When we came to return the car in Auckland the company had thoughtfully pointed out that there was a filling station adjacent so that we could make sure it was full on handover. Now Brisbane has 2 terminals, an international and a domestic one, about the same distance apart as Gatwick North and South. We checked that there was a return site at the domestic terminal, as we had picked it up from the international one, and although we fully intended to top up the tank before getting to the airport, suddenly found that there were no filling stations in sight on the motorway for the last 40 km. not to worry, we had checked in, had a good half an hour in hand and there was bound to be somewhere nearby at the airport. The recently-opened (earlier this year) new access route to the airport whisked us straight into the car rental return area, with not a sign of fuel anywhere. So we were left with the dilemma of paying over the odds for the company to do the job for us, with a hefty admin fee, or to retrace our tracks. A quick enquiry revealed that there was a filing station at the airport, at the international terminal on the old road into the airport. Why was it so difficult for the person at the rental desk, when we collected the car, not to have on her checklist for briefing customers where fuel was available? Especially in this case that there was a lack of filling stations on the motorways, and the new access bypassed the only one in the vicinity. Good job we had plenty of time to spare as the old blood pressure could easily have got up to wrath-venting level!
It was an uneventful passage thereafter, despite trepidations about our cases being 3 inches over the maximum stipulated dimensions (you have to add the 3 linear dimensions together, length, width and depth, and not exceed some arbitrary figure, for domestic flights 54 inches). I’d love to meet the “brain” that thought up this method because it doesn’t limit the volume in any practical way – see my Excel spreadsheet (not attached!). There is a reasonable weight limit, but if I can find the density of steel (next time I can get free internet access), I’d like to work out the weight of a 1 inch square steel bar 52 inches long – an interesting debate for not incurring charges for checked baggage.
The various transfer methods from Sydney airport to the city had exercised our investigative skills, and in the end I think we selected the best option. Pulling a carry-on style suitcase over a reasonable distance is straightforward, but the instabilities of a 23kg, 57-inch total linear dimension Delsey case, with only 6 ½ inches between the wheels, would have been too much for the third of a mile from the nearest railway station, certainly up the incline on the return. Thus the shuttle bus that serves all the downtown hotels seemed to do the job, and so it proved.
Apart from internet access being even more expensive than on the Gold Coast (we’ve already found the free library!) the Medina Grand Harbourside is brilliant. The studio room has 2 large TVs, full kitchen facilities (oven, hob and microwave), dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer. It’s so good that we need hardly go out, except…50 yards across the road is Darling Harbour, which after we’d done the supermarket shop just 300 yards up the hill, provided the most spectacular dusk scenery and being a Saturday evening had much of the local and tourist population out in their finery. We saw at least 3 hen parties, and loads of luxury cruisers setting out for dinner cruises.
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