Day 6 And our Australian Finale

A lovely Queensland Sky

DAY 6 The silence of Tuesday morning was broken by the sound of a noisy Kookaburra and it was almost as if he was telling us it was time to leave Australia, but with his blessing. Once again it was a lovely sunny day and we had a very pleasant breakfast before we gathered all our suitcases and prepared to leave the Apartment complex which had provided us with a luxurious accommodation for our entire visit. Our host Sheree had organised to take us to the airport on her way to her studio in Brisbane, however we didn't have to leave too early, so we missed the heavy morning traffic

We duly arrived at Brisbane Airport which was a scene of frantic activity and after farewelling Sheree we gathered our luggage and headed for the Air NZ counter and then Customs where our departure took a dramatic turn! When I packed my bag I had inadvertently included a can of aerosol mosquito spray and the nice Customs man suddenly began to look serious after scanning my bag twice. He called me over to a separate counter and began rummaging through the bag opening my toiletries and hauling out the offending can, which he threw rather forcefully into a large metal container. ( I am surprised the force didn't make the can explode there and then!) After being loudly admonished I was ushered to the next counter, where a voice told me to "Take that cap off and look at the camera!" I couldn't see any camera until I was told to "look up!" whereupon I noticed a small round glass object at the top of the aisle. I was then allowed to proceed.

MEANWHILE! Lyn had been hauled out of the queue and was taken off to one side where she was body searched for explosives! She was also given a card to read which outlined the penalty for carrying explosives! I was absolutely amazed that this could happen as even when Lyn is being devious and working on a plan to surprise me, she never even looks slightly suspicious! I can only surmise it was because I had committed such a dastardly mistake that she was picked on too :-) We both took our shaken bodies and headed for the café and a coffee and a large Oz scone.

Lyn and a cuddly Koala

We then wandered around the duty free shops checking out the electronic bargains and other specialty shops including a branch of R.M.Williams the famous "Bush Outfitters" The goods on display were something to drool over and their range of clothing and leather goods was absolutely fantastic (as was the price in AUS Dollars) I thought briefly about a real Akubra Hat but at a price of $200 AUS I decided to be "just looking thanks" Even a crocodile skin belt was in the region of $200 AUS! I grabbed a 2012 Autumn catalogue which is a magnificent production in it's own right and better still it was FREE!

Brian & Adelaide the Koala

We realised at, this stage we needed to purchase a stuffed toy that I wanted to take back to my Granddaughter Holly for her 1st birthday, so went looking for a Koala bear. Some of the stores had huge stocks of stuffed animals, but in many cases the quality left a lot to be desired and others although well made had tacky little leaves stuck to their paws or had Velcro paws, which did not feel cuddly at all. Then we spied a store that had the crème de la crème of Aussie Koalas and it became a difficult choice as to which one we wanted. Finally we found a bear that was well made and extremely cuddly and was named Adelaide, which we thought was most appropriate. It was at this stage that Lyn realised her handbag had broken (hopefully not because of the rummage squad) and we had quite a time trying to handle all our luggage in a seemly manner. We spotted the departure gate with our number and decided to sit close by until boarding time.

Our Air NZ Flight

The Tannoy announced it was our turn to board and so we gathered our gear and slowly walked to the plane which had filled very rapidly and soon we were winging our way back to New Zealand. As I looked out the window as we flew over Moreton Bay I reflected on what had been a wonderful experience and wondered if I would ever return to Australia. Hopefully I will at some stage in the near future, but I have some unfinished business off my "South Island Bucket List" to finalise first.

 

Last view of Australia

 The clouds started to build up as we headed out over the Tasman and the menu arrived for our onboard meal. Lyn and I both had poached salmon with a small array of vegetables, a small bottle of white wine and it was delicious. The flight seemed to go quite fast and of course because we were heading into the night it became dark quite quickly and we reset our watches to NZ time. As we got closer to the coast the weather deteriorated and we landed at Mangere in driving rain and quite windy conditions.

Once we landed it was a long hike to the terminal and my arthritic knees were very painful so it looked like a very slow walk in front of us. A nice man came past in a motorised luggage carrier and spying that I was struggling, he offered to give us both a lift to the terminal proper. What a lifesaver! After clearing customs without any drama, we collected our luggage we collected our duty free products and headed for a bus to the Local Terminal. It was absolutely pouring with rain and the bus was crowded with passengers and luggage and it was quite a dramatic experience after the sunny weather we had enjoyed.

Holly cuddles Koala

By this stage we were both quite tired and it didn't help our demeanor when we heard all flights had been delayed and the flight to Whangarei would be delayed at least an hour owing to the stormy weather. It was a bit of an anti climax to our trip, but fortunately we had books to read, but the seating was not all that comfortable and we were surrounded by large numbers of unhappy travelers. Finally they called out our flight and we staggered into the stormy night and climbed aboard our plane. The pilot advised it could be a "lumpy flight" and he wasn't wrong! It wasn't as bad as some flights I have endured into Wellington, but I was pleased when we landed. We had rung Jeannie and Mike to advise of our lateness and we had to wait at the airport until they could come and collect us. They duly arrived and we were the last to leave the building except for the cleaners.

We apologized to our Chauffeurs for having to drag them out so late at night and although they invited us to have a cuppa, we decided to head off for the 1/2 hour drive to Waipu and home. Needless to say, we both slept well that night!

All in all it had been an interesting trip and I only wish we could have had longer with the families over there. We found it quite expensive, especially for some food items and we couldn't believe the numbers of ex-pat Kiwis and Brits we came across in Brisbane. SAVING HAS STARTED FOR NEXT YEARS HOLIDAY!