After another night without sleep, due to excessive thinking and legs on fire from itching, I dragged myself out of bed and put away my final few bits and pieces before my airport transfer at 8am. When I got dressed, I realised my trainers were still soaked through from the impromptu shower we'd had the night before, but there was not a lot I could do about that! I said my goodbyes to JJ, which was really hard indeed, then headed to the pickup bus, with both wet feet and a slightly soggy heart.
The journey to the airport was not too long and gave me another chance to pontificate about the times I had shared with JJ and what was to come. Cairns airport itself is tiny and it took absolutely no time at all to check in and drop my bag off, before heading into the terminal (if you can call it that!). I was horrified not to be able to connect to a wifi network, so this gave rise to more time to pontificate (and try and ignore my itching legs) whilst waiting to board the plane.
I had chosen to sit right at the very back of the plane, a wise move as it meant I had more space, although there was a moment when I thought a screaming baby was going to sit rather close, but thankfully they moved! The flight took 3 hours and was incredibly non-eventful as there was no tv or anything, so it meant I just sat there with my own thoughts for company.
On arrival in Melbourne, I amazed myself at my ability to not panic or get lost and instead managed to find my baggage and get on a bus to take me to the city, then onto another bus to transfer me to the hostel. Wow!
The YHA is ok, not as nice as the Brisbane one, but good enough! I had a lay down to chill out and read my Lonely Planet, making some mental notes of things I might like to do. Then I went up to the top of the building, to the roof terrace which had a rather nice view across the city. I then realised that the temperature difference between here and the East Coast was quite significant! It wasn't too bad, just not baking hot. I can't complain, it is still shorts-worthy! The guy at reception had mentioned a special travel evening tonight at 7.30, with info and an auction, so I thought I might check that out.
As I had a bit of time, I decided to be super brave and go for a little walk! I followed my little map obsessively, making my way towards what appeared on the map to be a pretty central spot where I might be able to locate a Maccas for free wifi! Along the way I passed a cool looking pub, closed on Mondays, called the Drunk Poet - looks worth checking out later in the week. I also saw 2 Smart cars - woohoo! I then came across Queen Victoria Market - a massive market which again I will have to check out later in the week. I managed to navigate my way back to another main road and struck gold - golden arches to be precise! Excellent! Noticing the time, I headed straight back to the hostel for 'Safari Johnno's Travel Show', trying to remember this route which was much more direct than the route I had taken to get to that point.
Safari Johnno's Travel Show was a slightly tongue-in-cheek sales method, where he took us on a virtual tour of Australia with a Powerpoint presentation, telling us about some of the famous spots, random facts, places to go, places to miss. The sales patter was interspersed with auctions for some of the trips he was selling. Despite the fact that there were quite a few people watching the show, hardly anyone bid on anything. I got lucky and bid on a 500km Greyhound pass, worth $104 - paying just $35, thought it might come in handy if I want to make a little journey somewhere (let's face it, 500km is a trip to the shops for some people here!). Then I got even luckier - Safari Johnno asked a question about something he had previously mentioned (to see if we were listening!) and I was the only person who knew the answer, winning me: a tin of beans, 2 koala keyrings, a bar of Fruit & Nut, some drinks vouchers, an hour of YHA internet (worth $4) and a ticket to do a tree top walk (worth $20!). So not a bad haul really, considering it was just for remembering that he had said the Great Ocean Road was built between 1919-1932 (there you go, a random fact!). After the show, I also bought from him a ticket for the Neighbours Trivia Night (I paid $20 instead of $40 - bargain, and very very exciting!).
By this time, I realised I was suffering SERIOUS wifi withdrawal, so headed back out to find Maccas again and get online! This time it was dark outside and I managed to go completely the wrong way, until I realised and by the time I worked out where I was, I had almost gone off the map I was using! Phew! A bit panicky, I dashed back in the right direction and was more than pleased when I made it to my destination! Maccas at night, it seems, is full of drunk twelve-year-olds. Well, I know they're not really twelve, but they might as well be. I managed to ignore the drunk shrieking and enjoy chilling out online, before noticing the time (shortly before midnight!) and heading back to the hostel - the RIGHT way thankfully!
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