Brisbane

We didn’t want to leave the area without having knowledge of Brisbane city. Elizabeth Macky had whetted our appetites by saying that she had changed her mind about it and now thought it was a lovely place. The concierge at the hotel recommended taking the train as the most convenient method and equally as cheap as taking the car and paying high parking charges. Unable to take advantage of the 50% Seniors’ discount without a state pension book we had to pay full day return fare, which given that we are probably further away than Guildford is from London still seemed reasonable at under £10.

The heritage of Brisbane, as being one of the areas for penal colonies, is evident in the number of English place names, and we started our tour from Southbank station. The river that passes through the city is a similar size to the Thames, and meanders in a very similar fashion. The views of the bridges and the high-rise on the opposite bank was, therefore, very reminiscent…apart from the sunshine and the comparative lack of traffic fumes. There are some magnificent art galleries, museums and a huge library, which with free Wi-Fi could not be passed. On the north side of the river there are a number of 150+ year-old buildings that appear to be, from the outside, beautifully preserved, although surrounded by new skyscrapers. When we eventually crossed to the north bank we arrived at a Farmers’ Market which had some fabulous produce, and if we had taken 3 circuits in the right direction we could have done a 3-course meal from the samples on offer. As it was we had a Cornish pasty each, literally straight out of the oven, and needing a 10-minute walk to find a seat to allow them to cool down, and excellent they were too.

We followed a recommended walking tour route and ended up, via the Botanical Gardens, at the Queensland University of Technology. I suppose that the students get used to their surroundings but first impressions were that it might be very difficult to work given the distraction of the stunning environment. We made a final loop to Roma Street Parkland as it got dark to find the sporting types all out doing their training, under the marauding swooping of the fruit bats, as big as large crows, before heading back to catch the train home.

With longer to spend in the area the city is certainly worth at least another day’s visit, as we hardly touched the cultural exhibitions, and from a sight-seeing aspect is definitely a very lovely place.