Damien Varley began the the first leg of his arduous journey to New Zealand when he checked in to Dublin Airport for his Aer Lingus flight to London.
From there he'll fly to Dubai and on to Auckland where he expects to arrive on Saturday evening.
He spent the morning getting kitted out in IRFU HQ before making his way to Dublin Airport for a 4pm check- in.
"The journey ahead of me doesn't bother me in the slightest," he said, "I'm just thrilled to be heading out there. And looking forward to getting into the swing of things and hopefully getting the opportunity to making a positive contribution."
Varley was named in the Munster squad for Saturday's RaboDirect PRO12 game against Scarlets in Musgrave Park and in his absence and the unfortunate injury to Jerry Flannery, the hooking duties will fall to Denis Fogarty and Mike Sherry.
