Our plane arrived at the Gold Coast Airport in Brisbane around 6:30am. We waited for our luggage, and then made our way through immigration and customs without a problem (although they did go through all of our baggage individually, which was a first for us).
Once we got through immigration, we had to check-in for our connecting flight into Sydney. We tried to check our bags in (as we had done on the first flight of this trip), but the gentleman at the desk said it would be $80 per bag. James “discussed” this with the agent, explaining that we hadn't paid extra for our baggage on the first leg of the trip. After a few minutes and some work on his computer, the agent told us that he would waive our fees for the baggage. We were pleasantly surprised and thanked him before moving on to security once more. To his delight, James made it through security without a problem (for once). We found our gate and looked at the options for food because we were both pretty hungry.
We were happy because we saw foods that seemed familiar and menus that were completely in English! We both opted for salads (even though it was only 7:30am it had been a while since we had regular salads with fresh (an not pickled!) vegetables). We realized pretty quickly that the food prices seemed extremely high at the airport. We had been warned that things were pricey, but we still had sticker shock.
 |
| Our JetStar jet at the Gold Coast Airport. |
 |
| A soda machine with Diet Coke - at $4 a bottle! |
After our breakfast, we sat at the gate until we had to board the next plane. Our flight to Sydney was quick and uneventful. Within an hour, we had landed at the Sydney airport. We were delighted when we saw the sun shining and felt the warmth as we exited the plane. We changed our watches (we lost another 2 hours), gathered our luggage, and decided to take the cheapest form of transport into the city: the train.
 |
| James "reading" his Kindle at the Gold Coast Airport. |
 |
| A view of the perfect sky on our way to Sydney. |
 |
| A picture-perfect view of Sydney on our descent. |
We had arranged a train ride at 4pm that would take us up to Byron Bay for our surfing camp. So, we had some time to kill in Sydney before the train ride. We bought tickets from the airport into the Sydney Central train station and arrived within 10 minutes. We walked around the train station and located the luggage holding area.
Unfortunately, it was extremely expensive to leave our luggage in the train station. James volunteered to watch our bags in the station (rather than pay a $4.50 per-bag storage fee that would have cost us nearly $20) and Erin ventured out into the city.
 |
| In Australia, it's "Hungry Jack's" not "Burger King." |
 |
| The Sydney Central Railstation, home of a festive Christmas tree and flip-flops. |
Erin's walk in Sydney was quite beautiful. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm. She walked down to the harbour and then back, stopping to enjoy the shops and scenery along the way.
 |
| Sydney's ANZAC bridge, and our yacht (kidding). |
 |
| A preserved schooner in Sydney's Circular Quay. |
 |
| A pedestrian mall next to Sydney's Monorail track. |
When Erin returned, James was sleepy. Erin had picked up something special for him before she returned: a Monster energy drink. James had vocalized his desire to have one of these many times along the journey as he hadn't been able to find one in a few months. Erin also picked up some food for our train ride, and at about 3:45pm, we boarded to train heading up the coast. The train was nice and clean, and surprisingly full (we think many people were probably traveling for the holiday).
It was as we were boarding the train that it hit us – Australia, at least what we had seen of it, was very reminiscent to the Florida experiences we had both had, with a couple of important differences: the people are even more difficult to understand, especially if they are talking quickly, and everything – absolutely everything – is at least two-to-three times as expensive as in the US. This is no exaggeration – even 16 oz sodas are $4.00. And, there is no conversion confusion in Australia – the Australian, Canadian, and US Dollar are all just about equal right now. We knew exactly what we were paying for everything we purchased. As we looked out the train during the ride, we were even reminded of Florida by the Spanish-style homes and the palm trees.
 |
| Tabitha prepares for her train ride north. |
The train ride was fine; the train itself was in good shape, but the clientele was a bit – colorful. The people in front of us spent several hours debating one side of the drug legalization argument, and the train announcer repeatedly instructed people not to imbibe their own alcohol, and to treat others with courtesy and respect. After a lengthy stop at one station, the announcer told us that several people had been ejected from the train with the assistance of the police, and that further violations of train policy would only hold up the train further. We tried to get a bit of sleep.
Our train arrived at 11:15pm and luckily, a nice Swedish gentleman named Eric who worked at the surfing camp was there to pick us up. We arrived at the camp quite late, and most people were asleep. So, we settled into our bunks and went to bed.
