Thirty luckless World Youth Day (WYD) pilgrims, struck down by illness last week, managed to get lost on their way to a free cruise today.
The pilgrims, visiting Australia from the Solomon Islands, had been scheduled to tour Sydney Harbour this afternoon, to help make up for their absence at the Pope's official arrival last Thursday.
But to the bemusement of NSW government WYD spokesperson Kristina Keneally, they managed to find themselves in Homebush at 2pm (AEST) - while their ferry was ready to depart at Circular Quay.
"We should have chartered a bus," she joked.
Ms Keneally said another ferry would be organised for the pilgrims.
She said a harbour cruise would be a chance for the pilgrims to enjoy Sydney before departing the country.
"It's a way that we can make up, in a very small way, we can make up for what they missed out on on Thursday," she told reporters in Sydney.
"How disappointing it must have been for some of our pilgrims who travelled all the way to see the Pope, and they missed that iconic arrival of Pope Benedict on Sydney Harbour.
"There's no better way to see Sydney's iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge than by boat, so we expect the pilgrims will have a great time."
She said that most of the pilgrims who fell ill last week had recovered well.
"Fortunately, our pilgrims were on the whole young and healthy, so when they came down with influenza B or gastro ... they seemed to recover quite quickly," she said.
More than 200 pilgrims caught a bad flu or stomach bug during the six-day Catholic event, according to the latest figures.
NSW Health today said almost another 1,000 pilgrims needed medical treatment at hospitals or WYD's temporary medical centres.
"Clinicians and public health officers treated a total of 181 pilgrims for flu and flu-like illness," a NSW Health spokesman said.
"Public health officers also investigated 23 cases of viral gastroenteritis."
Pilgrims taken to hospital emergency departments numbered 480 since July 9.
Another 461 sick or injured pilgrims were treated at WYD sites including Randwick Racecourse and Barangaroo.
