The Journey Here

So, after 6 months of wondering what the hell we were doing, the time finally came to pack our cases and head off to the airport. Anthony & Jenny (Clare's mum and dad) came with us to Heathrow and after an emotional farewell we headed off to the Club Class lounge for our free food and wine. We tried to pretend we were used to flying business class all the time but I don't think we were very convincing ("what it's all free?!"). We got so carried away with it all, that we lost track of time and suddenly had a mad panic to get to the gate on time. We got there just before they shut the gate. Phew!

The flight was OK - it was 11.5 hours. We had lots of room and our seats reclined into flat beds. Tom slept like a baby all night. Milly woke a few times crying (once coz she needed a poo!). Clare and I were knackered by the morning.

We arrived in Cape Town about 9am and were met by a driver from the hotel. We just wanted to crash in our rooms when we arrived but we couldn't check into our rooms until 2. So we headed off to the waterfront area of Cape Town. We didn't really do much sight seeing in Cape Town as none of us were really in the mood. We had planned to get the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain, but we know we'll be back in Cape Town again, so we can do that next time.

Back at the hotel, we had a bit of a sleep then went for a swim in the pool and had a good meal in the evening. At the hotel we met one of the other families who was also coming over to St Helena for the first time. We knew we were boh going over on the ship at the same and had emailed each other before hand to make contact. So, there's Phil who is from England, but emigrated to Australia about 10 years ago. His mum was born on St Helena, so it's a bit of a homecoming for him - he keeps discovering more relatives each day he's here. His wife is DT and they have 2 kids - Sappho (9 year old girl) and Arthur (aged 1).

The next morning it was Tom's birthday, so after opening his pressies and having breakfast it was time to head to the port to get the ship. At the port we met the other Aussie family who are here (Paul, originally from England, who emigrated to New Zealand and now lives in Australia, his wife Margaret and their kids, Richard (16) - who will be doing his A levels here and Louise (18) who is having a gap year here.)

Travelling on the ship was quite an experience. The cabin was quite cramped with 4 of us sharing. The first few nights we were on the captain's table for dinner which seemed quite scary but the captain was an easy going bloke so not too formal. After sailing for a couple of hours out of Cape Town there were some whales nearby, so the ship turned back towards Cape Town so we could all get a better look at them. A good indication of how time is not as important over here!

There was lots of activities to do on the ship like quizzes and games on deck. There was a small pool as well which the kids both spent a lot of time in. There was a party on New Years Eve, so we all stayed up til 1am and Milly spent most of the night dancing.

On 2 Jan, we stopped in Namibia for the day. Tom and I went on a guided tour in a 4 x 4 to the desert, looking for chameleons, lizards and snakes. It was good fun especially driving over the dunes. Clare and Milly went into the local town (Walvis Bay) shopping.

By the time we got to St Helena, I was glad to get off the ship. It was a good way to travel for a few days and great to meet lots of people who gave us some really useful info about being on St Helena, but I was beginning to find it a bit intense - I need my own space!

The night before we arrived in Cape Town there was a barbecue on deck and a game of skittles. We were arriving at St Helena at 6am, so we got up at 5.30am to see us approaching the island. It was amazing to see it for the first time and there were lots of dolphins swimming around the ship. We all got off fairly quickly. The ship can't get up right close to the island coz of the rocks so there's a small ferry which takes us from the ship to the port. However, Clare and Milly had to get the air taxi (which is basically a crate picked up by a crane and put on a boat) because Milly was too small to go down the steps to the ferry on her own.

Someone from HR showed us around Jamestown, to the Police Station to sort out our driving licenses, to the Cable & Wireless office to sort out our phone/internet/TV and showed where the Post Office and Bank were. Then we got in our hire cars and were taken to Piccolo Hill. There's about 12 houses here, some are empty. But apart from us there's the 2 Aussie families, KB (from South Africa, also arrived on the same ship - his wife and children are arriving in a few months), Dax (an accountant in my department) and Nicole, Derien and Michael (she's the hospital manager) and Nick and Lynne and their 2 boys aged 6 and 8. Tom is getting on really well with them, they are outside playing most of the time building dens and stuff.

The house is pretty basic but quite spacious. We're in No. 10 at the moment, but due to move into No. 3 next month when they've finished doing it up. They're both pretty much the same but No. 3 has amazing views from the house. We have a tennis court behind our house and the golf course is on the other side of the road (no smashed windows yet!)

So the adventure starts here. Hope you find the blog interesting. Please post your comments, otherwise we may not bother! Who said I'd never figure out how to set up my own blog!?!