More buses

Monday was spent traveling from Sydney to Brisbane. We were not part of a large, coordinated convey this time. There was just our group with a hired coach. It was a tourist class coach this time rather than a school bus; our bags traveled with us, the seats fit full-size adults, and there was a bathroom on the bus itself. Our American group was the only one making this trip, so not every seat was filled either. It was a much nicer bus, but after seven or eight hours, it was still a bus. I longed to be done with the trip.

We left the school in Sydney around 8:30 in the morning. I was surprised that the route between the largest and third largest city in the country was not covered by a major expressway. We traveled along lots of two-lane country roads, slowing as we passed through each small town. We stopped three times along the way. There were other busses headed from Sydney toward Brisbane, so the rest stops were a little chaotic since there was no attempt at spacing the busses out since they were all independent. We arrived in Brisbane shortly after midnight. The very generous families that are serving as our hosts this week were there waiting for us and wisked us away to real beds. That was a true blessing.