Cairns Day 5

After a late sleep-in (kind of), and a lot of lazying about, we finally managed to pack everything before our 10 am check in.

I can't believe the days have passed so quickly.

I'd been working myself up for this trip for so long. As long as I could remember. Well, frankly, I'd been excited for this trip ever since I realised how much I loved being at the aquarium, and first dreamed of going to the Great Barrier Reef.

And now I'd done it. I really did it.

I went to the GBR, I saw its beauty, and now I was coming back.

It was kind of bittersweet. I didn't want to leave, to be honest. I know that VA and PT had had enough of Cairns, but I felt like I didn't. I never feel like I've 'had enough' of a place. It seems to be that wherever I go, I never want to leave, especially when it's a holiday.

Either way, we had breakfast, and I couldn't help but notice that the quality of our meals had decreased even further. From cheese toasties and actual breakfast on the first days, I had somehow succumbed to consuming a can of Vanilla Coke (which was on sale for $1!) and a nectarine for breakfast.

Which was then followed by corn chips for a late-brekkie/early-brunch.

Healthy, I know.

Cairns had been a good run.

There was that feeling of completion -- of doing something you've been meaning to a while. It felt sad to be leaving, though, to finally close the chapter. 

From the mornings of lathering on sunscreen and insect-repellent, tactfully moving around to maximise air-con exposure, the gross feeling of salt water all up in your nasal cavities, and to the exhaustion after every day -- I'll miss it all.

Not even going to mention how much I'll miss the Reef. Oh, how I'll miss it.

It has truly been a good run. I loved it from the start to finish (well, 92% of it).

I'll be sure to come back soon, definitely.

And so I returned to Sydney. I returned 10 times darker than when I left, with 50 shades of brown all over me due to uneven tanning. I returned with salt in my hair, a computer full of photos and videos, and I returned with a new-found appreciation of Cairns.

Cairns, be right back.