This is our last day in Gold Coast. We woke up very early in the morning to catch the last sunrise over South Pacific Ocean from the balcony in our apartment. As the sky turned from pitch black to orange as the sun was rising over the horizon to bright blue, I can't bear to leave Surfers Paradise. As our flight is at 2pm, we had to leave Surfers Paradise by 10am for checking out and our drive to Brisbane International Airport. After packing and clearing out the trash, we were ready to leave the apartment and proceed to return the keys to our apartment at the office located in the shopping mall next to the apartment. After returning the keys, we commenced our 1 hour drive from Surfers Paradise to Brisbane Airport.
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| Waiting for Sunrise |
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| The play of colour in the sky is magnificent |
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| The sky is brightening as the time goes by |
The drive to Brisbane Airport is easy as the way to the airport is very well marked along M1 Highway. We parked our car at the allocated parking lot for the car rental returns and headed to the arrival hall to return the keys to our car. As we wanted to process tax refund for tourists (tourists can file for tax refund when their purchase exceeds A$300 in a single receipt), we headed to the ground floor where a small Tourist Tax Refund office is located for the staffs to witness the items we were claiming for tax refund. The process was fast and swift, soon we made our way to the departure hall to process our check-in for our flight home. After checking out, we headed straight tot he airside. Everyone leaving from Brisbane Airport are required to fill out a departure card at the counters outside the immigration gate. After filling in the departure card and going through the immigration clearance, we are ready to board our flight home.
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| Driving along M1 Highway to Brisbane International Airport |
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| Well marked signs along the way |
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| We arrived at Brisbane International Airport after driving for about 1 hour |
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| Last shot with the ride that brought us to various places around Gold Coast |
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| Car rental counters where we returned the key to the car we rented |
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| Arrival Hall in Brisbane International Airport |
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| Various levels in Brisbane International Airport |
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| Checking which row to check-in for our flight |
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| This is where tourists can file for refund for taxes on their purchases over A$300. This office is located on level 1 in Brisbane International Airport |
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| Some of the artwork hanging on the ceiling in Brisbane International Airport |
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| Departure drop off in Brisbane International Airport |
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| Taking a wefie in Brisbane International Airport before we check-in |
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| Passing this sign, one will end up in the immigration gates |
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| The escalator brought us down to the immigration gates |
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| Counter for travellers to fill in the departure card before entering the immigration gate |
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| Some artwork in the air side of Brisbane International Airport |
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| Brisbane International Airport air side |
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| Our ride home |
Australia is a huge country and is best seen via self drives as the national parks are rather inaccessible by public transport, unless one joins a day tour. Self drive is the best way to see Australia, which also gives one the freedom to stop at any interesting points along the way. There are more than theme parks in Gold Coast, in this trip we only visited Springbrook National Park, some other national parks that are popular with locals and visitors include Lamington National and Tambourine National Park, which we will visiting the next time we come to Gold Coast.
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