The alarm was set for 7am this morning but I actually woke on my own about 6:30. I felt rested and didn't even try to go back to sleep. I packed up my things and went down to the dining area for the complimentary bfast. I know you are wondering what I had...Toast and PB. With a side of fruit. It hit the spot. At about 8am all our group gathered in the hotel lobby for a group photo. We then boarded a bus (we had our driver Scotty from the aboriginal experience again) and drove from Port Douglas back to Cairns. We made one quick stop on the coast for photos but otherwise we went straight there.
We first went to the airport and this is where I said goodbye to most of my group. Thirteen of the sixteen (and the guide) were continuing on to Alice Springs and to tour central Australia down to Melbourne. Myself, Kevin from the USA and Ben from Toronto had other travel plans. We got back on the bus and Scotty drove us into town. I didn't really have a place to go since I was flying out later that day so Ben let me come with him to his hotel. Unfortunately it was still early (around 9:30am) and there were no rooms ready. We put our bags in storage and then walked over to Kevin's hotel which was only about 5 min away.
We didn't really have a plan for what to do. According to our trip itinerary we were only supposed to be getting back to Cairns around 1pm so we were much earlier than expected. Had I known I would have booked an earlier flight to Sydney (mine wasn't leaving until 5pm).
Me and the boys ended up walking down to the main street (the Esplanade) and we stopped at a restaurant and had a drink on the patio. It was hot and I was a sweaty mess once again. We hung around at the restaurant for awhile and then and then sat on the boardwalk by the waterfront for a while. Ben went to find a pharmacy at one point and when he came back he told us he was going to book a skydiving trip for the afternoon. We went with him to get cash and to book the excursion. It took quite a while because there was only one person working. We left there about 12:30pm.
We went back to the hotel and Ben was able to check in. We then went back over to Kevin's hotel and we lounged out by the pool. It was a gorgeous day. Me and Kevin went swimming. Ben left for his skydiving trip and I stayed in the sun for another half hour or so.
At about 2:30pm I took a taxi from the hotel to Cains airport. It was only about a 10-15 min drive. I checked into my flight and unfortuntely had to pay $40 to check one bag because apparently my fare did not include any baggage. Not sure how that happened but anyway. After going thru security, I had some snacks and wandered around the airport for an hour and a half. There were some nice shops. I bought some souvenir cards. Saw an interesting sign in the washroom. See photos below.
I boarded my flight about 4:30pm. The plane was over half empty I'm sure. I had a whole row to myself. Unfortunately they didn't have tv's or music, but at least the flight was under three hours. I used some of the time to blog.
I arrived in Sydney about 9pm local time (clocks went ahead one hour). I was absolutely starving but the only thing open was a little sandwhich kiosk. I bought myself a wrap and then hailed a cab. The ride to my hotel was only about 15min but it cost me $25, which is $10 more than it is to take a shuttle downtown Sydney. Unfortunately, it does not pay to stay closer to the airport where the shuttles don't run.
My accomodation was called Meriton Serviced Apartments and it was awesome. They upgraded me from a studio apartment to a one bedroom so I had a full living room, bedroom, bath, kitchen, and balcony. I even had a washer/dryer. It was really modern and nicely kept as well. Oh and I had two flat screened TVs.
I sat on the couch and ate my wrap while watching TV. It was the first time I has watched TV since I left home three weeks ago. There was little recognizable on but it was nice to chill just the same.
I then began the enormous task of organizing my bags for the flight home. I kind of had everything all over the place but wanted to have a reasonable carryon for the long flight home. That took a while. I went to bed around 1am. I was pooped!
Last night in Aus :(
T
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