Days 13, 14, and 15: After more snorkeling and a hike to the island's summit, we caught a ferry back to Cairns. Hansi's parents returned to the Mercure, and Hansi and I trolled for a decent place to stay, choosing Caravella Backpackers, which runs two local hostels. Craving privacy, we booked a double -- a newly renovated, air-conditioned, white-tiled room with private bath -- for three nights. The room was an ideal home base for a stay that included a daylong trip to the rain forest region of Cape Tribulation with David Sperling, a naturalist and former butterfly breeder who owns Wet Tropics Safaris, and a reef boat trip with Passions of Paradise, a tour company staffed by a tanned, tattooed crew with names like Dirk and Brooksie. Our trip to the reef, an indescribably mesmerizing underwater world of brilliantly colored fish and coral, was our most extraordinary day in Australia. Back at Caravella's, we slept well each night, disturbed only by one false fire alarm that forced a middle-of-the-night evacuation. Cost: $123 ($41 per night).
A pennypincher in Oz
With Australia so pricey to get to, a thrifty traveler turns to cheap lodging
Day 16: Melbourne was our last stop, and we arrived after dark without a place to stay. A guidebook steered us to Exford Hotel Backpackers in Chinatown, a reputed onetime brothel above a smoky bar. Our frigid private room had hardwood floors, a bunk bed, and a locker. Cramped bathrooms were down the hall. We slept solidly, but in the morning the reek of stale cigarette smoke was overwhelming. No heat was fine. Smoke was not. We set out to find another hostel. Cost: $30 ($15 per bed).
Days 17, 18, and 19: A few blocks away was Greenhouse Backpacker, which our guidebook gushed was ''brilliantly located" and a ''bright, friendly and extremely well-run operation with excellent facilities." It was all those things, and then some. Located in a contemporary, high-rise building with rooms that looked like converted offices, Greenhouse became our home for the rest of our stay, three days filled with meandering walks, Aussie-rules football games, and multiple visits to the fabulous food stalls at Queen Victoria Market. Cost: $120 ($40 per night).
The grand tally: For 19 nights of lodging in Australia, including the two freebies, we had spent $887, or almost $47 an evening, not far from our original goal of $40 a night.
Alas, the total three-week tab, once cash purchases were tallied and credit cards bills added up, slightly exceeded that dismaying $6,000 figure. We knew from the outset that the trip was doomed to be expensive, no matter how much we scrimped; in fact, looking back, our $5,500 target would have translated into an ultra-lean $63 a day in spending money, including lodging. Still, we took consolation in knowing that two-thirds of our bill was air fare, and that hostels had been an effective way to tame it. The vacation remained high-priced, and still seems indulgent. But we returned with the conviction that we had held down costs as much as possible. And we had always felt safe -- and almost always felt clean.
Sacha Pfeiffer can be reached at pfeiffer@globe.com.