Touch Down!

The moon was full and bright as the plane abruptly touched down and reconnected with the earth at Nadi International Airport. Ten hours into our flight to Sydney, we were told we'd be diverting to the small island nation of Fiji. What was to be a fourteen hour and 40 minute non-stop flight turned into an eighteen hour flight with one stopover. Apparently, fog covered the eastern coast of Australia. Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney had visibility below what was acceptable to land and we needed refueling.

I have my own suspicions. Our flight was packed. In fact, it was overbooked. There was a large group of 50+ students belonging to some sort of marching band or orchestra, each traveling with a pack for clothes and a large box containing their musical instrument of choice. If you ask me, the plane was too heavy to make it on one tank to Sydney, especially since we were flying against the jet stream. My suspicions were later confirmed when I asked our taxi driver and the women working reception at our hostel if there was fog in the morning. Both said the weather was "fine." But, that is just my theory. I suppose an unusually large blanket of fog could have covered the equivalent of the entire Pacific west coast...

We spent just over an hour on Fijian soil to refuel and fill out documentation. We departed just before the first sign of sun over the south Pacific. The morning light cast dark shadows on the jagged hills, but I knew they were beautiful nonetheless. What a tease! I guess I'll have to make the journey back to Fiji of my own free will. For now, my Australian adventure has begun, to say the very least!!!