Day 21

Cairns to Melbourne

Monday 5 November

6:30 AM. Woke up and took a shower. Last day in Cairns before heading to Melbourne. Brought my clothes to the laundry. John and I went for breakfast at the homestead restaurant inside the Colonial Club Resort. Not that much hungry today. Took some croissants, Danish banquets, fruit and some juice. After breakfast I went to check my laundry. It was already done. Nice and clean I brought my clothes back to my room. John had already packed his stuff and waited at the reception hall for his pick-up. I went to say goodbye and wish him a wonderful diving course at the Great Barrier Reef. Back at my room, I sorted my double prints and started to pack.

10:00 AM. I had to check out. I stored my luggage at the Contiki store room and took the shuttle bus into the city. In the mall I went back to the photoshop, because I was missing one index print. No worries, they said they could make another within one hour. Got plenty of time anyway, so I decided to stroll around a bit. I was looking for the Qantas flight centre to check out my flight schedule.

The flight has been changed from 2:55 PM to 4:10 PM. Lucky me! More time left to spend in Cairns. Got my index print at the photoshop and went for lunch. I ordered satay chicken with fried rice at a noodle bar. Sat at a table along the Esplanade, ate my lunch and wrote my diary. Enjoying my last day in Cairns and the wonderful weather. After lunch I visit more stores and walked to Cairns Central, another large shopping mall. Walked around there for a bit and forgot about time.

Tried to find some taxis, but they were nowhere to be found. Took the shuttle bus back to the resort and gathered my stuff from the store room. Fortunately I could get a lift to the airport from the resort. It's just about 10 minutes away. After a short drive I arrived at Cairns airport. Said goodbye and went to the flight desk to check-in. Passed customs and waited in the hall. The airport isn't that large and there aren't that many stores to see or visit.

4:15 PM. We took off from Cairns to Brisbane. 6.15 PM. Touchdown at Brisbane airport. Not much time to spend here, because I needed to board the other airplane to Melbourne. Listen to some music during the flight. 10:00 PM. The airplane landed in Melbourne. I collected my luggage and went off to find some transportation to the Queensbury Hill YHA, where I was supposed to stay for a week. One of the taxi drivers wanted to scam me for a drive to town for $ 35 AUD. No way, Mister, I wasn't born yesterday! There was a Skybus to town for only $ 12 AUD. Yes, that's seems fair.

Once I arrived in town I took a taxi to my accommodation for only $ 6.80 AUD. 10:45 PM. I finally arrived at the YHA, checked in and got my room key. First floor, room 15. Just one stair to take. It was a room for four people. Three beds were already been taken. Tired from the whole trip I started to unpack my stuff. Moments later I met my room mates. I introduced myself to them. I also told them that I just arrived from Cairns and finished my Contiki tour there. One of them had already done a Contiki tour before, so a conversation started. Nice that the blokes were so easy going. I told them that I wanted to visit Melbourne for some sightseeing and they came for the Melbourne's Cup tomorrow. Freshened up and went off to bed. It's been a long day and I didn't shoot a single picture today. Even my camera earned a free day, from time to time. ;-)