Januaray 5, 2009: Farwell Australia!

Our last morning in Australia was great, but at the same time it was a little bit hard to believe that our trip was over. We each enjoyed another hot shower and then we loaded up our suitcases and checked out. We packed our luggage into the rental car, and then went for one last walk around town.

We ate a little breakfast at a Hungry Jacks (Australia’s name for Burger King) and perused a couple of souvenir shops again. Then, we went to the nearby Brisbane Museum, which was originally the town courthouse. We rode the old elevator to the top and took in the view of town.

A few more pictures and a little more walking, and we were back to our car. We arrived at the airport, checked in our rental car, and then headed to the airline counter to check in. At the airline counter, we were very surprised to see that our luggage was far over the maximum weight requirements! We were astonished! We stepped to the side to restructure things. We put on an extra shirt and our jackets and hats to cut some wait. We through away some old bath towels we had originally brought for the purpose of couchsurfing. We also threw away a lot of brochures and some crackers and things we had for snacks. After rearranging…and dealing with the not-particularly-friendly girl at the check in counter…we just squeaked by.

Soon after, we boarded our plane. As our plane took off and ascended, we looked out the window and watched as Australia faded into the distance and out of sight. As we held hands we looked at each other contentedly, knowing that we had successfully completed one of the greatest adventures of our lives!