Holland < - > Australia in 3 days.

I just have to share this on this day.
Today the Sengers’ will finish their 47th year in Australia since leaving Holland.
We left everything behind by leaving Rotterdam in the morning of the 15th of July 1961 and we arrived here in Sydney just before 12 midnight on the 18th of July 1961.
That was a trip that should have been just over a day but took us almost 3 days.
The trip was very eventful.
Firstly an engine had to be replaced in Rome and we were put into a hotel for one night very close to the Vatican.
In Karachi we were all ushered from the plane and taken to refreshment rooms with showers etc. and then taken to an beautiful outdoor restaurant were we had dinner.
After dinner, back to the plane.
Why this was done was never explained to us.
All went reasonable well until the plane landed in Biak (now part of Indonesia) were the plane had a blow-out of one of the tyres.
It was quite an exiting sight.
All passenger that were still left to continue to Australia standing around the plane and watching the staff replacing a wheel by kerosene torch light!
It took most of the night till we would continue.
We arrived in Sydney after the landing curfew but because the plane was almost 3 days overdue, it was allowed to land anyway.
All passengers had to wait till the people from immigration and customs arrived and again, that took some time.
But, we did arrive safely.