What a day! What should have been an easy 6-hour journey turned into a whole day affair.
We started the day on schedule, everything was running smoothly. We were out the door at 6am ready to catch the 8:10am flight to Cairns. We parked our car and arrived at the departure terminal at 7:15am. Plenty of time we thought... until we got to the check-in counter. The gentleman asked us where we were going and we said Cairns, then came those dreaded words: "Gate's closed". "WHAT??!!", we said.
Long story short, we were at the Sydney International Terminal 1 (as stated on the itinerary) and at no point in time did my little brain make the connection that this meant we were on an international flight (we later found out our flight was to Osaka, Japan via Cairns!). Hence we should have been there 2 hours before to check in, not 1 hour we normally allow for domestic flights. So, after feeling like a complete dim bulb for missing yet another flight, we just had to move on. (Thought balloon: if we did make it through check-in, would we have needed to clear customs with passports which we didn't have with us given it was a domestic flight??)
The next flight to Cairns was at 3:40pm which, thankfully, we could get on. This time it was leaving from the domestic terminal. So we packed our bags back on the shuttle bus (which we just paid $22 for to get to the international terminal!) and headed back to the domestic terminal. Unfortunately, not only did the delay mean an 8-hour wait at the airport, but that the rental car office at Cairns would be closed by the time we got there. A few phone calls later, plus an extra $37 charge for after hours pick-up (not happy!), and it was all sorted. So we put our luggage in storage for $20 and settled into the airport to wait for our flight. I hate wasting money so these incidental expenses were very annoying.
After what seemed like an eternity, we finally landed in Cairns airport at around 6pm that evening. The car rental company needed us to drop off some paperwork at their office in Cairns city so we headed into town before making our way to Port Douglas. Excited to be in a new city, we didn't mind the sightseeing.
As we drove around Cairns taking in the new sites, we stumbled upon the Cairns Night Markets. It was an excellent brief introduction to Cairns! Walking into the markets felt like we were instantly transported to some Asian country. It was alive with activity. I love visiting local markets whenever we're in a new place. It gives me an instant feel of the place and this was no exception. Scores of sun burnt travellers in beachwear filled the aisles. There were stalls and hawkers all offering full-body massages at $15 for 40 minutes. Most of the massage tables were full so there was definitely no shortage of weary travellers needing a little treat. We, on the other hand, were starving so it was easy for us to just walk passed and head towards the food.
The food court was equally busy with activity. They had rows and rows of Chinese food and a great value 'fill your plate' system. It was an excellent way to feed our family of 5 for under $30 with something other than nuggets and chips!
With our tummies all happy, we took a quick look around the markets, even managing a few purchases along the way. The massages were very tempting but we just didn't have the time to spare (we hadn't even reached our destination yet!). After a quick stop for some gelato, it was time to leave Cairns and continue our journey with the 1-hour drive north to Port Douglas. We liked Cairns already so we knew we'd be back.
We arrived at our final destination - Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas - at about 11pm. It was 17 hours since we left our home in Sydney but we finally made it. Even in the dark we could tell this place was pure bliss but all we wanted at this stage was a nice, cozy bed. As I crawled under the crisp cool white sheets and lay my head on the soft hotel pillows, that's exactly what we got!
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