Suzy Cornelius outlines the travel opportunity for Australian Aveo residents to visit the Aveo campus in Shanghai. It sounded good, but got even better when I found out there was a Starbucks right next door. I signed up immediately!

From the first brochure in July – to our departure tomorrow, there have been emails, meet-ups, and lots of planning happening. We’ve come through it all, and we’re about to set off on a seriously exciting adventure. For my travel buddy and I here at Murwillumbah, the trip starts an hour earlier than everyone else – at 5am. With the time difference between each side of the border, there’s a lot to work out to get the timing right.  We were scheduled to leave at 6, but we’re just a little bit nervous about possible heavy traffic on the highway – so we’ve decided to start out a bit earlier. Most people know I don’t do mornings – so just getting to the airport is going to be more than a bit of a challenge.

Alan talks to Christina, with Nicola from Freedom Travel, at the meet-and-greet morning tea in Newstead, Brisbane.

Joan, Lynette and Maureen buddied up to discuss the finer details, like, ‘what to pack’.

Luckily for us, the Murwillumbah bus is going to be our transport to the airport. At the unlikely hour of 5am (I didn’t even know that time existed!), Alan and I will board the bus, being very capably driven by Bev, and make our way to the Gold Coast. All Gold Coasters will have made their way to the designated spot, where we’ll meet them. From there, it’s on to Brisbane airport. I wonder if we could fit the bus through the drive-through coffee shop on the way? I know there’s a warning about the low-hanging beam at one of them, so I’m guessing we wouldn’t fit. I’ve always wanted to go through a drive-through in a bus and watch the worried look on the face of the attendant as they try to calculate serving 20 people in one hit. Maybe it won’t happen tomorrow though. Anyway, it’s okay because I stocked up on some coffee lollies today, just in case. I need my coffee! My eyes don’t even open until I’ve had my caffeine hit for the day.

What I’m still in denial about is the fact that, to be on the bus at 5am, I have to be up about an hour earlier. Now that’s going to be worth witnessing, when I figure out that my eyes will need to open just before 4am and I actually have to make the exit from my comfy warm bed a few minutes later. And the sun won’t even be up then!

And as the clock ticks slowly on, the realisation of how little sleep I’ll actually get tonight is starting to register, so it’s off to bed now, and I’ll report in sometime over the next two days, hopefully.

The mighty Tweed River

I’ve finally worked out how to put the Register and Login pages on the site so you can now register. Just click on the ‘Register’ tab in the menu at the top of the page, and complete the details on the form. Your details are kept safe and secure and are never shared without your consent. By registering and then logging in, you’ll be able to share in the conversations online.

There are so many options within the village: the lake, the pool, the hall, the gazebo, the library; they’re all there for us to use, so let’s make it happen.

With the weather starting to turn on its spring warmth it’s time to get out and about and enjoy the sunshine – oh – and smell the coffee, and what better place to meet than the lake, with coffee in hand.

Why not make a coffee, gather a few friends, or all of us if you want, and we’ll catch up.