Leaving Cairns

It's 5:36 in the morning as I wait for the airport shuttle, safe from the rain under a wooden gazebo roof and safe from the noises of the jungle in the comforts of civilization. Sitting here in silence, watching the ghastly color of the pre-dusk sky peek through the palm trees, this is the first time my experience has felt remotely exotic and out of the ordinary. Sure, it has been beautiful, peaceful, exciting, breathtaking, what have you - but nothing has felt wild, unknown, unchartered, or even uncomfortably different or unusual.

These sensations of wildness, the sounds of rain against the roof and the knot in the pit of my stomach at the thought of renting a left-driving car in a mere few hours make my departure from Cairns bittersweet. It is another milestone that marks the bearing end of my trip, and this milestone is more significant than Greyhounding it up the east coast and knowing I will see familiar faces along the way. This is another plunge into the unknown for my final week, something I have yet to learn to embrace. But because it is scary, I know that it is something I must do - and the hope of better weather is not such a bad incentive!