Departure day and it’s a sad goodbye to Manly as we enter our final and longest road trip from Brisbane, via Byron Bay and up to Port Douglas with numerous stops along the way.

Having packed the night before, Andy was up early and out by 6.30am to complete his final 10k run in Manly before we head for the ferry, train and then plane.

Post the run we met down on Manly beach for a final walk to take in the views and put them to memory before waving a bon voyage.

After almost 3 weeks back in the Augusta Lane apartment, our little home from home, we were packed and ready for the next stage of our travelling odyssey.

After walking past the Oval and the Manly Bowling Club, we took our final walk to Manly Wharf and grabbed a photo before queuing for the ferry.

There was just time to take in the last sights across Manly Cove Beach before we boarded the ferry and made our way to the train station down at Circular Quay.

After departing the ferry it was a short walk to the train and within 20mins we had arrived at the Sydney Domestic Terminal for our flight up to Brisbane.

After getting to the airport in plenty of time, we were treated to the usual indifferent service of Jetstar. Whilst the check in staff were very helpful and got us an extra bag in the hold, the timing of the flight was a little off and got delayed by an hour or so. Thankfully the flight did eventually go at 3pm and with the hour difference in Queensland, we were on the ground by 3.30pm and had picked up our latest hire car by 4.30pm. The new wheels are a Chinese motor by the name of Haval, which in truth is pretty impressive and drives well. We then had an hours drive down to Robina, on the outskirts of Burleigh Heads.

We’ve booked a great little B&B for 2 nights and it’s homely and well positioned with a Coles supermarket a stones through away and numerous restaurants all within walking distance.

After a Coles dinner of pasta and salad, accompanied by a 4 Pine’s Pacific Ale, a reminder of Manly, we decided to take a drive out to Burleigh Heads to have a brief look around in the early evening.

Andy made it down to the beach and managed to get a great photo of Surfers Paradise further up the coast and Burleigh Pavilion down the coast.

After a wander along The Esplanade and the restaurant and bar quarter close to the beach, we returned back to Mudgeeraba Village B&B for a good nights sleep.

Tomorrow we plan a return to the beach early morning, before we drive up to Arundel where we have arranged to have lunch with Robert and Diane, an Australian couple we met on a cruise in the Whitsunday Islands back in 2018. We’ve been corresponding with them on and off for the last 6yrs so it will be great to see them after so long and catch up over lunch.