Our trip to the Russian North Caucasus seemed to come around very quickly. Really, it was only just on eight months since our Russian trip in August-September 2018 with our epic voyage along the treacherous coast of the Bering Strait. And when you come to think of it, only five months before we had undertaken a similarly challenging trip by ice road to the very far northern Russian township of Pevek, right on the Arctic Ocean - in the northern winter season. No wonder we were suffering from Travel Compression.... 

We were keen however to keep up our travels. At our age we reasoned that while we were still fit and active, we should travel as much as possible. From our experience, especially in the more remote and difficult regions of the world, it would only take the slightest illness or minor disability to make it extremely difficult if not impossible to carry heavy luggage up numerous flights of stairs, negotiate the often dangerous yawning gaps and impossible vertical ladder rungs between trains and platforms or to even undertake some of the very steep climbs as part of our treks. And that is to say nothing of stumbling through heavy snow or driving snow mobiles through treacherous forests..... We agreed, we just have to use our precious time as efficiently as we can.

As everyone who travels knows only too well, some of the most tedious work is in the few months before the trip begins. And that is especially for those like us who have large gardens and animals for whom to prepare. For weeks before we leave we spend most days spraying for weeds, mowing lawns, clipping hedges and mulching our gardens. And for cat dietitian Alan, chopping up enough food for our two Siamese cats who would be looked after by our cat and house sitter Hazel for the five weeks we would be away.

But we were well used to this routine. We were also used to organisational disasters such as flights cancelled and visas approved within days before our travels. And of course everything around the house breaking down beforehand. It is just all part of overseas travel.

But something we had not bargained upon was Yekaterina.... 

On the morning of February 12th 2019, I received a phone call from our local real estate agency at Harrington.

In one of the holiday properties in our village of Crowdy Head, the gardener had found a couple of very young kittens. Did I have a cat with kittens? Of course the question was more like "What on earth are we going to do with them?" In short, I am sure I was being asked "Can you please remove our problem?".

Now undoubtedly, I am a total cat tragic and it was understandable that I would be the first person in our tiny village to contact. But what I didn't bargain on was the impact on my life that one phone call would make.

Yes, there was a mother cat and a number of tiny kittens, no more than six weeks of age. The young tabby mother had ingeniously kept them hidden under the swimming pool area and garage of a nearby house which was used mostly for holiday purposes by the owners.

I agreed to feed the mother who was remarkably tame, and who was of course still feeding her kittens. I figured over a few weeks she would trust me enough to bring out her kittens which I would try to handle, and hopefully re-home. I didn't want to think about what would happen to the mother. We had already two cats and from our past history with strays coming into our family, the last thing we needed before a coming overseas trip was more animal stress in the family.

It didn't happen. Whatever trauma this poor creature had been through, she would not allow her kittens to come anywhere near me. In fact, I rarely saw them during the months I was feeding her. 

After some thirteen weeks, Alan and I were becoming concerned that the kittens were still hidden and irreversibly wild. More concerning was that the mother may become pregnant again (apparently cats can become pregnant even when they are feeding).

And there was yet another problem. Our vet would not spay her while she was feeding. It was too dangerous with septicaemia being a real issue. Reluctantly, he finally agreed to boarding her for a week until her milk dried up. But tame as she was with me and Fin a gentle young boy who often helped me feed her, she was still very wary and terrified of other people. How would I catch her and put her in a cage?  The only answer was to feed her in the cage with the door propped open to get her used to being contained. It worked and we set a date for her surgery. 

Yekaterina as we named her, took the matter however into her own paws. The day before she was due to be spayed she took her kittens from under the house and disappeared. Totally.

To be honest, it was a relief. Even if we could have saved the mother, I knew her now feral kittens would most likely have to be euthanised; something I would find almost impossible. 

Days passed with no sign of the cats. On the 8th day, I walked down to the house to remove once and for all I thought, all of the food bowls and cat cage. And there she was; thin and starving hungry. What's  more, she had another kitten with her I had not seen before. "Oh god" I said to myself....

