Day 14 - Our Journey to Cairns

6:30 AM. That's what time we needed to be up for our flight to Cairns. We allowed an hour to get showered, dressed and the packing of the few items that were needed to start the day. This went pretty smoothly as we are veterans at the short stay. We also finished up the little bit of fruit we had from the grocery store from a couple of days ago. Nothing wasted.

Out the door at 7:30 AM. 

Checkout went smoothly, with them sending the receipt to our email address. However, when we got down to the valet level (remember the seedy back alley I talked about a few blog posts ago), we thought that our car was supposed to be parked outside and waiting for us. That was the arrangement we made with them the evening before. But, alas, it was not. Instead there was another couple talking the ear off the poor valet guy who was working the counter. It looked like he was by himself at the moment. Our appearance almost gave him an excuse to break away from the stories he was being told. Once he was able to stop listening to them, he took our information and went down to the garage to get our vehicle. 

As he was going, we looked outside to see the laneway filled with trucks. I guess 7:30 AM is the delivery time at the Hyatt. There was almost not enough room to get our vehicle out of the garage, so the valet stopped it on the driveway.  We jumped in and required a little back and forth to get our vehicle out. Would not want to scratch the thing on the last day. The couple who had been chewing on the valet's ear was also almost standing in the way, and for a fleeting second I thought about how many points I would get if I hit them. Do suitcases add extra points? Don't worry, nobody was hurt during the moments which create this blog. After inching my way past the trucks and the talkative old people, we were on our way - but slightly later than we had hoped.

The trouble with being downtown is that the traffic is bad for the start and end of the workday. Today was no excerption. we had planned for extra time, checking Google Maps the day before around the time we would be leaving and it had indicated about 30 minutes.  So, we should be fine. There were a number of slowdowns along the way, but for the most part, the drive was good. I should also note that the crazy corner that I noted in a previous blog, the one that had gotten us every time we had driven it thus far, was conquered on this trip.  I'm not sure how, but I was actually in the correct lane this time as I came around the corner.

Regardless, we were a little behind schedule; and if you know Laureen, being behind schedule for a flight does not go well with her (see our harrowing African adventure). We still needed to stop for gas so Laureen had searched for one along the way and we found one right close to the airport. We pulled into the gas station but were quite a bit behind schedule now and Laureen's anxiety meter was higher than she would have liked. We were getting close to the cutoff for being able to drop our bags and them make it on our flight with us. I pumped the gas, went in to pay (there was no tap option so I actually HAD to go in), and then got back in the car to start our journey. I apparently had entered the "International" car return in the GPS by accident and Laureen had noticed this, so she was guiding me to the right place.  Who knew there were two places to return the car at the Brisbane airport. 

We found the place, and I pulled into the return area. It looks like we were the first car to arrive there this morning. We were now in full "rush" mode. Laureen started to make her way to booth, but then a bloke (see what I did there - used Aussie slang for the car return guy. I was going to say dude - but bloke is by far better in this situation) from the agency walked up and gave us the thumbs up. We were good to go.

Now at a very brisk walk we made our way through the construction at the airport. Why is it that when you are in a rush there is always construction in the way? This detour. That turn. Go up these steps. Sigh. We finally made it to the departures area and the Qantas counter. We both ran for a kiosk and got our baggage tags. We attached them and then found the bag drop area. My bag wouldn't scan. AHHHH. I'm not very good at the "Peel here" and "Stick here" thing, so my bar code had a bit of a wrinkle in it. I quickly pulled it apart and re-did it.  This time it scanned.  Laureen's scanned the first time and they both disappeared behind the rubber curtain. she looked at me and said, "I hope they make it on our flight."

Next was security. Ok, what's going to be different THIS time. As we got up to the tables, the security bloke (ya, I used it again) said, "Computers and liquids out of the bags." Really? Funny that they didn't ask for that last time. Oh, and belts needed to come off too. Laureen specifically asked about her iPad but the bloke (you again) said she could leave it. It feels like a crap shoot every time we approach a security counter. I made it through cleanly, and started getting dressed again (well, that's what it felt like), while Laureen's bag needed to be searched. Once again, it's different every time. This time it was her iPad. Yes, the same iPad that the bloke (3 times in this paragraph) said she could leave in. Yikes. You just can't win with these guys. They looked it over and gave her the thumbs up. We were off to our gate. 

We arrived at the gate with about 30 minutes to spare. Crisis averted. Finger crossed the bags make it.

The travel agent who booked our stuff in Australia, had done something interesting with our seats. We're still not exactly sure what happened, but Laureen and I were not sitting together. We were both in the aisle but she was one row behind me, so row's 13 and 14. This was only a 2 and 2 seat configuration plane, so smaller than what we have been on the past few legs. The flight was only 2.5 hours, so no biggie if we could not sit together.  Although, once again, I sat behind the emergency exits, looking longingly at the leg room. For 2.5 hours I should be fine. And I was.

There was something wrong with the entertainment system on the plane, so you had to have your own video to watch.  Wish I had known that. Instead I watched the 6th episode of Face off: Inside the NHL which I had downloaded quite a while ago and watch on another flight. It's the season where my team, the Edmonton Oilers, loose to the Panthers in the 7th game of the Stanley Cup Finals. It was torture to relive that. One goal away from a tie - and then one goal away from the Stanley Cup.  I have to be more organized for future flights.

