It wasn’t looking good when Josephine cancelled our Airbnb arrangement.  She’d obviously thought long and hard about taking me in and made the decision to sell up instead!

Then I moved onto Rebekah.  Pool and hot tub round at her gaff so I volunteered my details and waited.  Guess what – she’s declined my booking because she’s moving house!  Probably a house swap with Josephine!

I scoured the site for more options.  I scoured multiple hotel booking sites too and realised that the city is going to be very full that week.

I identified the perfect Airbnb location too.  Only to see three recent reviews saying the host had cancelled at 24 hours notice.  There’s a situation that needs a contingency plan!   I think mine will be crying if that happens!

Then to the rescue come Sandy and Geoff.  Decent looking room.  Hospitable sounding home.  Using their spare room income to fund the good causes that appeal to them.  In some way that appeals to me too.  A bit further away from the Adelaide Oval than I’d like but God invented trams for such an occasion.

So my Oz adventure now looks like this:

Manchester to Helsinki.  Helsinki to Qatar.  Qatar to Sydney.

Three nights in Sydney staying with Ian, who I’ve known since the day I started work.  Then off to Brisbane for the first test.  A lovely hotel within fifteen minutes walk of the cricket ground and an offer from an exiled Oldham Athletic fan to join me at the cricket.

Next up will be the Great Barrier Reef.  Flying to Cairns, driving to Port Douglas and taking in crocodiles, forests and fish.  Another lovely apart-hotel where I can do a mid-point wash allowing me to keep the weight of my suitcase down.

Then back to Brisbane to connect onto Adelaide.  Another five days of cricket where hopefully the locals won’t take to over-aggressive bowling.  And finally Melbourne.  Catch up with another old mate, see Ramsey Street and wonder if there’s any more to the place then that!

Then back to Qatar.  I do need to organise visa, accommodation and trip round the city, all of which the airline claim to be free (but never answer the phone to confirm).  After twenty hours there it’s onto Helsinki and a dangerously short connection time to get back to Manchester.  Avios points set aside just in case I miss that flight!

Now, when do those cricket tickets go on sale?

When They Upgrade Your Twin Room to a Double!