8th February 2016

Another early start today, as we were scheduled to disembark at 8:15 a.m. By 6:30, we were up, showered, and ready, making our way to the Windjammer by 7:10 am for our final breakfast aboard. Overnight, our suitcases had been whisked away from the corridor, now tucked safely below deck, ready for collection.

After breakfast, we bumped into Steve and Ellie on the Promenade and gave them our travel Opal cards since they had credit on them and they were staying in Sydney for another night. They planned to visit Bondi Beach and seemed thrilled with the idea of squeezing in one last Aussie adventure. We lingered for a while, sharing coffee and conversation in the café, before eventually seeking out seats in one of the lounges, where we waited for our number to be called.

With our flight not departing until late afternoon, I’d booked us on a post-cruise excursion to Manly Beach, complete with an airport transfer. Our number was called earlier than expected, and disembarkation was a breeze. Luggage collected and accounted for, we located our coach for the tour.

To our pleasant surprise, there were only 14 others on the trip, so we each got a window seat, perfect for soaking up the sights. Even better, we had a guide on board, and our journey included several photo stops around Sydney. The city is stunning, with its iconic skyline and scenic harbour, and it was clear from our guide’s enthusiastic commentary that Aussies take immense pride in their vibrant metropolis. The bits we saw were enough to leave us thoroughly charmed.

We had just under an hour to explore Manly, a town whose name, legend has it, comes from Captain Cook’s description of the locals as being “confident and manly” when he landed there. With limited time, we did a quick spot of shopping before heading to the beach to check out the scenery.

In my opinion, Manly’s beach outshines its more famous counterpart, Bondi. It’s not only prettier but also boasts a better variety of shops, less crowded and more relaxed. It’s no wonder Manly’s beach has served as the backdrop for a popular Aussie soap; it certainly has that quintessential coastal charm.

On our way back to the city, we made one final photo stop, and it was worth every second. From there, we had magnificent views of the iconic Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, and our cruise ship, which was preparing to sail off without us. It was a bittersweet moment, knowing that our adventure had come to an end, but the scenery was so stunning it almost felt like a perfect farewell.

We were the first to be dropped off at the International Airport Terminal, giving us plenty of time to breeze through check-in and passport control. The airport was relatively quiet, so we sailed through to departures in record time. While Sue took the opportunity to do a last bit of shopping, I found a seat in a bar and settled in to add to this blog. It seemed like a good way to wind down after such an eventful trip.

The flight from Sydney to Hong Kong was right on time, taking 8 hours and 40 minutes, and we even arrived 15 minutes early. After a 2-hour transit in Hong Kong, we caught our next flight, a 12-hour, 45-minute journey to Heathrow, which also arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Not much to report about the journey itself, except for one thing: in Hong Kong, we disembarked at Gate 60 and had to walk to Gate 1 for our connecting flight. Fortunately, there were several conveyor walkways along the way, though I reckon the distance was about a mile. It could’ve been worse; we could have ended up at Gate 80!

Once we arrived at Heathrow and left the Arrivals Hall, the transit bus was ready to whisk us away to the car. Before we knew it, we were on the M25 heading north. Fortunately, we spotted the motorway info signs about the M1 being shut and managed to divert onto the M40 just before we hit its junction. We finally made it home just before 8 a.m., ready to catch up on some much-needed sleep after a whirlwind journey.