Australia: Settling In

Praise God that our travels to Australia have gone (for the most part) smoothly.  On February 21st, we left Calgary for Cairns, Australia, with stops in Los Angeles and Brisbane.  Our luggage was checked right through and met us at customs in Brisbane.  Unfortunately, we missed our connection there, but were quickly on the next flight to Cairns.  We reached Cairns about 36 hours after leaving Calgary - just a little bit exhausted!  Most of our luggage will continue ahead of us into Papua New Guinea whenever MAF is sending goods into the country.

An early start at Calgary International Airport

Getting set for our longest leg

Los Angeles to Brisbane = 11,500 km or 14 hours of flight

We had the weekend to recover and adjust to Australian time at Tree Tops Lodge in Cairns.  A joint venture between MAF and Wycliffe, Tree Tops provides a quiet retreat for missionaries taking a break from the field.

Hannah welcomes you to Tree Tops Lodge.

The weather is hot, humid and rainy, a welcome break from an Alberta winter.  It does take some time to adjust to all the living things around us.  Hannah had forgotten that house flies are harmless.  She also told stories of seeing what she described as a "house squirrel" in our kitchenette.  On day two, Tim confirmed that the sightings were of a gecko (phew!).

We are enjoying the summer weather!

A swim in the pouring monsoon rains.

On Saturday we felt rested enough to take a bus into town and explore Cairns a bit.  The beach at Cairns is not for swimming (news to me!) but the Esplanade area by the shore includes a boardwalk, public swimming pool, playgrounds and a splash park.

Off to explore the city.

The pool at the Esplanade

In the city of Cairns, the tide comes in and out across a mud flat.

Early on Monday morning, we were picked up from Tree Tops and driven an hour or so up onto the Tablelands (a large increase in elevation) to the small town of Mareeba.  Hannah and Laura were dropped at our accommodations along with our luggage, while Tim continued on to the airport to begin his first day of his Standardization Course.

Settling into our accommodations in Mareeba

Tim has now completed the first of four weeks of required flight training here in Mareeba.  The days are long, and there is a still a touch of time zone adjustment happening. The hot humid weather takes energy out of you also.  There are three other pilots in the course, two Dutch (one headed to Arnhem Land then PNG, the other to Chad) and an Australian also headed to Arnhem Land.  Flight training with MAF is so different than many other places.  It is much more "what decision do you need to consider or make to mitigate a threat" than it is "here is how use this type or machine."  Tim is very grateful for the good base knowledge and training he had at Prairie that was taught very much in line with MAF philosophy, but is struggling with it being several years ago.  There is plenty of rust that needs to get knocked off still.

Tim will complete his Standardization Course on the plane on the left - a Cessna 206

When he returns from his training each evening, Hannah greets him with, "So what did you learn today, Daddy?"  She hasn't really been used to Daddy leaving on a schedule in the morning and home in the evening, the last few years have been a much more erratic schedule for our family.

Hannah has been making cards for "the ones we miss."

We have been met with great hospitality by the MAF Mareeba staff and other pre-field missionaries here for training.  We've been provided with meals, rides, and invitations to various groups and events (mostly Hannah and Laura). The property we are on includes six units housing individuals or families from all over the world who are here for training with MAF.  Hannah enjoys playing with the little boys next door; she will be fluent in Dutch soon!