11.1.19 From Healesville to Melbourne - the return journey begins

At 9.45am I leave the hotel and head back to the big bakery. I sit outside in the garden behind the building at a picnic table in the shade and enjoy coffee, sandwich, and liters of water - today it's scorching hot again. There are dozens of ibises sitting around me, all eagerly waiting for food. So to speak, Australian pigeons... I don't leave until 1pm. I've been thinking back and forth several times whether and what I should still look at today and besides a picnic spot on the way, I couldn't think of anything else. When I get there, all the shaded seats are taken and I don't need to sit in the sun at noon. So I drive on back roads towards the airport. I arrive shortly before 4pm at the car rental place, then sit there in the sun for another 45 minutes and drink my last bottles of water. The return process is quick, they are happy that I report the loud wheel noise to them and they take me to the airport. A look at the map of Australia shows me: I have probably explored about 0.2% of this continent. Unbelievable how huge this country is. After only 1,607km in Victoria, I drop off the car.

The counter only opens 3 hours before, so I have another 30 minutes with my big bag. But then I get rid of it, stroll through and along the shops to the Singapore Airlines lounge, which Air China uses here for business guests. The lounge is pretty inconvenient, without daylight, small. But there is a bit of food and drink, and so the last hours in Australia pass by as well.

The business section on Air China is not full and I don't have a neighbor. After two movies, I want to sleep, but then the plane shakes so much that it annoys me - but after another hour it's calm and I sleep for a good 5 hours five hours after departure from Melbourne. At 4.40am local time (7.40 Australian time), the plane gently lands in Beijing. The control in the transit area is a bit different from January 2018. The first passport control no longer exists. Unfortunately, this does not mean any real time savings, as the trainees downstairs at the security control/liquids are giving their all as usual. Everyone is scanned with hand detectors, everyone has to step on a stool, and liquids, such as water bottles from the plane (!!) have to be thrown away. It should be noted that no one is allowed in here from outside, only people who come from airplanes and transfer in Beijing. I push two armchairs together in the lounge and take a nap.

After about 9 hours, we continue.

The return flight is uneventful. I can sleep better than on the first flight and we arrive in Frankfurt on time.