[Stef] We got up at about 8 am and got dressed for breakfast. We enjoyed our last delicious pineapples and tried to act as though we were happy to get going. I think Scott and I could have stayed there for a really long time. It was a quiet breakfast, to say the least. We got back to the room, showered, and packed. We then put our bags outside of our room for the bell service to pick up and load on the boat. Since the boat leaves at 2 PM and we checked out by 11am, they gave us lockers to put our personal stuff in and a place to shower if we do any swimming in the two hours prior to the launch. Scott and I hit up the gift shop before he went on the 11:15am tour of the Research Center. I was not interested in doing anything like that on my last day, so I grabbed a lounger by the pool and enjoyed my last few hours in the sunshine.
We ate our lunch (our last fresh mangos and fresh catch shrimp) and grabbed a couple mangos for the airport. Scott and I then decided to go sit on the docks and wait for the boat. We took a few last minute pictures. It took all we had to smile for the pictures – What’s so great about LEAVING paradise? We saw some snorkelers going out and we watched with jealous eyes. We realized we did not get our launch tickets, so Scott ran back to the gift shop to pick them up. The woman there gave Scott some motion sickness medication. Thank goodness! I took that without any problem! We went to the lower level of the boat and to the back. Not long after the launch did I start to drift off to sleep. Apparently, the medication makes you drowsy, too! I woke a few times to see the boat was on a 45 degree angle because of the huge swell in the ocean. It was pretty scary, so I was happy to shut my eyes and got back to sleep! We both woke for the last 20-30 minutes and that was ok. We got off the boat to a nice day in Gladstone. Scott went to get the car and I waited for the luggage to come off. We loaded the car and we were off! We stopped for gas and then switched drivers – It was my turn!
We got going right away so that we could drive for the majority of the trip in the daylight hours. It was about 4pm so we did not have much time. Scott was going to sleep now in order to be well rested for his shift. When it comes to driving, I am my father’s daughter, especially with the challenge of driving on the left! I drove for most of the drive - about 4 or 5 hours. We stopped for dinner in the same small town we stopped in on the way down. We got subs at Subway, but we weren’t too hungry yet so we decided to eat on the road. There was a flock of lorikeets coming through. They were so loud and they all sat in one tree outside the sub shop! It was amazing. I am convinced that they remembered that we fed them a week before and so they were just following us to give us a proper send off! We drove for a bit longer and on the outskirts of Brisbane, we switched. I was starting to get tired but also anxious to “just get there”. We found a hotel near the airport called “Formule 1 Hotel”. They do not have a person at the desk after 10pm, but they have an outdoor machine where you can pay with credit and get a code to enter the building and get a room. We settled in, ready to sleep… we only had 3 hours of sleep before we were to be at the airport to fly to Sydney. We both had a vague memory of someone opening our door in the middle of the night, and we have no idea what that was all about. What a day….
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