreshed when we got to Sydney at the crack of dawn. Of course, I woke up every hour, almost on the dot, until we landed. 

Finally, descending into Sydney, I was awed by the beauty of the clouds and the sunrise on the wing. It was a little bumpy, and then the city appeared below. 

Getting through customs was a breeze, and we quickly met up with our guide, Cam. Then, we all stood around awkwardly waiting for one man, Dave, who turned out to be standing right there all along! 

We hopped on a bus, or coach as Cam called it, and headed for the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, which was built in 1966 by Qantas (an airline registered originally as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited). The hotel has hosted dignitaries and celebrities such as Apollo astronauts, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and Bill Gates. We had free time until the group met at 4:30 p.m.

The sky was overcast as we walked down to “The Rocks” at Sydney Harbour. We saw the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, and even a tall ship called the Southern Swan. At home, we enjoy the Tall Ships festivals every few years on Presque Isle Bay in northwest Pennsylvania.

Making our way back to the hotel was quite an adventure. Our Google Maps was very confused by the tall buildings, or we were confused by Google Maps, but it took quite a while to get where we wanted to go. We were comforted along the way with a plaza, Martin Place, that had flowers embedded into the stones. When we finally got to the hotel, our rooms were ready, we refreshed ourselves, and we headed downstairs to meet our fellow travelers.

We assembled in a meeting room set in auditorium fashion, definitely not the best for socializing, but ideal for attending to all of the useful information that Cam would be sharing. It turned out that there were 46 of us! I believe we were told there’d be no more than 35. That made me a bit nervous, but everyone seemed friendly enough as we got up, one-by-one, to introduce ourselves at the end of the welcome presentation. 

Mostly everyone was over the age of 50 (including us), with a few exceptions. Most were professionals. There was a large group from the Carlisle [PA] Chamber of Commerce, who were being led by Robyn, a chamber employee. There were medical professionals, businesspeople, IT professionals, ex-military, and two chefs! Except for the Carlisle people, we were mostly strangers, but we wouldn’t be for long.

We ate dinner with the group at a restaurant called Adria at Darling Harbour and then went back to the hotel to get some winks before meeting up again at 8:00 a.m. the following morning!

6,175 + 14,709 steps from March 5, skipping a day, to March 7.