"It's just one big awake on the plane"

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LITTLE COCKY’S COMMENTS: I was very happy when we left home because we were going overseas to do lots of fun things. On the airplane, we had our own TV to play games and watch movies. We could also watch the maps to see where we were going. The flight took 14 hours and was very hot, long and tiring. It was night time, but we only had a little bit of sleep.

FROM GOANNA: "It's just one big awake on the plane" is how Goanna's mum describes the flight between Australia and the United Kingdom. Oh how right about that she is!

The first 14 leg from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi was a smooth night flight, departing from Tullamarine airport around 11pm. We were well looked after by the airline with bulkehead seats and a baby bassinet for Possy. During the entire flight, she pretty much carried on as per her normal routine, including much sleeping, hooray! However, unfortunately any chance of restful sleep eluded the rest of us due to the bulkhead area of the plane being unbearably hot. Staying adequately hydrated during the flight in order to be able to breastfeed Possy became a real challenge for Goanna. We arrived at Abu Dhabi airport around 6:30am local time, feeling pretty tired and dehydrated. We passed the time during our 3 1/2 hour lay-over, with freshening up, resting and a meal. Although local time decreed it was breakfast time, our bodies said time for lunch or dinner. As such, Little Cocky thought it was pretty funny having pizza and Burger King at 7am!

The second flight, 8hrs from Abu Dhabi to Manchester, was much more comfortable, as the airconditioning system on this new plane seemed to be working properly. Again, Possy coped really well with the flight, carrying on her normal routine. Sadly sleep for the rest of us proved elusive due to us all being overtired, combined with the distractions of a day-time flight, particularly, in Little Cocky's case, the in-flight movies and video games, which he loved.

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Photos

22Sep2010
We loved the fancy ceiling in Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal 3.

22Sep2010
Goanna and Little Cocky on the link between Terminals 1 and 3 at Abu Dhabi Airport

22Sep2010
Cocky, Little Cocky and Possy on the link between Terminals 1 and 3 at Abu Dhabi Airport

22Sep2010
Waiting at Abu Dhabi Airport for connecting flight to Manchester

22Sep2010
Possy's temporary sleeping 'tent' at Abu Dhabi Airport - only partially successful. There was too much activity and noise going on around us for her to sleep.

22Sep2010
About to take off from Abu Dhabi for Manchester. It was all getting a bit much for Little Cocky by this point.