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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to go to Australia for the weekend?!

920 replies

HufflepuffHarpy · 07/07/2019 07:16

My best friend (male if relevant) is getting married in the autumn. I'm in the UK (where we both grew up) he now lives in Australia.

I desperately want to go to the wedding.

It will cost £1000 for the flight plus accomodation etc over there which is in no way small money.

I have 4DC so would be asking my parents (very hands on babysitters, have had them for me and DH to go on holiday etc) to have the DC (all under 10) while DH is at work.

I would leave on a thursday AM flight and get back tuesday pm. SO literally fly in for the wedding, the day after and then back home.

Am I being totally crazy to consider this?! (Haven't actually asked DH yet!!)

OP posts:
MsTSwift · 08/07/2019 08:00

I’m not lecturing god I wish it was all fine I bloody love travel but it’s not fine is it and us all flying about on a whim is indefensible.

BIWI · 08/07/2019 08:03

I think you'll find that you have been lecturing @MsTSwift Hmm

poobumwee · 08/07/2019 08:04

I went to Aus for a week. Took me 3 days to get over the jetlag. It was awful. If someone can advise you on how to get your bodyclock sorted then worth considering

useronetwo · 08/07/2019 08:09

I did it for a week, have had lots of friends do it for 36 hours for sporting events etc. we live in OZ. Jet lag isn't too bad as you don't have time to 'turn' if you have money. Do it. Just be prepared to feel a bit out of sorts !!!! What a lovely thing to do OP Smile

useronetwo · 08/07/2019 08:10

Oh and get sleeping tablets from the Dr! Makes it slightly manageable.......

Original poster
HufflepuffHarpy · 08/07/2019 08:10

well......IT'S BOOKED!!!!

I leave uk on the tuesday, arrives wednesday afternoon in brisbane so not too many hours to power through to bedtime! I then leave Monday evening arriving 8am tuesday morning in the UK. so i will have 5 full days on the ground in Oz, two full days before the wedding for delays and jet lag sorting.

I am beyond excited and so is my friend that i am coming.

I'm not getting drawn into a fight on the environmental impacts, you only live once and to me a wedding is not a frivolous reason.

average - the savings are family money, i will be paying it back from my personal money, hence why its 'borrowing'!

Thank you for all the support and the tips to minimise teh jet lag!

eeeeee! Grin

OP posts:
DexyMidnight · 08/07/2019 08:13

MsTSwift can I ask you something in the nicest possible way, are you going to discourage your children from flying when they are older, just holiday in the UK and Europe etc? Wouldn’t that be clipping their wings a bit?

DexyMidnight · 08/07/2019 08:14

Yay OP so pleased for you. Remember to borrow some noise cancelling headphones and an adaptery bit so you can use them with the in flight entertainment. It saved me recently with a howling toddler

Notcopingwellhere · 08/07/2019 08:15

Woo boo, exciting! When do you leave?Please come back after the trip and give an honest account of how you felt- it would be great to have the actual reality to compare to all the theoretical scenarios that people have suggested. Hopefully no hallucinations Grin!

Notcopingwellhere · 08/07/2019 08:15

Woo hoo! Not boo! Stupid autocorrect!

Fivebyfivesq · 08/07/2019 08:16

All the Aussies at work do this. I know one person who flew home for 24 hours to surprise someone! If you’re on the fast BA flight via Singapore it’ll be fine. Don’t live with regrets!

Fivebyfivesq · 08/07/2019 08:16

Good for you op!

PrincessLouis · 08/07/2019 08:23

I did something similar for a wedding in New York - out Sat am back Mon am. Had time for a few hours’ sightseeing on Sat afternoon, wedding Sat eve, drinks out afterwards, more sightseeing early Sun (up early with jet lag), then met wedding people for brunch & hike then back to airport Sun late afternoon. I wouldn’t do it every weekend as knackering and expensive, but it was fun and different and most importantly I wanted to be there for my friend and I wanted to lay down a marker that I still wanted to be ‘proper friends’ even though my friend would be in NY permanently

Di11y · 08/07/2019 08:29

I'd get dh to take a day annual leave if poss so I could go a day early and have a day to decompress and allow for delays before the big day.

SushiForAmateurs · 08/07/2019 08:52

Good for you, OP.

I have flown NZ - UK and vice versa countless time, and have only stopped off 'half' way overnight once. It made the jet lag much worse.

Air NZ is the obvious carrier to fly people straight through @bingbongnoise - you board in Auckland or Heathrow and fly to the other, with just a one-hour stop-over in LA.

My 70-something MIL flies out every year, and does the whole trip in one go. Perfectly usual.

The last time we did the flight, we arrived on the Friday, and then had a night out with friends on the Saturday - we were up until about 2am!

If you're buzzed and in the zone - which you will be for the wedding - the jetlag isn't necessarily a problem at all.

And as others have tried to point out, the OP wasn't thinking of going in a weekend, but for a weekend.

This is all completely, completely doable, especially as you're now stretching it out.

theWarOnPeace · 08/07/2019 09:16

I’ve done it! 3 days, and for the same reason that I went I would do it again. What I would say, though, is stretch it to 6 days. I honestly don’t think it would make a massive difference to you parents and DH if the kids are at school. Book them into kids club or arrange play dates or whatever works. Only reason I didn’t go longer is because mine weren’t at school and x3 of them, husband worked long hours etc etc

PestoCaffeinisto · 08/07/2019 09:28

Yay!!!
Am pleased you’re going, life’s too short not to Smile
Just try and sleep as much as you can on the flights, drink plenty of water & walk around at intervals.

Enjoy! And hope the wedding goes well 👰 🎩 💐

Tavannach · 08/07/2019 09:35

Having children is terrible for the environment.

Of the many stupid statements I've read on MN that is easily the stupidest.

crumpet · 08/07/2019 09:39

Leaving aside the cost issue, which will be up to you and your dh, then no reason why not.

Yes it will be knackering, but plenty of people do similar journeys for work meetings, and this sounds as if it’s a one off opportunity.

Notcopingwellhere · 08/07/2019 09:52

@Tavannach there is a huge amount of research that suggests that having children is one of the worst things anyone can do for the environment.

See here for example

Have you been living under a rock?

MsTSwift · 08/07/2019 09:55

Dexy yes. We can’t all keep flying like this.

MsTSwift · 08/07/2019 09:59

biwi not lecturing just stating the facts. But seems everyone has my mothers approach which is -
I like holidays
China is worse
Ummmm I really like holidays

Hey ho

Radyward · 08/07/2019 10:03

Go. Get your gp to prescribe some v v mild sleepers and you will be fine. Myself a nd sis flew to America some yrs ago and did this. We were as fresh as a daisy off the plane and havent taken any since

QueenKong101 · 08/07/2019 10:09

Expat in Hong Kong here, so not as big a journey for sure, but we've done this a few times back to the UK over the years.

I can guarantee you'd get quite relaxed responses if you posted this in my local mums' group - it's not that unusual out here!

Have a wonderful time!

TheFormidableMrsC · 08/07/2019 10:18

OP, I know somebody who did this trip in the same timescale as you describe...for a stag night Grin. He was a bit knocked out for a week afterwards but otherwise it was fine. I don't think I could do it in all honesty, but you can medicate to cope with jetlag and you clearly want to be part of this occasion. Go for it!