Blog Day 124 Wed 7th September 2011

We have decided not to spend any more time in Darwin as tours and activities are expensive and we are going to have to book a flight to Cairns. All in all we feel it was a waste of time and money coming here. We check out at 10am and hand our keys back to a real battle-axe of a woman behind the front desk. She seems real put out by the fact that we don't want to spend another night at the hostel, even though our flight isn't till 6.20 the following morning. We have come to the conclusion that we are better off spending 12 hours or so at the airport for free, rather than giving her another £40 to stay here. We also find out this morning that the place is being treated for bedbugs, which backs up our decision even more. She begrudgingly lets us store our bags in the hostels lockup until 5pm, and tells us that we can't spend the day at the hostel. As if we would want to do that! Silly cow.

We have read about a little café, in the lonely planet guide, that has free wifi in town. So we make a beeline for there to book ourselves on the next flight out of Darwin. We also set ourselves a little challenge to see how little money we can spend today. A coffee for Trish at the café cost $4 and we get a free big bottle of water. This lasts us up until about 2.30 as we sit on the internet researching ways of getting around Oz. Comparing the price of hiring a campervan against staying in hostels and getting buses. It's all coming out expensive and to be honest we don't really get anywhere closer to making a decision. By about 3pm we are both gagging for something to eat. We had finished off the Cheerios this morning and are surprised we have lasted this long. A relaxed walk around the supermarket sees us buying a loaf of bread, a pack of ham, some processed cheese slices (real handy when you don't have a knife), some sweet chilli sauce and a box of crackers. That will do us for now and when we are sitting in the airport.

At 5pm we head back to the hostel to pick up our bags and then make our way to the esplanade for some ham, cheese and sweet chilli sarnies. We sit and watch the world go by for an hour or so, as a small group of abbos congregate around one of the fountains. It seems to be the in thing with aboriginal people around here, to sit in groups of 5 or 6 on the side of the road or any grassy area, and be loud at one another.

6pm comes and goes and we decide to make our way to the airport. A lovely receptionist at a nearby Holiday Inn phones us a cab and before we know it we are sitting in the terminal building clock watching. It's not too bad, the place has free wifi and semi soft seats, and come to think of it this place is a million times better than the hostel we paid £40 for. And it's free!!!

The time soon flies when you're pottering around on the internet and sorting through blogs etc., and before we know it we are checking our bags in and boarding the plane.