msfi

My husband and I rode our bikes to the airport on the spur of the moment on Saturday, mostly to check out the duty free shops (as we'll be travelling soon) and because it was New Year's Day and it was likely to be the only place open!

We took the Cooks River cycleway route starting from Hurlstone Park and crossing over into Tempe. After crossing into the airport and looping down and around into the International terminal turnoff, the path just..... ended.

We found ourselves at the car park entrance/exit and 5 lanes of traffic. We hauled our bikes across and over the kerb into the carpark and tried to find a place to park our bikes. Nope... nope... cars only... maybe we should hook up to a luggage cart rack, or is that a security risk? We finally spotted a carpark employee on a bicycle and asked him where to go. He sent us to what appeared to be a staff bicycle area. Not super-secure, but ok.

For those who want to try it out, go to the South terminal arrivals area, follow around to the left past the McDonald's and the covered area leading to the train station, and just beyond that there's like a glass pyramid thing and just near there by a roller door you'll find the bike racks.

We wandered around the shops, had lunch and went up to the observation deck to watch the world go by. A fun way to spend the afternoon.

On the way back, we discovered someone had chalked in an arrow to International Airport just before the path ends, that takes you underneath the highway, which is dirt, and over to just past the carpark entrance where you only have to cross one lane of traffic, not five. We'll bear that in mind for next time.

All up, it took about an hour to cycle each way which is quicker and cheaper than public transport. Given how long I've waited for taxis sometimes (as we're only a $15 fare away) it could even be quicker than a taxi.