Monday 25th August 2008
Lift to airport at 6:30am. Taken aside and tested for explosives before we leave. Fly out at 9, arrive at 11:15, bouncy landing to One Republic's "Apologize". I joked that if we had have crashed it really would have been too late to apologise...
Staying with parents in Ormiston near Raby Bay. We flew over it on the way into landing. They give us a lift from the airport.
Lunch at Raby Bay, followed by a walk in the local parks looking for koalas (no luck). Dad almost chops his finger off with a ladder while trimming vines.
Stay back watching TV, eating cheese and getting fed.
Tuesday 26th August 2008
9ish train to Brisbane (Southbank). Ormiston station has only one line. The train goes back and forth until the line is doubled further up the line. Very big step up to the train, it isn't level with the platform. Nice ticket machines, can buy daily for all zones/transport (inc. ferry), but you can only buy your ticket on the day, you can't buy in advance. They have scan-on-off cards too. All quite similar to Perth PT.
Coffee on Southbank, then walk along river to Museum.
Museum small but very well set out. Get a photo with Oz from Expo 88, I'm pretty sure I have a photo with him from when I was there 20 years ago. The Animal Zoo section is fantastic, with hundreds of stuffed animals all lined up and walking in a line from smallest (insects) to tallest (polar bear). Painted on the walls a silhouettes of larger animals from dinosaurs to whales and distances various animals can jump. Aquatic reptiles section also great, with room set up with beach, to shore to deep ocean. Parts were closed for renovation, including unfortunately the artefacts (pots, swords, collectables etc.).
Wander over to the Art Gallery. Again, quite small, mostly taken up with the Sidney Nolan exhibition that I missed while it was in Melbourne. Very entertaining.
Had a quick look in the Modern Art gallery, mostly at the architecture section, and the massive red reflective doughnut, before meeting my parents to catch a ferry to the Regatta Hotel.
Regatta's brewery is closed as they're "looking for a new brewer". They have nothing left over bottled. We have a lovely lunch there regardless (Wagyu sausages!), despite the freaky see-through one-way-mirror toilet walls.
We catch the ferry back up the river to Bulimba/Oxford Street.
We walk past Kevin Rudd's church to Oxford 152. Again, their brewery has closed for good, and worse, their beers on tap are having gas problems. The first two beers I asked for (Dogbolter and James Squire Amber) are off. I have a Beezneez, and the bartender kindly brought out little glasses of what was left of the James Squire.
Walk back down Oxford via a bookstore and catch the ferry back to Riverside, watching the sunset on the way.
Walk to Central Station, get lost in the catacombs and finally make it back on the train for the hour and a half trip back, reading Brisbane's MX on the way. Take Melbourne's MX, replace the following: Melbourne/Brisbane, Connex/QR, Brumby/Bligh, Yarra/Brisbane River and you're most of the way there.
Wednesday 27th August 2008
Up early for lift to Steve Irwin World/Australia Zoo. Arrive just as it opens around 9:30am.
Fantastic place, miles of room for all the animals, far more than I've seen at other zoos (except perhaps Werribee). Saw Otter Feeding, Tortoise Feeding, the Crocoseum show, Roos/Wallabies, Echidnas, Turkeys, Elephants (in the water!), Tigers, Koalas, Wombats, Snakes and finally the ADD ("horny") Tassie Devil. Water Dragons everywhere (free roaming), and of course Alligators and Crocs, who mostly sat sunning themselves.
We finished right on 4:30 (closing) but missed the Dingos, Cammels and various other boring Australia desert animals.
Great fun, great place, although perhaps the conservation message is a laid on a little thick, but it's aimed at kids and I guess they need it.
Thursday 28th August 2008
Sleep in, watch TV, take 10:40ish train to city.
Take elevator up Town Hall tower around 12:30, in time to hear the half-hour ding-dongs. Have a quick look around the gallery (showing photos and historical pieces from the Royal National Show).
Lunch @ The Brewhouse. Their brewery is still going but "gas problems" again prevent us trying everything. We were going to have a tasting paddle each but only four of their brew beers were on tap. I have a Midnight Extra Stout (light, but super dry) while Katie has a glass of The Hefe (nice, but nothing special, banana smells).
I somehow managed to get through the Brewhouse Dog, a foot long slap of fat and sugar moulded into the shape of a hot dog, with chips. They stuff up mum's meal so we get a free round of drinks, and we grab the other two brews on tap, Sunshine Honey (honey flavoured, kinda) and Dog's Bollocks (beer, boring old beer).
Walk around the Botanical Gardens, along the river and on the mangrove walk (low tide). Walk through Queensland University Of Technology and have a quick look in their art gallery, then off to get coffee in the mall.
From the mall we walk up to Roma Street Parkland. Only opened recently (2001?), this garden is awesome. It includes a well established rain forest full of life (frogs, water dragons, ducks, ibis) and a walk-way through the canopy, up to the botanical garden section showcasing excellent displays of colourful plants. Loved it.
At 7pm we watch the 1925 silent movie edition of Phantom Of The Opera, with music provided on the Brisbane Town Hall's organ. We only intended to stay until interval, but there wasn't one, and we happily stayed for the full 90ish minutes. Lots of fun.
Friday 29th August 2008
Relaxing last day with a long walk through the parks near where my parents are house sitting. Home for some coffee and a quick look through my mum's family history work, followed by lunch at Noci (next to Icon, same owner) at Raby Bay.
On to the library to use their net to check-in to our flight and a look through their magazines while Dad nerded. More coffee @ Donut King (depressingly, the best coffee we'd had in Queensland) then back home for some newspaper reading and TV watching.
Lift to the airport around 7:30. Arrive at 8 and are given seats on the early flight. Lucky, as the flight was over half an hour late. Checked for explosives again. Maybe it's the new haircut?
One Republic's "Apologize" was playing again just before take off, as was a news report about the Qantas oxygen bottle explosion. Felt a little Final Destination for a bit...
Otherwise uneventful flight, ignoring the moron next to me who alternated between yawning obnoxiously and snoring like a dying pneumonia sufferer. Land around 11:30, lift home.
Random thoughts on Brisbane
Reminded me of Melbourne for some reason. Lots of one way streets. Horrid freeway ramps all along the river. Orange taxis. Cars actually stop (mostly) for pedestrians, although they go REALLY fast around round-abouts. Wildlife everywhere (mostly ducks and water dragons). I loved the two way mall. I'd love to see both Swanston Street and Elizabeth streets turned into malls. Again, construction everywhere. Brisbane didn't have an obvious inner-suburbia like Melbourne's Richmond/Fitzroy etc.
Managed to see a cane toad, just before we got in the car to the airport.