A Penal Colony Becomes A City. Review on Brisbane

We used our South Australia Airline pass and flew from Melbourne to spend a few days in Brisbane. It is on the east coast of Australia and the City you use to if you want to go north to the Sunshine Coast or south to the Gold Coast.

We arrived at the Domestic Terminal and took a Taxi to our Hotel, (about 18 km/11 miles), from the City Center.

THE HISTORY:

In 1825 a Penal Colony was built on the site that is now Brisbane. In 1859 Queensland became a new State and Brisbane was the Capital City. Today the population of Brisbane is over 1 ½ million people.

BRISBANE:

We were here in December and it was summer here. The temperature was over 38 deg. Cel.

Brisbane is a port City and it has a lot of beaches. Downtown Brisbane is a great place to walk around.

WE TOOK A ONE DAY TOUR:

The fist place we went do see were the homes. Their Gardens were full of Palm, Papayas, Mangoes and the wonderful upside down Flowering Tree. Wet 'n Wild is a place to visit if you want to try a variety of slides.

We were looking forward to seeing MovieWorld because Australia has made some nice movies and T.V. Shows. I had imagined that we would see a exhibits on this Industry. There were a few stages to see a behind the scenes items but most of it was a small Amusement Park!

Fleayway's Wild Life Park was wonderful. It's not commercial just a lovely place to relax. The Park is owned by Conservationists who wouldn't dream of putting an animal in a cage. We had a Guide walk us though and she told us wonderful stories about the Crocodiles, Dingeos, Cassowarries, Koalas, Kangaroos, Wallabies and Wombats.

Our last stop was at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary to see the birds. We walked through the Aviaries and I got to feed a wild rainbow Lorikeets. They also had a few Reptiles, (I don't like snakes so I stood at the back of the group). Some of the people held a Snake or touched a Bat but not me! We saw a few Tasmanian Devils. The Taz Devils look exactly like they do in the comics.

WHAT WE SAW ON OUR OWN:

Wonderful Birds fly around the City. We saw the Kookaburras, (laughing at each other), Parrots and Gargantuan Fruit Bats, (these come out at sunset).

There are a lot of Parks and they seem to be in rows because you can walk from one to the next one.

There are several shopping areas and Malls. I like the Meyer Center it is nine stories high and has a roller coaster, (that I never went on), that is on the ceiling.

The Botanical Gardens are along the Brisbane river. We enjoyed the tropical Trees, Plants and Flowers that we saw here.

The Art Gallery was a wonderful place to visit. The Building is large and they used a lot of glass to give you a feeling of being outdoors. There is a lot of water both inside and out. I saw that there was a Gift Shop that sold reproductions on post cards of the paintings we had seen. You are not allowed to take photographs and can't take a camera inside. We took a tour of the Gallery and saw the art work by local Artists, Aboriginals, van Gogh, Renoir and Picasso.

We sat on the beach and watched the Men, (in their tight bikini swim suits) and the Shellas, (Ladies), walk bye in their topless bathing suites.

We took a tour of the Castlemaine Perkins Brewery, (by the Brisbane River) and sample their Beers.

WE DIDN'T SEE:

Dreamworld is an Amusement Park with a lot of rides. Seaworld has marine life, (Dolphins, Seals and Sharks), performing.

WHERE WE ATE:

We had a large English Breakfast at our Hotel each morning.

One night we were walking alone and saw a sign that said '' River Canteen an Australian Buffet for $5.00 Australian Dollars''. We decided to try it and we had the best lamb chops and creamed spinach, (that had a dash of nutmeg in it).

I was tired of eating the large platters of seafood so we tried the pasta at Nonna Pia Ristorante Italiano. The food was delicious but I almost fainted when I saw the check! We each ordered a pasta dish, (and had brought our own bottle of wine), and it cost us $22.00 Australian Dollars each!

We enjoyed the Casablanca Brasserie Bar Café & Cellar Club. We each had a Steak, ($7.00 Australian Dollars each), and a my Husband had a jug of beer and I had a glass of wine, ($2.50 AD each).

One day we had lunch at the Kookaburra Café. We had a seafood salad, ($5.00 AD each).

MY CONCLUSION:

We enjoyed our three days in Brisbane and if you're in Oz don't miss it.

To be continued....

Comments are always welcome.

©LL 2003