11/11/2016 Australia # from Townsville to Cairns # Hospital and farewell from down under

Well, it seems that it has hit me worse than I thought. But from the beginning.

We search for accommodation for the last three days, which we still have, on all possible search engines on the internet. It should be right by the sea to have a South Seas feeling at the end. Unfortunately, this seems to be rare and when it does exist, it is not inviting but rather discouraging. It is becoming apparent that our antibiotics from home are not really working. Therefore, with a heavy heart, we decide to drive directly from Townsville to Cairns in case a visit to a doctor is inevitable.

So we leave Magnetic Island in the morning and give our Toyota a thorough car wash to remove the last traces of salt. Who knows what it's good for :-) As we cover the last 350 km on the Bruce Highway, the climate changes from Dry Tropic to Tropic, which means that with increasing driving time, the humidity gradually increases and the vegetation along the road becomes more lush and green. After a break in Cardwell and two shorter stops, we reach Cairns after 5 hours of driving. So we have covered about 1700 km since our departure from Brisbane. In Cairns, it is a humid 32 degrees and you sweat even if you don't move.

The `Queenslander` is not quite what we expected. The promised sea view seems to be only for a handful of rooms. We don't have one. Instead, from the terrace, we can see the whites of the eyes of the pilots flying to Cairns with their planes. Fortunately, the noise from the flights is limited at night.

We take a small shopping trip and quickly withdraw cash from an ATM in a restaurant with an attached casino. (Remember!) After that, I am so exhausted that I decide to see a doctor tomorrow. The search for a German-speaking doctor is unsuccessful, so we choose the Apple Tree Medical Centre, which is not far from the hotel. The next morning, I introduce myself and am received by Dr. Ben Ireland, a general practitioner. He listens to my story, examines me, and finally says that there are various causes for my condition. However, with his means and given the short time he knows about our departure tomorrow, he cannot make a satisfactory diagnosis. Therefore, he refers me to the emergency department of the local hospital and kindly gives me a letter that emphasizes the urgency of my request. After paying 75 AUD, we return to the hotel. The hospital is right across the street and I walk there alone. Within 10 minutes, I am registered and have a fancy wristband with a false name ;-) After some time, a nurse examines me to determine if I am really an emergency case. He seems convinced because he doesn't send me away. Then I sit in the waiting room again and watch `*M*A*S*H* without sound. At some point, I'm thirsty for coffee and I call Maike. A cafeteria is just two doors down, but I don't dare to leave my seat. Maybe I will be called soon. And that's exactly what happens. This time, I am examined by two doctors who then guide me to the bed area. Meanwhile, Maike is on an odyssey through the emergency department with my coffee until a nurse takes pity on her and brings her directly to me. After a while, a nurse comes and wants to take me and my bed for a scan. I protest and say that I can walk. But he doesn't let himself be dissuaded, so I lean back and let it happen. I actually expect an X-ray room. But here, scan apparently also means ultrasound examination. After my examiner has looked into me from all sides for about 20 minutes, he seeks a second opinion. When I ask him what I have, he tries to explain something at length. Unfortunately, I only understand half of his mumbling, only the word hernia sticks. Luckily, I have my phone with me and Aunt Google tells me that I have a hernia. Great. I am taken back to the emergency department and wait again for a while. Finally, my attending doctor comes and says that the laboratory analysis has revealed a urinary tract infection. She prescribes me some stronger antibiotics for it. She also explains the hernia to me again and says that it is not yet so serious because nothing has protruded outwards yet. Diving would also not be a problem, well, let's wait and see. She then takes some time to write my discharge report, and then I'm sent to the administration. Alright, time to pay now. With the warning from the registration, I am not shocked when I see the amount. It should cost me 829 AUD. I actually expected more. But my face falls asleep when I open our travel wallet. Instead of two credit cards, there is only one. No, not that too! We quickly settle the bill and hurry back to the hotel. I have an uneasy feeling when I think about yesterday evening's ATM withdrawal. Did I forget the card in the machine? Imagining the worst-case scenario, I first drive to the Apple Tree Medical Centre. We paid in cash there, but maybe the card fell out there. In the meantime, Maike searches the room from top to bottom. No luck, as expected, at the doctor's office. So I drive to the ATM of my supposed error. At the service counter of the casino, I start explaining my situation when the friendly staff interrupts me and says that, of course, someone had taken the card out of the machine and submitted it. It is well kept and after an ID check, I can take it with me immediately. What a relief!

After five and a half hours in the hospital and the small shock experience, I feel like having a drink. But I refrain since I still have to take medication and instead, I sing the Bob Marley song `Don't worry about a thing` to myself. A nice mantra for stressful days.

In the evening, we visit the Cairns Central Mall to do some shopping. In the bottle shop, I actually discover Radeberger on sale. I didn't know they had made it all the way down under. Back at the hotel, we treat ourselves to some good meat once again. The in-house restaurant offers everything from sirloin to T-bone steak, whatever your heart desires. We ask at the reception for a late check-out. Otherwise, we would have had to leave our room at 4 p.m. the next day. Unfortunately, it is already planned for something else, and we have to be out by 11 a.m. at the latest. Due to the heat, we refrain from any excursions and instead find a spot in the air-conditioned Cairns Mall, where we update our diary over an iced coffee. After three hours, our parking ticket has expired, so we move on to the Pier Mall, where we have a delicious lunch. Afterwards, we drive aimlessly around the city and enjoy the sea view at the Esplanade. Finally, we go to the East-Coast Rentals office earlier than planned. Returning the Corolla is uncomplicated, and I am relieved when no one mentions our tour to Magnetic Island. A minibus is already waiting and takes us to the airport right away. When we enter the international terminal, we are confused. Only one traveler is sitting lost in the huge hall, otherwise, there is complete silence. No employee in sight. Well, we still have 5 hours until our flight, and apparently, there are no other flights before then. Finally, everything goes well, and we can depart for Bali on schedule at 9:50 p.m.

That concludes our time in Australia. We had a great time here. However, there is a slight disappointment. Not necessarily because of the self-inflicted negative experiences or the health problems. However, our main concern was diving and apart from the two dives at Wolf Rock, it was rather disappointing. Next time, we would probably focus on something else, which should not be a problem in down under.

Now we look ahead and look forward to our friends and family in Bali.