Australia (Finally)

We’re arrive at the airport for our 10:30pm flight, anxious to finally be moving on. Nevertheless, there is an air of uncertainty as to why Garuda is flying normal schedule when the Australian airlines still feel it is unsafe to fly. More normally stalwart traveling companion is very quiet, which is generally a bad thing, and I know she is nervous. Of course, we have a junior traveller with us and, at the moment, he is oblivious, so we keep such concerns on the down low.

Now I’m not superstitious by nature, but it has not escaped anyone’s attention that we are flying on Friday the 13th. As we check in, I notice we are at counter 13, and for a brief minute, my faith in logic flickers. However, I can’t believe the pilot and crew will needlessly put themselves at risk, not to mention the company and it’s $200 million plane, so I muffle the annoying voice in the back of my head and press on.

Since I am writing the story, clearly all ends well, and after a very unusual departure where the pilot stays at a low altitude for quite a long time (presumably to stay under the ash cloud), we settle in for the 5 hour flight. This gets us as far as Sydney, where we have a 4 hour layover before catching another flight to Cairns, finally arriving at 1pm, only 29 hours behind the original schedule. All things considered, we are pretty pleased with that.

Our first 4 days here are booked at Port Douglas, about an hour north from the airport. And as things to see there are fairly spread out, we have booked a rental car. This normally would be a non-event, however, Australians drive on the left side of the road, and while this isn’t a first for me, it definitely isn’t one of my limited talents. They sweeten the pot by adding in a traffic circle about every 100 yards, but somehow, we manage to make it unscathed (and more importantly, undented).

It is late in the afternoon but the time we check in, and after flying all night we’re running on fumes. We do manage to rally enough to make it into town for a quick dinner and to grab a few provisions at the supermarket (wow, we’re certainly not in Indonesia anymore). That’s everything in the tank though, and I’m sleeping before my body even hits the mattress.