... I was not alone in Cairns as I frantically tried to get onto the next flight south ahead of a long weekend and volcanic ash-clouds from Chile bringing the domestic airlines to a halt.
Klaus Herbert and his charming wife Peta were very kind to put me up in their 11th-floor CENTREPOINT penthouse overlooking Cairns and the Coral Sea.
Under different circumstances, I would have loved to enjoy their wonderful hospitality for longer (and I hope they will allow me to reciprocate by coming to stay at "Riverbend") but this was an emergency and I was booked on the next-morning's flight back to Sydney and the gruelling 5-hour bus trip from Sydney airport to "Riverbend".
As another friend said, "Peter, at our age we need friends". We do indeed! Thanks again, Klaus and Peta, and I hope we will meet again soon!
