Part of the theory behind the research was the need to fill in the time between finishing packing (approximately ten in the morning with a few last-minute items to be added once the clothesline had done its job) and the arrival of the Bowen Transit Airport Shuttle.
When the shuttle turned up on schedule around 3:45 for a 6:30 departure from Whitsunday Coast it looked like there were only the two of us on board but checking at Bowen Travel produced a third paying customer.
We’d spent several years without a bus connection between Bowen and the airport, and the service has only resumed relatively recently.
Hopefully, the numbers on board reflected the fact that we were leaving town on Festival Saturday rather than lack of demand because the option of your front door > airport > front door seems like a much better option than leaving the car at the airport while you’re away.
As far as the exact details of the journey are concerned, there’s not much to say. A change of seat to avoid the afternoon sun allowed me to avoid the Christian radio over the speakers.
An announcement at the airport alerted us to a remarkable fact. A Jetstar flight was, for once, running ahead of time.