A Dispatch from the First-Ever Direct Dallas-to-Melbourne Flight, One of the Longest Routes in the World

I can safely say that this is the first time I’ve been serenaded at DFW Airport by a guy with a didgeridoo. I’m embarking on the first-ever Qantas Airways direct Dallas-to-Melbourne flight, and everyone at the gate is enjoying the music and eating Australian sponge cake. Qantas now offers this flight three times a week, and if you’re flying First or Business Class, you can hang out beforehand in the new Admiral’s Club at D-22 and kick back with some jambalaya, sole cooked in garlic lemon sauce, sushi rolls, and wine. It’s almost enough to distract from the fact that you’re about to live inside an airplane for the next 17 hours.

When he finishes playing, the First Nations musician chats with some of us at the gate. He explains that the sounds of the didgeridoo represent animals — a slithery resonance conjures a snake while a bouncy one honors the kangaroo. I want nothing more from my week in Victoria, Australia than to see as many kangaroos as possible. My wish will be granted, both at a wildlife refuge called Moonlit Sanctuary, where I’ll also see a Tasmanian devil, and in the “bush” (the Australian term for wilderness) in Grampians National Park. I’ll see females carrying joeys in their pouches, males standing on their hind legs to “box” at sunset, and in my Business Class cubicle, a stuffed genderless one with a white ribbon around its neck.

Also in my cubicle, I find an eye mask, ear plugs, socks, lip balm, and a seat that reclines so far, it magically becomes a bed. Prior to takeoff, the flight attendants hand out soft gray pajamas, so within minutes, we’re all dressed alike—Team Business Class.

It’s a good team to be on. Business Class is a luxury hotel in the sky. At 9,000 miles, the Dallas-to-Melbourne voyage is one of the longest flight routes in the world, but I get a menu to peruse for every meal, attendants regularly offering me drinks, and miraculously, a decent night’s (day’s?) sleep. It’s actually fun. I watch two movies.

Stepping off the plane and into the Melbourne Airport, however, there’s no escaping the surreal disorientation of a 17-hour time difference, so I’m in the market for a recovery day.

How to Beat Jet Lag in Australia

Highly recommended: If you’re not afraid of driving on the wrong side of the road, rent a car and head south of Melbourne to the slow-paced Mornington Peninsula, which Australians pronounce Pen-INCH-ula. It’s a coastal region with hot spring spas, artisanal cheese shops, beach-front golf courses, and tiny “cellar doors” (Australian for tasting rooms), where you’ll sample pinot noirs and chardonnays that you can’t buy anywhere but straight from the vintners’ hands. At Montalto, you can picnic in the vineyards and walk the Sculpture Trail to see giant installations by international artists. At Green Olive, the owner is always there and has the best stories to go with his easy-drinking wines.

It’s a cold, rainy day, so I check into Jackalope Hotel, throw on the thick hooded robe that I find in the closet, and hit the outdoor infinity jacuzzi that gives me the most stunning view of the vineyards. My Australian adventure has begun, a week of kangaroos and wallabies lies ahead, and for the first time in my life, I won’t dread my flight home.