From Perth to Cairns

We woke to a very rainy Perth morning--a great day to leave! Dan the Speed Talking Limo Man picked us up from the Hilton and entertained us with his high caffeine stories (e.g. "So the Prime Minister puts his arm around the Queen's bum, just like he would his mum!") all the way to the airport.

A very nice Qantas agent helped us figure out how to deal with our luggage since we weren't sure if we'd all get on the plane. By the grace of God we all got tickets for the first leg (Perth to Ayer's Rock). Plus our seats were all together! What a blessing!

We had about an hour to pig out at the Qantas Club in Perth before heading out. Once again Qantas proved that American's Admiral's Club knows nothing about food! For the record, I tried vegemite again (this time with one part vegemite and three parts margarine). It was definitely better!

The two and a half hour trip to Ayers Rock was a piece of cake by recent traveling standards. We decided it was either a "read or sleep" flight (meaning no movies or games--they recently discovered Bubble Blaster on my new Treo). The kids mostly read, which worked out perfectly.

As we flew into Ayers Rock we were able to see the natural wonder by the same name. We could also see part of it if we stretched our necks as we tiptoed into the terminal. Our minds were primarily on whether or not Sara and the kids would make it onto the next leg. Sure enough, minutes into the boarding process the agent called Sara up and we once again all got tickets--together! Wow! Praise God!



Another two and a half hours or so and we landed in Cairns, the fourth Aussie state we've had the privilege to visit. We decided to rent a car, realizing later how valuable it would become. We checked into the Golden Sands resort in Yorkey's Knob around 7:00pm.

A quick visit to a local IGA and a quick buck at the marina for a Saturday evening dinner at their club (OK food for more clams than it was worth... but the kids did enjoy the little playland that was set-up...). We were all ready to hit the sack, thankful for a safe trip together to Cairns!