The Breaking of the Fellowship
Cairns, 14th to 26th February 2002
We stayed in Cairns for about 2 weeks now! We planned to get there
nice and early so that we would have plenty of time to sell our van.
Josh stayed with us for our first few days in Cairns then flew off.
He needed to get back to the people he was staying with in Brisbane
because there's some party planned.
Josh originally planned to take the train back to Brisbane, but when
he discovered that the journey takes about 18 hours, and the 1 hour
flight is only about $20 more, he decided to take the plane! On the
evening before Josh left, we had a little celebratory meal. We went
to the supermarket and bought some meat for the BBQ. Meat is SO
cheap out here! I know Ozzies love their meat, but the price of
steak is ridiculously cheap!
However, on the drive back to the apartment, a tropical storm
started. I could barely see out of the windscreen, the rain wasn't
falling in drops, it was falling in sheets! Once we'd got in the
essential beers, we had a great evening chatting, drinking & eating.
The next day, Josh left at 5am to catch his plane, so by the time
we'd awoken, he'd gone.
The lady at Koala Court apartments let us have a smaller apartment
at a fantastic rate, $18.75 each! So we could continue to use their
great swimming pool. In this heat, swimming pools are essential!
We had a quiet time in Cairns. So we didn't ruin our budgets, we
just relaxed in the pool, LOOKED in the shops and generally avoided
spending money.
Talking of budgets, our gap year plans have major changes because of
a few incidents. Here's what happened: After spending a few days in
Cairns, Nat phoned home and got a nasty shock when she asked about
her bank balance. She was running really low on money. So she
decided that she needed to fly to Bali early where her money would
last longer. Em would fly with her to accompany her and Stinge & I
would stay in Cairns until we had sold the van. The girls managed to
change their flight to Bali to the earlier date of 20th Feb.
As things turned out, the day before they were due to fly out, we
managed to sell the van (see the next diary entry). So, Stinge & I
tried to get on an earlier flight as well. Unfortunately, we were
told that all the seats were taken, right up until 1st March, the
day we're due to fly out anyway. The lady said that we should come
back every so often in case someone cancelled their seat, in which
case, we'd be able to get on.
In the meantime, I went Scuba Diving on the Great Barrier Reef.
(Find out more about his amazing experience in the diary entry
special). When I got back and checked my e-mail, I got a nasty
surprise from the girls...
Nat and Em were having had a really bad time in Bali. So bad, that
they were considering flying home. Nat had got some really bad food
poisoning & Em had had her wallet stolen. Coupled with a really
nasty hotel and really bad culture shock, they'd had enough.
As the e-mail swapping continued, they told me that they'd bought a
ticket home for the 8th March. They just wanted to get back home. It
had cost them a whopping 450 pounds (practically all of their
remaining money).
Stinge and I kept trying, without any luck to get an earlier flight.
We were really worried about the girls and wanted to get out to
them. Luckily I got an e-mail the next day telling me that they were
having a better time and had got into the swing of Balinese life.
They'd managed to get a better hotel, they were coping with the
annoying street vendors and they'd started enjoying bartering at
market stalls!
In the end, Stinge and I managed to change our flight to 27th Feb,
only 3 days earlier than scheduled, but still better. Stinge also
decided, that as the others were going back, he would as well. As
he's not going to Uni, this meant he could start the inevitable task
of finding a house and a job. It also meant he could go back with a
bit more money still in his pocket.
Stinge managed to change his flights so he'd fly in and out of Bali
on the same dates as me, but then he would immediately fly home from
Singapore. This change had only cost him $28 (about 10 pounds), so
why had it cost the girls so much?
After careful consideration, I decided that I would continue on
travelling, on my own. Asia & India are the places I'm looking most
forward to visiting. They are so different to home, they are going
to be, without a doubt, the most exciting and interesting places I
will see.
At the moment, I'm in a turmoil of emotions, nervous about
travelling through completely different countries on my own, excited
about meeting and experiencing new things, and also sad about
leaving my friends. It's strange, the way things can so quickly
change. One minute we're travelling happily as a group, the next,
I'm on my own.
Tonight is our last day in Cairns. (But there's still a few
Australia diary entry specials after this one). Stinge and I have
been rushing around sorting out last minute things and tomorrow
evening we fly out to Bali.
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