Day 01: Friday, 28 Sep 12 – Travel From Canberra to Darwin

After months of planning this is the day…… We are leaving for Timor Leste….. I was up early as I had a lot to do before being at the airport at 3pm. Before leaving home, I packed the final few items and did some work from home. Then it was off for a flat out day at work. At work I had an all staff training for my staff. I also had been on training the previous day and hence was a little short on time to get everything done before I headed off for two weeks. Somehow I managed, even if it included sending emails from Sydney Airport on the way out of the country.

The best part of the day was that everything ran to plan. After work the taxi which I ordered from the car on the way home was on time and we were off to the airport. At the airport the team, families and Scouting people gathered. There was electricity in the air from the excitement. The team weighed in the boxes and as luck would have it all the flights to Sydney had been delayed except ours. Once checked in we had a team photos and Peter Harris (Scouts ACT Chief Commissioner) farewelled us. In Peter’s speech he talked about having a great time, being safe and most importantly about inspiring others to follow in our footsteps on our return.

Next stop, Sydney…… Sydney was a short break; however it was enough time to get some dinner and a cuppa before our long flight to Darwin (the longest part of the journey). It is funny how it takes much longer to cross over part of Australia, than it takes to get to Timor Leste from Darwin. So after a few phone calls home, we boarded our flight to Darwin…… This flight was delayed. Firstly because of a child that was due to connect with the flight from Port Douglas on their way to PNG….. And then by the time they got on the plane there was a thunderstorm further delaying out flight. Though the flight delay was not that important as we had about 6 hours in Darwin, I did get to watch most of the Men in Black 3 (MIB3) movie before we took off.

Other articles on the Timor Leste Project and my Scouting adventure:

• Timor Leste 2012 Project
• Projects with Scouting
• Day 1: Friday, 28 Sep 12 – Travel From Canberra to Darwin
• Day 2: Saturday, 29 Sep 12 –Darwin to Dili
• Day 3: Sunday, 20 Sep 12 – Dili
• Day 4: Monday, 01 Oct 12 – Dili
• Day 5: Tuesday, 02 Oct 12 – Dili
• Day 6: Wednesday, 03 Oct 12 – Dili
• Day 7: Thursday, 04 Oct 12 – Dili to Maubisse
• Day 8: Friday, 05 Oct 12 – Maubisse
• Day 9: Saturday, 06 Oct 12 – Maubisse
• Day 10: Sunday, 07 Oct 12 – Maubisse
• Day 11: Monday, 08 Oct 12 – Maubisse
• Day 12: Tuesday, 09 Oct 12 – Maubisse
• Team Email Home 01 Oct 12
• Team Email Home 04 Oct 12
• Team Email Home 10 Oct 12

Photos from the Timor Leste 2012 Project are available at:

• Main Photo Album
• Team Meeting with the Ambassador
• Parents Information Night
• Final Team Meeting
• Attila’s iPhone Part 1
• Attila’s iPhone Part 2

Links to Blogs on the Adventure:

• The Timor Connection at WSJ
• The Timor Leste Project – The Beginning
• Timor Leste Project Committee Formed
• At Home with the Timor Leste Ambassador
• Ms Kirsty Sword Gusmao Breakfast
• Timor Leste Project Planning Nearly Completed
• Timor Leste Project is getting Close
• In Timor Leste
• Timor Update

Links to media related to this project:

• Canberra Times Article – Alola Foundation Breakfast