Brisbane

Time in Brisbane went fast. Marvelous city with a lot to see in and a lot of places to visit close by. We needed to make the most of of it. The list was long, the time was pretty short.

We got there in the afternoon and as soon as we arrived, we started going around. There were a lot of sightseeing places within walking distance from the hotel. We dived right in.

The Old Windmill was on the way to City hall. We ran into it and almost didn’t see it. It was just there! By the sidewalk. Well, that’s odd. We might as well stop. Not great, not bad. Not a lot of glory. A pretty brief look and a quick picture.

Continued going downhill and right in the middle of downtown was the conservative looking City Hall. Again quick picture and moved on to the Old Government House. A little more majestic and impressive, but kind of the same look. Queensland Parliament? Almost the same. Same structure with some more extra grassy grounds. Where was all the good stuff?

Well, the story bridge at sunset looked pretty cool and we saw it as we walked to the majestic St. Johns and St. Stephen’s Cathedrals.

The sad news is that by the time we arrived to them, it was already dark. One was still open so we looked inside. The other one was closed. The most impressive? St. Johns. What an amazing structure with purple looking bricks. A truly piece of art.

Last for the day was the Anzac Square, honoring military personal that died in battle. Definitely worth seeing at night. The lighting did set up the tone and the voice for remembrance.

Next day, we started early visiting Kangaroo Cliff Park. To be honest, the nicest view I will remember from Brisbane Skyline. Not crowded, clean and just beautiful all around.

A 25 minute drive from the city and we were at the Shorncliffe Pier. As it was still early, we were able to enjoy it almost by ourselves. Lovely walk to the end and impressive 360 Degrees ocean views.

Mentally prepared for a walk, we headed to Glass House Mountains. We were planning on Mount Tibrogargan. Turns out that when you are hiking Mount Tibrogargan, you have two options: the Tibrogargan Loop that circles the base of the mountain and the Tibrogargan summit.

What is the difference? Tibrogargan Loop is a 3 kilometer round trip hike that suits most hikers. On the other hand, Tibrogargan Summit is a short hike, but is extremely steep and is quite scary one. The summit climb is approximately as tall as a 50 story building. But is just 2.3 kilometer. This track is not for those who are afraid of heights. It begins with stairs and then vertical rock face (the steepest section) and then another roughly 20 minutes of rock climbing and scrambling before you reach the top. No thank you!

Which one did we choose? We played it safe with the Tibogargan Loop. We both are afraid of heights. Not falling for that!

It was definitely the right choice. Although the temperature and the humidity were quite high, the walk was easy and pleasant (at least for the first little while).

When we starting feeling like we were melting, well, that was another story. We picked up the slow paced walk for the last climb up. We were both certainly hoping to get some breeze at the top. Dah!

Turns out we couldn’t been more wrong. There was no breeze at all! The most fantastic views were waiting all around, yes. But, we were completely sweated out!

Moreover, the place was filled with mosquitoes of all kinds. We really tried to enjoy it as much as we can. I’m not really sure at this point how much we actually did. Still smiled for the pictures and went straight down.

So what about trying it all over again? Must be crazy right? Well we did try it one more time! We found another quick trail to go up and get some more magnificent views. This time the climb was shorter, but steeper. Quite comfortable as it was paved. Not risky at all. The good news? All the breeze was at the top. Yay!

At that point, I was just waiting to see Koalas and Kangaroos. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was our next stop. Got some lunch, recovered, dried out and headed straight there.

Quite an experience! Turns out I do like all types of animals. Bats, snakes, iguanas, birds, dingos, kangaroos and koalas. Majestic all! Incredible all! Love them all!

I literally took a picture of each of the species they had in the sanctuary. Had no other plans for the day rather to stay until they closed. So we did. Went around and around. Contemplated koalas as much as we could. I guess I was trying to take a mental picture so I could remember how pretty, how peculiar and how comfortable they made me feel.

The place is unbelievable. You can tell they care for the animals, volunteers are all around. Plenty of food. Clean facilities. Kangaroos are living within an open field that you can visit, with or without the special food they have for them. Birds are also invited to come during the day when they offer them some food, and they do show up!

Never forgetting how pretty Brisbane was and the magic that is all around. A city worth visiting for a little while!