September 26th was our final morning in Cairns; it was hard to believe that we only had two more evenings in Australia. I had decided to take Mortimer to the beach with me where we buried the radio antenna belonging to Tom and got some sand from the spot. Since Tom wanted to see Australia so badly but never did, I wanted to leave something of his that said “I was here”. After the sunrise, the burial, and a walk along the beach with Knapps we went to the Blue Moon for breakfast.

Back at the apartment, we loaded our luggage into the rental car and waited for the rental agent to arrive. He came and took us to the airport where we were too early to check our bags so we killed time at an outside cafe with drinking water. Bags got checked, beer purchased, shops explored, and plane boarded right on time. Arrived in Brisbane shortly before 5:00, retrieved our luggage, and grabbed a taxi for delivery to the Royal Albert Hotel. After settling in, we went to an Irish Pub across the street where we had dinner and discussed the next day’s activity. Back at the hotel, we talked more about the next day but did not come to any conclusions on what we would do. We had wanted to take a morning tour of the city but could not reach the folks operating it. Back in my room, I prepared for and read in bed.

Wednesday, the 27th, was our only day in Brisbane and our final one in Australia so we took advantage of it. First, breakfast at a cafe near the hotel. And then a walk to Eagle Street Pier where we boarded the city catamaran for a journey on the Brisbane River; because of equipment problems, the cat ride was free. It gave us an opportunity to see the city from a different perspectives than walking. We exited at South Bank 1 and walked to the Wheel of Brisbane, which is an enclosed gondola taking people up into the air for a 360 degree view of the city. An audio commentary talked about the old Treasury Building which is now a casino, the Goodwill Bridge which took its name from the Goodwill Games that were held in Brisbane in 2001, the Gabba which is one of the city’s major sporting venues, and other points of interest. After our ride, we walked around the area and came upon the Green Cabs; these were people peddling bikes with a carriage that took visitors around the city. A gal from Germany was my biker and she took me around the harbour and across the bridge to the other side; saw the beach area, botanical gardens, the university, lovely parks, and lots of traffic. It was a warm day and my driver did work up quite a sweat. When we got back to where we started, we walked across Victoria Bridge and found a restaurant for lunch in Queen Street Mall; it was located on the second level and above the mall so we had an open view of folks shopping or bustling along the busy area.

Bill decided, after lunch, to return to the hotel while Barb and I stayed and shopped. Around 4:00 we were tired of shopping and returned to the hotel where we went to our respective rooms and rested up before dinner. We ate at a Mediterranean Restaurant where I had chicken kebabs that were very good. Earlier in the day, we had arranged a night tour of the city so Mark, our guide, picked us at around 7:30 for the couple hour tour. What a great way to see the city with all its lights aglow! We went to Mt. Coot-Tha Lookout which gave us a panoramic view. We had dessert and coffee on the terrace. Next adventure was the city cat ride to the South Bank where Mark walked us to the city beach right in the center of town. We drove by China Town and Fortitude Valley which are two very active areas for nightlife and restaurants.

Back to the hotel where we said good night and went to our respective rooms. After making sure all packing was complete for morning departure, I went to bed.

Our flight was to leave at 10:50 AM on the 28th; we checked out of the hotel, took a taxi to the airport, checked in, and had breakfast at Virgin Australia lounge.  After eating, Barb and I shopped at some of the stores and it was suddenly time to board our plane.  We were skyward for our 12.5 hour flight to LAX ahead of the scheduled departure time.  Arrived in LAX, retrieved my luggage, went through Customs, gave luggage back to airline personnel, said my good byes to the Knapps who were excellent traveling companions, and headed to the Delta lounge for my 6-hour layover.  My plane heading east from LAX departed on time, arrived in Minneapolis at 6:50 PM, departed Minneapolis at 8:35 PM and arrived in Cedar Rapids at 9:20.  The airport shuttle service was available so, after retrieving my luggage, loaded it into the shuttle and was driven home where I received a great greeting from my cats.

Overall:  Australia was a place I had wanted to see for many years and am thankful I was able to satisfy my desire.  It is a fantastic country with varying landscapes, diversity of cultures, friendly people, and beautiful countrysides.  A very interesting aspect of the trip was crossing the international dateline and spending all three weeks in the southern hemisphere where springtime had just arrived, star grazing definitely different in the southern sky as opposed to our northern sky, and being sixteen hours ahead of  back home.  The variety of flowers and plants, birds and animals assisted in making the adventure quite interesting and fun.  But, like every journey, since it must end it is always good to get home!