Travel plans have been altered...again. A flight to or from Christmas Island has been cancelled...again. Altering travel plans has become second nature during the days of COVID-19. Since I arrived (three days late due to my flight being cancelled), at least three flights have been cancelled due to the inability to offload the jet fuel from the cargo ship. I woke up early with bad thoughts, thinking my flight was going to be cancelled due to a lack of fuel. I packed up my gear whilst Regine made some roti with lentils for breakfast. Last night I offered to shout her a drink on (what I believed to be) my final night on the island where every day is Christmas Day. Kelana, Regine's landlord, gave me a lift to the airport. She came along for the ride so she could get out of the settlement. Regine doesn't own a vehicle, therefore she doesn't venture far from town.
At the airport, it was all a big waiting game. Face masks have to be worn and there was little communication when the flight hadn't landed. More than 20 minutes had passed and there was still no sign of the flight. It's not uncommon for the flight to come all this way and then be unable to land. When the plane finally touched down about 30 minutes after the scheduled time, everyone started clapping and celebrating. However, I wasn't gonna say "mission accomplished" until the plane took off and we were in the air.
I was all checked in and many people had already gone through security but I had a drink and a toastie whilst I chatted to some of the people I've met. I have a soft spot for Sam. She's a gorgeous lady with long dreadlocks, and I've told her she could be a "Mrs. Bob Marley." Jock is one of the local firefighters; he and I have had a few drinks at Tracks Tavern and he cooked me dinner at his place the other night. Mike and Paul gave me a lift into town, even though the local taxi driver was pissed off because I didn't call him and book a ride. Roughly an hour after checking in, we were told there was a "technical issue" with the plane and that it "could be an hour or it could be a few hours before we go," even though they still anticipated us flying today. With nothing any of us could do, we all just stood and sat around. It was preferable to wait outside since we didn't have to wear a face mask. At around 3 PM, the announcement was made that the flight was cancelled and that it's been rebooked for 12:30 PM tomorrow. Good grief!
In all the years I've travelled I've had surprisingly few issues with flight disruptions and cancellations. A few years ago I had to stay an extra day in the Falkland Islands but the airline informed me by phone well ahead. Going to Norway back in '18 I had a flight cancelled but had the matter sorted out and managed to get rebooked on an earlier flight, though I still lost a few hours in Norway. On my way to Iceland back in '07 my LA-New York leg was cancelled and then I was rebooked on another flight. However, Christmas Island is the most problematic place I've been to regarding flights. Lack of fuel, bad weather, technical issues; flights to and from Christmas Island are cancelled or delayed for whatever reason. My friend Hadyn remarked "sounds just like Norfolk" but I've done eight trips to Norfolk Island and have never once had a flight delayed or cancelled.
Since today's incident is an airline issue rather than a weather issue, I hung around at the airport to see what they would offer us. They allocated accommodation but I wanted to go back and stay with Regine. I simply don't like hotels and tourist accommodation, and when I think about it I'm actually saving the airline money because staying with Regine is only $28 per night whereas allocated accommodation would cost $150+. Everyone was also given a $50 dinner voucher so I decided I was getting a big, fat steak for dinner. After all the drama today, I deserve it. After making sure to get to the tavern early, it's exactly what I did: a steak and chips topped with mushroom sauce and a side of salad, and garlic prawns as an appetizer. I was determined to use every cent possible on the voucher.
The next day:
I wasn't going to believe I was leaving Christmas Island until the plane took off. It was bucketing down rain and, surprisingly, the ship was seriously offloading supplies by then. At the airport it was another waiting game, even though we were given a voucher to use at the kiosk, so I opted for a toastie that took more than an hour to make. Once on the plane, we were told there was a delay due to the weather. More than 30 minutes later we were off and then we had to do a refueling stop in Learmonth, Western Australia. In a rarity, we couldn't disembark and stretch our legs; we had to stay on the plane with our seat belts unfastened as the plane was being refueled. The safety demonstration had to be repeated and then once on the ground in Perth there was yet another delay. 30 minutes later I finally was in the terminal.
Christmas Island is most definitely a spectacular place. The red crab migration is one of the world's great spectacles and the island is an absolute delight for biologists, bird watchers, and nature lovers. I definitely recommend it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, although a schedule as flexible as an gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast is certainly a must.
