Hobiegirls in the AIR…

The Hobiegirls had an early start in Copenhagen airport Friday morning with the first leg of their journey to Sydney.  First a short flight to Dusseldolf with a 2 hour wait to board their flight to Abu Dhabi. Before even leaving CPH and then Dusseldorf,  the girls were already showing signs of unpredictability. Michala managed to set off the alarm at security with her hand luggage getting stuck, followed by Yoanna losing her boarding pass before boarding the flight to Abu Dhabi.

Arriving in Abu Dhabi, we had a short stop over before boarding our final leg of the journey, a mere 14 hour flight to Sydney.  In the hope that we would travel like our BFF Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda in first class, we proceeded to present ourselves to the transfer desk to request a complimentary upgrade.  To our delight, the gentleman at the desk said he would be happy to oblige, before giving us the bad news that unfortunately business class was full and we were not able to be upgrade after all!

After a long flight, with further losses, confusion and two Greek pensioners needing some assistance (and here was I thinking how nice it was not to travel with kids), the girls landed at 8pm and made their way to their hotel, only to discover that, yes you guessed it, Yoanna had left her phone at the transfer desk in Sydney!!  Jet lag is a difficult thing to deal with..

By coincidence, Kirsten’s brother Peter was in Sydney for business and took us out for dinner in Chinatown before we collapsed in bed after travelling for a total of 34 hours.

Up the next day to a beautiful sunny Sydney, where we have 1 ½ days to enjoy before travelling down to Jervis Bay for the World Championships.  The girls spent the day exploring the Opera House followed by the Rocks (one of the oldest places in Sydney) enjoying the market stall that set up on Sundays.  In fact, Yoanna enjoyed it so much, she forgot to give back a bracelet she tried on at one of the stalls and had to hurry back as soon as she discovered it.

It became apparent very quickly just how pale we three were so after complimenting a stall owner on her tan, she replied of course it is the Aussie way (fake).  We therefore, decided to book in for a spray tan so we would feel more in place with the locals.  After convincing a spa to remain open for us, one by one, we were taken into a room and sprayed with self tanning lotion.  We were very pleased with the results, but a little taken a back with how dark we looked.  It seemed that even strangers were looking at us.  We were assured that after 6 hours we could take a shower and a lovely golden, even tan would be left.  Two of us are quite glad we use contact lenses.

We decided to head to China town to watch the Chinese New Year procession taking place.  There were so many people that it was difficult to see anything but eventually managed to find an empty office building (under renovation and that was not locked).  Unfortunately so did the security guard and we were quickly evicted.   We finally called it a night before falling into bed for our second night in Sydney.

The hobiegirls leave for Jervis Bay tomorrow afternoon for the serious business of sailing.  Watch this space…………

Blog writer: Kirsten Larsen – Photos by: Kirsten Larsen & Michala Brincker – Web & Design: Michala Brincker.