Holiday: Day 5 – Bank Cobbers!

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06.00am: G’day Readers! We were both up at ‘silly o’clock’, having not slept very well! I guess that’ll be the jet-lag then!? 🤪

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Still, Oz waits for no-one – especially us, and so it’s another day of exploration around Brisbane – specifically, we’re going to wander around the South Bank area! 👍

TODAY’S TRIVIA: Did you know that Brisbane has an average of 283 days of sun per year?

Day 5 – Where are we? (Sunday, 3rd November)

08.31am: Today is our second full day in Brisbane – we’re now just a few days away from flying to Auckland, New Zealand, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, here in Oz, we’re staying at the rather posh Meriton Suites Hotel in Herschel Street, Brisbane. So far, we’ve done planes, boats and a bit of walking to get us this far – and today it’s another opportunity to boost our step count as we look around Brisbane’s South Bank.

In the spirit of adventure, unlike yesterday where we turned LEFT, today, we turned RIGHT! (you can imagine the excitement – talk about living on the edge!) 😁. We had a plan of where we like to visit, but we could already feel the heat – it felt much warmer than yesterday – and that was going to dictate how much exploring we did! We were determined to NOT grab a bus or taxi today and attempt to do it all on foot.

On the list…
💡South Bank Parklands
💡Queensland Maritime Museum
💡City Botanic Gardens

…and if there’s time…
Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)
💡State Library
💡Old Museum

Our first landmark was Victoria Bridge with stunning views across the water. This was the most direct walking route leading us into the heart of the South Bank, and it took us around 25 minutes.

South Bank Parklands

9.08am: The Parkland area was an extensive area of green space that we certainly don’t recall being quite so green the last time we were here. South Bank Parklands was built on the transformed site of Brisbane’s World Expo’ 88 and officially opened to the public on 20 June 1992. Over the years, its 17 hectares has grown in popularity and scope where they’ve built artificial beaches and numerous pools along the walk.

It was all beautiful! So green and the masses of Bougainvillea made everywhere look so vibrant in colour. We grabbed a quick breakfast at Cafe Lagoonas before continuing our walk – where we seemed to time it perfectly as 10 minutes later, the place was packed with IBIS birds competing with us humans for the food! 😲

The area was certainly popular – even at this early hour on a Sunday – but what’s not to love?? And it seemed that most of Brisbane felt the same with sunbathing, swimming and playing in the sand being the order of the day! 👍

The increasingly warm temperature made the experience even more enjoyable and it was clear to see that for many families, soaking up facilities here is a regular thing – especially on a Sunday.

Queensland Maritime Museum

10.00am: We couldn’t have timed it better! The Queensland Maritime Museum opens at 10am on the Sunday and we were first to arrive! Costing just A$18 each to get in, the Museum featured an extensive range of maritime-related exhibits. It even featured a real frigate (more of that later). As the day was getting warmer, we were advised to visit the frigate first ‘before it got too warm in there’. We wandered through the Museum and back outside to discover the HMAS Diamantina in dry-dock.

Decommissioned in 1980, we certainly weren’t expecting to see a full-size Frigate out the back! And we were free to wander around on deck and inside.

It was certainly in good condition, but like most ships of that era, felt terribly claustrophobic inside. Anyone over about 5 feet 6 inches tall must have been constantly banging their head as they went about their daily duties. Even the Officers’ quarters weren’t much better. What a life! 🥵

Definitely NOT the life for me!

Even with electric fans placed around the ship, it was almost unbearable inside and we were pleased to be heading back to the Museum after our in-depth look at life at sea.

Inside the somewhat cooler Museum was a fantastic range of exhibits. From sail-making, to hull design and lighthouse lenses in all their many shapes and sizes, this was a comprehensive set of displays, models, diagrams and documentation to bring out the ‘salty ol’ sea-dog’ in all of us.

10.40am: Phew! We’re all ‘shipped-out’ and what could be more perfect than to pop next door to the conveniently named The Ship Inn for some less salty refreshment! 👍

Well, that went down a treat! We could have easily stayed longer, but having now walked the complete length of the Parkland area, it was time to cross BACK to the other side of the Brisbane River. Luckily, there was a bridge!

Across the Bridge

11.10am: Affectionately named ‘The Goodwill Bridge‘, it was opened in 2001 and is for pedestrians and bikes/e-scooters only. Curiously, the cycle lane is positioned in the centre of the bridge, with us walkers allowed either side. From our experience, keep your eyes open as not every e-scooter we saw was following the rules! 😲.

City Botanic Gardens

11.22am: Having reached the other end of the Bridge, this conveniently led to the City Botanic Gardens.

As expected, it was very lush. It was busy too and like us two, many people were there to simply enjoy the sound of birds singing and trees swaying in the (very welcome) breeze.

Parliament House

11.41am: Quite by chance, we stumbled upon ‘Parliament House‘. It is the meeting place of the Parliament of Queensland, housing its only chamber, the Legislative Assembly. There didn’t seem to be much activity there today and all the gates were locked shut (I’m not sure why!?). Apparently, it IS open to the public, but not today! 🤔

Old Government House

11.45am: Literally just up the road, now located within grounds belonging to Queensland University of Technology was ‘Old Government House‘. Originally, it was the home of Queensland’s Governors between 1862 and 1910 and remains one of Queensland’s most important heritage buildings. 

At least this building wasn’t locked up! As we arrived, we could hear the sound of mandolins! Yes, really! 🤪. There was a concert in full swing and that initially restricted us from wandering around inside on the ground floor. Elsewhere, the rest of the building was (now) an Art Gallery where currently there was an exhibition by William Robinson (nope, me neither!). Later, I learned that he’s widely regarded as one of Australia’s most distinguished contemporary artists, best known for his landscape and portrait painting. Sadly, his work did nothing for me, but Ann quite liked it. Will the Philistine please leave the room! 😉

12.05pm: By now, not only we were all ‘cultured out’, but we were also tired from the heat. In a last brave effort to increase our step count, we chose to walk back to the Apartment. The cool breeze along the way helped a lot, and it only took us around 40 minutes.

12.52pm: Phew! Back at the Apartment, we reviewed our numbers for the day. It was definitely the right decision to set off early this morning. With the increasing heat and humidity, it certainly felt hotter than the local forecast and I think if we’d left it any later, we may not have covered as much as we did.

Time for a cool shower, an even cooler drink and feet up for the rest of the day! 👍

Tomorrow, it’s our last full day in here, and we’re taking the train heading for Australia’s iconic Gold Coast.

See you tomorrow, Cobbers! 💤💤