Labour Day is of course May 1, which was yesterday. The hotel advertised in the lift that they are doing a "mini-service", which apparently does not include making beds and replacing used cups and glasses. Not only was that the case yesterday, but it turns out that today, May 2, is also a public holiday, so Australia stays home and slips another shrimp on the barbie! Nice for them, not so much for me.
I was very pleased to find there was a free bus stopping just outside my hotel to go down the hill to the CBD. It only runs Monday-Friday however, so I was waiting for it this morning, being a Monday. After 20 minutes, I went back to the hotel and was informed that today was also a holiday, so there would be no free buses. This applied to the free downtown loop as well. I was not happy at all. And arriving in the CBD, pretty much everything except a few food places and souvenir shops was closed. Two food courts and KFC were closed. Coles supermarket was closed. Hungry Jack's (=Burger King in Australia) had run out of soft drinks. I saw a McDonald's sign outside the Wintergarden centre, but there was no restaurant inside. I finally came across the golden arches again at Central Station, so I now know that a Big Mac meal is $9.90 (£5.15).
I went to the tourist information on Queen Street, which surprisingly was open, and found out that at least the free river boat should be running today. So I went on that. At least it was cooler on the water than on land, but it was a slow and boring trip. In all fairness, you can see the CBD on foot in 5 minutes, so it wasn't such a disaster that the free buses weren't running. There is a hop-on, hop off, but at $40 for 24 hours, I didn't even consider it.
Having seen Brisbane before lunch, I decided to head out to the famous Gold Coast beach. It's a near 2-hour journey by train and bus to Surfers Paradise. The weather was no better out there, so I only spent half an hour before returning to town. The good thing about that was that I only paid one way and made it back to town before I was charged a new fare!
About the plastic card then... There's a $10 deposit, which is refundable when you return the card, as is any remaining balance! So you can't lose. Excellent system. Buying single tickets to Surfers Paradise and back would have cost over $30. With the card, it should have cost just under $20. I got away with less than $10 :)
On the weatherfront, the forecast for today was 30°, humid, possibly showers. It felt less hot than that, and it didn't rain, but it certainly was sticky and uncomfortable. It was cloudy all day today, and yesterday it rained in the morning, so I haven't seen much sun my last few days in Australia.
With only a couple of fast food places open, there was nowhere to have dinner in the CBD and online ordering didn't work without an Australian mobile number. So I'm on an involuntary fast tonight! Tomorrow I will spend a few hours in the business lounge at the airport and I will stuff myself properly before boarding the first long flight. Where I will of course stuff myself even more! Thai Airways gets good reviews for their in-flight catering.
I suppose it's good in a way that I'm not really enjoying Brisbane that much, it makes it easier to leave tomorrow. Had I been having a great time, I wouldn't have wanted it to end. Don't get me wrong, if I could stay in New Zealand for ever, I would not complain. But in terms of travelling and constantly being on the move, I think I have just about reached my limit.
So it's time for Dorothy to leave Oz. There's no place like home, there's no place like home...
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