Tag 154 - Australian

10/1/19

- Alex

Last day in New Zealand. We pack our things in a routine manner. We didn't even unpack our backpacks properly, which makes the whole process much easier. We leave the campsite, take a photo of Piha Beach on the edge of the bay, and head towards Auckland.

In the industrial area, we fill up the van with fuel and then drop it off at the car rental. The boss then tells us that his assurance that the break-in damage would "definitely not" cost more than €500 turned out to be untrue. €750 is now the current situation, and for a few minutes we feel quite down. Although we haven't booked any insurance, we console ourselves with the thought that it would have cost €700, so it wouldn't have really helped us in the end. Once we have recovered emotionally, we put on our backpacks and walk back the route we took at the beginning of our stay in New Zealand. Since we haven't had to carry our luggage for 40 days, we become exhausted quite quickly and are delighted when, one kilometer from the airport, a lonely luggage trolley awaits us at a petrol station and makes the rest of the journey much easier.

Because we have allowed ourselves a little extra time, we have to wait half an hour until the check-in counter opens. Our concerns that Jonna might exceed the maximum weight of her check-in baggage due to some second-hand purchases prove to be unnecessary - everything goes smoothly. Even the security check for our hand luggage, where I usually receive extra attention, is completely uneventful. We spend the remaining time until the departure directly at the gate, until the boarding begins and we start our flight to Australia.

The three-hour flight to Melbourne is absolutely relaxed and we land without any further problems. Since we start our Australia trip in Brisbane, we have to take another flight. In addition, this is a domestic flight, which means we have to check out, drop off our collected luggage, and check in again. We find our luggage without any problems, but not the check-in counter. It takes about 15 minutes and dozens of elevator rides until we find the correct hall for our airline. There, for the first time in our lives, we see a "self-check-in" counter. After some time, an employee assists us with the various functions, and after two minutes we get rid of our luggage. Another security check and off to the next gate and waiting again.

The second flight is as smooth as the first one, and we arrive in Brisbane, Australia at 11:00 PM local time.

Just like when we arrived in Auckland, we have decided to spend the night at the airport, as, in our opinion, it is not worth booking a taxi and a hostel room for about €80 just to bridge eight hours. According to some internet reviews, it is better to stay overnight at the international terminal in Brisbane than at the domestic terminal where we arrived (because of the Melbourne-Brisbane flight), so we collect our luggage and march to the airport, two kilometers away. Unfortunately, the sidewalk ends after half of the distance, and we have to walk in the ditch next to a four-lane road.

After not even ten meters, a pickup truck with the name "Brisbane Airport" printed on it stops next to us, and we prepare ourselves to be reprimanded by the employee - "What do you think you're doing, just walking on the street?" But it turns out quite differently. The driver rolls down the window and greets us with a cheerful "How u' doin', mates?". We tell him that we are on the way to the other terminal, and he immediately offers - almost insists - that we get in so he can drive us the rest of the way - probably we are very lucky with the first social contact, but still a great impression. The nice gentleman drops us off at the airport, and we make ourselves comfortable in the entrance hall. In addition to a station where you can charge your electronic devices and use the airport's Wi-Fi, comfortable sofas, and clean toilets, you can even take a shower here. While Jonna makes herself comfortable on one of the sofas, I sit down with the laptop at one of the mentioned stations and use the night to be somewhat productive.

- Alex