Sydney to Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef Area)

In our last post, we shared a history lesson regarding The Rocks.  Today, we have an economics lesson.  The minimum wage in Australia is about 25 AUD, roughly $17 USD, which means that service workers can earn a living wage without relying on tips.  It does make the food cost slightly more in the restaurants, but we find it agreeable.  Australia also has what they call penalty rates, which are the legal requirement for employers to pay their employees a higher pay rate when working weekends, public holidays, overtime, late night, or early morning shifts. When ordering at the restaurant on Christmas morning, we noticed a “holiday surcharge” of about 15% on the bill.  Because the manager of the restaurant that we talked with the night before explained it, we weren’t surprised.

On Christmas Day, we took an Uber (with the holiday surcharge) to a suburb of Sydney about 20 minutes away to visit with friends we had met on our 2019 Antarctica cruise.  We had lunch at Paul and Deb’s house, and the neighbors we had met on the cruise, Teena and Ian, came for a Christmas drink.  It was such fun to see them again.  Paul and Deb’s family are very interested in world politics, and Mark was in his element talking politics with like-minded people!  It was impressive how informed the Aussies were on world affairs. And we learned quite a bit about the Australian government and the role the English King has in Australia. 

Christmas was complete with their three-year-old grandson, Fred, who was not interested in politics but was very helpful in handing out presents and having his grandparents read book after book to him.

 Tuesday (Boxing Day) was an unexpectedly interesting adventure.  We didn’t appreciate the size of Australia and expected our flight from Sydney to Cairns up north to be a short hop.  The short hop was a three-hour flight, which was uneventful other than longer than we expected. Leg room on Qantas is tight, but the free hot meal and wine make the flight bearable.

The drive from Cairns to Port Douglas was supposed to be an hour up the coast.  Due to the cyclone earlier in the week, the road was washed away, and we had to take the inland road, which was a two-and-one-half-hour bumpy ride on a curvy, two-lane, mountainous road.  The coastal road would have taken an hour.  Part of the roads were tight switchbacks.  Often, the road was narrowed to one lane because of washouts. And at times, the two – switchbacks and wash-out – happened at the same place. 

 Australia is about the same size as the United States, with three different time zones.  We are now an hour earlier than we were in Sydney, 17 hours later than Phoenix, and 15 hours later than the US East Coast.  As if we weren’t confused about the date and time, we find ourselves even more confused now.  Mark tries to figure out, “So what time is it (US East Coast, Phoenix, Auckland, etc.)?” Margo has given up and just says, “What time is it here now?”

 When we arrived at our hotel last night, Margo was a bit concerned because it looked very “basic.” But we are happy now – we have a beautiful view of the ocean right outside our large patio door. The bed is comfortable.  It is a suite with a separate living area from the bedroom.  And the in-room coffee (Nespresso) is good.  Perhaps most importantly, the air conditioner works well because it is Hot and Humid here!! Typical post-cyclone weather, I believe. But even Margo is commenting (complaining?) about the humidity.

 Today is a rest day where we will explore the small town of Port Douglas, perhaps on the electric scooters available from the hotel.  The modified rainforest tour is scheduled for tomorrow, even though some areas are closed due to the flooding.  Currently, we are scheduled to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef on Saturday. 

 Until then, we hope you have a happy, restful week between Christmas and New Year.