Brisbane to Cairns Flight

The flight was mostly uneventful.  There was one quite rough spot that lasted for about 10 seconds that was rough enough that I grabbed the arm rests. That was it for me, but I have a set of Bose noise canceling headphones (can be seen in the picture above). Laureen did not. And there were two screaming kids on the plane, not far from her location. One can understand it if the kids are struggling with the air pressure and their ears. It's hard to take when it seems that it's just poor parenting.  And, that is what this appeared to be. I'll have to invest in a set of those Bose headphone for Laureen.

I checked the Altimeter on my G-Shock Mudman 9800 watch, and it noted that we were at just over 6560 metres which is right around 23,000 ft. And, that is exactly what the pilot said our cruising altitude would be. Cool!

We landed in Cairns to what appears to be monsoon season. I don't think they get monsoons here - but it sure feels like that's what's going on.  And the forecast is for wet weather for what looks like most of our stay. 💦☔

After getting off the plane, we made our way to the baggage carousel area and saw Steve and Margaret standing at carrousel 2. I walked up behind them, put my arm around them both and said, "I don't think your luggage is going to make it."

We had a good laugh and noted that it was nice to be back together. Margaret said she misses us at their place, but I really think she just misses me calling her "Cappuccino". See previous blog post for explanation.

We gathered our bags and then decided that we would rent a car for the time we are here. We were going to wait on this, but given that Alf and Di will be joining us a little late, we might as well have some transportation to get us around to some places. Laureen looked it up and it ws actually cheaper than when we looked the day before - so she made an online booking right while we were standing in the airport.  Once she had a confirmation, we walked up to the counter and attempted to get the vehicle. After some chatting with the lady at the counter, and her going out to the garage to see if she could find one, someone came back and told us that they just didn't have a vehicle to give us. Even though we got a confirmation number online. They were quite apologetic but we understand. I mean, we just made the booking 60 seconds ago. The unfortunate part is their system let us do that. In case you are wondering who did not honour the confirmation - it was Enterprise. They left our name on just in case something came in in the next half day. They also noted that there was a rental place in the city.

I opened the Uber app and hailed us an Uber that would take 4 people and their hefty luggage. Within two minutes, the driver showed up and loaded all of our baggage into his car, and we piled in for the short ride to the hotel.  As we made our way out of the airport, he pointed at a Ukrainian plane that had just come in a couple of days ago. It was a Russian Antonov aircraft. Yikes, those things are huge.

We arrived at our hotel and made our way to our respective rooms. These are apartment style accommodations with a kitchenette, living room and in-suite laundry. 

We dropped our bags in our room and then met in the lobby to wander outside and find a place for lunch. There seems to be plenty of options around. This seems like a great location. We settled on Perrotta's at the Gallery. Lunch was very good.

While sitting there we decided to try and rent a car from the rental agency location in town.  It was only about an eight minute walk from where we were having lunch. Laureen was able to book it online before we walked over. I had to run back up to the apartment to get Laureen's MEC bag, as that had her wallet in it and it was reserved under her name. 

We made the walk, in the pouring rain, and talked to May at the counter. She helped us out, and even gave us a discount on the fee that you normally have to pay when dropping the car off at the airport, instead of downtown. We piled into our white MG, with me as the driver. Now I get to chauffeur Steve and Margaret around! We went off and did some grocery shopping so that we had stuff for breakfasts and lunches. Dinners would be whatever we were in the mood for. Once back at the hotel, we were able to park in the parkade by the apartments, and there is an elevator in the parkade which takes you up to the rooms. This is awesome!  

We checked out each other's rooms only to find that they were a slightly different configuration. They had an oven and we did not. We had a grand piano and a jacuzzi, and they did not. Ok, that was a bit of an exaggeration. The apartments were both very nice and will serve us well while we are here.  We decided to have some down time (Steve and Margaret were up at between 3:30 AM and 4:00 AM this morning), and see what would transpire for supper.

As supper time rolled around, Steve and Margaret decided they were done for the day, and that we would see them tomorrow. Old people!  Sigh.

I did a bit of looking online (had ChatGPT make some suggestions), and we decided to go for a walk to the nearby Night Market. I thought the rain had stopped, but it was still coming down a little.  We opened our umbrellas and made the short walk as it was literally 5 minutes away. 

The Night Market was like many of the market's we have visited throughout our travels. Row's of stalls filled with all kinds of interesting items. We picked up a couple of small things from one store and then Laureen wandered into a jewelry store. She wanted to get an opal ring from Australia, so she began looking at a few of the rings in the showcases. Turns out the vendor had been selling gems for over 20 years. The place was called Silver Gem Cairns and the gent who served us was exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable. We left with an opal ring. He also told us that if we spent over $300 AUS, that when we were leaving the country, we could present our receipts and they would refund us the tax. This is something that we should keep in mind.

We wandered around and took note of the cool items in the shops, vowing to come back another day and pick up a few more things. I have my eye on a couple nice shirts. I grabbed some fish and chips from one of the places in the foodcourt of the Night Market, and we took it back to the room.

What a great first day in Cairns. I'm hoping that it will stop raining as much as it had thus far here, but there is not much one can do about the weather. 

Looking forward to a great day tomorrow. 

Curt and Laureen in Cairns, Australia