The story ended well for Yekaterina whose milk by then had dried up and was able to be de-sexed. But sadly her kittens I had to trap and have humanely euthanised. Tragically there was no option; an impossible situation and one which I will not forget.  

We knew there was no possibility of re-homing this unfortunate tabby girl; a plain short legged little cat with a sway back and broken tail, who at less than one year old was little more than a kitten herself. And anyway, time was running out. It was just weeks before we were due to travel to the Russian North Caucasus.

And so Yekaterina came to live with us.

Crowdy Head is a tiny coastal village on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. It comprises around seventy houses and less than 30 full time residents. Apart from a little part time beach kiosk, we have no shops, no local businesses nor any public transport. Our nearest city is Taree, some forty kilometers away and where we catch an express train to Sydney and onto the International Airport. The journey takes around six hours, travelling through lovely rural landscape before nearing the strikingly beautiful waterways of the Central Coast, about an hour out from Sydney city. 

It is a very convenient and comfortable trip; a nice relaxing way to spend some quiet time after all the hassles usually involved in the organisation of our travels. We always spend the night at an airport hotel before flying out to Shanghai, China a destination we use as a convenient base for most of our overseas travels.

On the morning of our departure the cats were fortunately very relaxed. Not surprisingly, the Siamese guys had not been one bit impressed with the arrival of Yekaterina and we were relieved that all had been relatively calm for the weeks leading up to our departure. The last thing we wanted was any difficulty for our ever reliable cat sitter Hazel.

A serene misty morning dawned over Crowdy Bay. We were packed and ready to depart when our kind friend Peter arrived to drive us to the railway station. And we took off in fine time to catch our train. It was we had to admit, all good karma.

Country people catching the Grafton to Sydney XPT train are always friendly. In the waiting room a group of passengers seeing all our luggage were inquisitive as to where we may be travelling. "And where are you heading off to? To Canada or New Zealand perhaps?" they asked. "Russia and the North Caucasus" we replied. They looked puzzled and concerned. Alan clarified our response "Well, we are actually going to the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia etc " 

It was obvious they had no idea of any of these regions until Alan mentioned Chechnya. Shaking their heads, they asked the bleeding obvious "But isn't that dangerous?". We smiled and changed the subject. Mostly because we didn't know either....

Our train journey to Sydney was very pleasant. The train line begins by following the Manning River and good rain in the region had made for unusually lush scenery along the beautiful banks of the majestic waterway. Rainy conditions followed us to Sydney. But we were pleased. Hopefully it meant our village was getting rain too and our gardens would be happy.  

The whole trip was very comfortable. The staff was friendly and helpful, and the service excellent as usual. Thankfully Alan managed to buy his long sought after meat pie and even the wine was good. We are always impressed with the small bottles of wine served on the train with the screw top also acting as a wine glass. For us, they are a great device for overseas travel.

We always seem to meet interesting people on our train ride from Sydney Central to the International Airport Railway Station. And of course, the atmosphere is always exciting, with so many of the passengers travelling to overseas destinations.

This time we met with two friendly young Israeli guys. There was of course, nothing unusual about that - except that in addition to a massive amount of luggage, they had a huge pram loaded up with packages and a very tiny baby. 

During the train ride they shared nursing the child, fussing over it to quite an extraordinary degree. When we commented that they obviously had their hands full with luggage, a pram and a baby they answered. "Oh, we are heading off to Seattle to adopt a couple more". When we laughed saying we could not imagine travelling with any more baggage and babies than they had they replied animatedly "Oh say, we will cope just fine!"

As usual, we stayed the night at the Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel. Although the service can be somewhat impersonal and the bar, restaurants and food very ordinary, the location of the hotel within the airport grounds is unsurpassable, just meters away from the International Terminal.  

We enjoyed a comfortable evening and a well-earned early night. And wondered what was in stall for us on this coming journey....