The day we are heading home is here!
Our latest night to bed last night since we left home. There were a few celebratory drinks....some of us may have had a few more than others! Proud to say though we were in bed before midnight!
......And then Troy and Ben were awoken by the hotel reception at 6.45am to say that Mr Benson was here to see Donna. They had called the wrong Cameron/George room as Donna and Shay were in another room! The call then went to Donna and Shay's room and they were awoken from the only sleep in since we left home.
......And then Troy and Ben were awoken by the hotel reception at 6.45am to say that Mr Benson was here to see Donna. They had called the wrong Cameron/George room as Donna and Shay were in another room! The call then went to Donna and Shay's room and they were awoken from the only sleep in since we left home.
So more about Benson. You might recall Donna speaking about Benson, her Porter from 10 years ago, on one of the earlier blogs when she still had her right hand in operation. Benson is now a bus driver.....his Porter career only lasted the one Trek after he had Donna for his initiation!
We ran into Benson on our way to Owers Corner and he told Donna he would see her at the airport at the end. The problem being that as there is no flight schedule from Kokoda to Port Moresby, Benson went to the airport in Port Moresby when he thought we might be there and waited and waited only to discover that we had been and gone.
He wanted to live up to his promise to Donna to see her at the end so this morning he had walked over two hours to get to the Hotel. Just a beautiful thing for Donna considering she had been so courageous with her injured wrist for the past 7 days.
We ran into Benson on our way to Owers Corner and he told Donna he would see her at the airport at the end. The problem being that as there is no flight schedule from Kokoda to Port Moresby, Benson went to the airport in Port Moresby when he thought we might be there and waited and waited only to discover that we had been and gone.
He wanted to live up to his promise to Donna to see her at the end so this morning he had walked over two hours to get to the Hotel. Just a beautiful thing for Donna considering she had been so courageous with her injured wrist for the past 7 days.
We all tucked into the breakfast buffet....it was all of the breakfast items we were all craving and then there were the items we were happy to leave alone......baked beans!
The transfer bus was arranged for 10 am to get us to the airport for a 12.25 flight. When we arrived we couldn't work out why no check in counters were open....we were 1 hour ahead of schedule! Never mind, nice to not be in a rush.
The flight to Brisbane all went well. A little duty free shopping was on the cards in BrisVegas; it's just not fair on the credit cards to be left under utilised for this long!
4 hours to fill in at Brisbane Airport can be costly. After tucking into more food cravings of burgers, burritos, nachos and hot chips us girls hit the shops. Got some great bargains at Seed, Mimco and Peter Alexander. We had some lost time to make up in the shops....sorry to my husband Craig in advance!
After a few quiet beverages in the Sports Bar, we lost track of time and realised we were due to board so had to rush down to Gate 23. The flight into Sydney went quickly as Aaron did a crossword, Jo read the inflight mag, Grace entertained Troy, Shay and myself with a crossword and the rest slept.
So here we now are on the final leg of our return in the mini bus on the way back to Maitland. We have bid a very fond farewell to Gracie, Adam, Kylie, Lou and Wacko 'The Sausage Man' as they were staying in Sydney or getting themselves home.
Many of you will have seen the posts the Trekkers have made on Facebook. Hopefully the words and photos shared show you a little more of how wonderful this experience has been for the crew of 13. We look forward to sharing more about it with you all and as I said a few days ago when we finished the Trek, we cannot thank you all enough for your support and love given to us all as we embarked on this journey. And we have survived and made life long friendships along the way!
We can't wait to see you!
Until next time when we find some other way to challenge ourselves and support the beautiful kids of Camp Quality.
In the words of Ismal (the Trek Lead) .......
"Shakin' Bakin'!"
Ali x
