This is the last day of our holiday in Brisbane, we awoke early and YakYak came bouncing on the bed to get us up. After a breakfast of mighty Weetabix we were charged for the day and ready to go. First stop was a drive up Mount Coo tha to take in the early morning view of the city. Mt Coo tha is the highest peak in Brisbane at 287 metres. This spectacular view is from the summit lookout.
We got there nice and early before all the tour buses and it was nice and quiet….Look for the Wheel of Brisbane in the top photo…The Famz live just behind that.
Also at the lookout is a café, restaurant and gift shop, it would be a lovely peaceful spot to stop for a coffee. YakYak was showing Rosie on the map where about on the river they lived. Whipper said this was the quietest he has ever seen this lookout, (pays to come early) The Famz came up on a weekend and it was crawling with people. There are walking and mountain bike tracks that start here at this site making it a very popular weekend destination.
The second part of the day was going to be spent in the saddle…bicycle that is….Rosie was determined to give it a go solo and The Operator assured me it would be a piece of cake. Firstly Rosie needs to credit Pinkyfluff with the following presentations that Rosie stole from her 100 days project….because Rosie never took a photo of a single bike stand….out of all the hundreds that are around.
Pinkyfluff had registered Rosie and The Operator as cycle users for the day on the council website. We received a code, from which we could punch in the code at any bike stand terminal. The code would then release/unlock a bike of our choice and off we would ride…..This registration cost $2 per person. It would only cost us that two dollars for the whole day if we parked and exchanged the bike every 30 mins. By keeping the bike in excess of 30 mins….we would be charged extra. It did not cost us extra to select another bike and ride for another 30 mins…are you with me? Rosie is still shaking her head….the council is not going to make any money out of this enterprise….
And just because PinkyFluff has done such an outstanding job…Rosie will pinch this one too….
The codes were punched, the bikes were selected, helmets secured..The Operator had checked brakes and tyres, corrected Rosies seat height and with a ring of my bell we were off. Well, off I wobbled, these three speed beauties were great fun!
This is the shared walkway cycleway path along the river, it is smooth, level and wide. Rosie is no racer and people had no problem moving with a ring of my bell…it wasn’t even really necessary there was heaps of room for everyone…Rosie just likes the bell action. What a beautiful ride on a perfectly overcast day. The Operator led the way with Rosie in the middle, Whipper and YakYak brought up the rear. We were heading for our first bike transfer, Kangaroo Point Cliffs.
Watch out Rosie, the walkway splits into levels in some areas….take the ramp…..don’t try to head down the stairs…Rosie wondered why everyone was yelling at her….stop dreaming and look where you are going…that could have been nasty. Our plan was to just cruise along, stop whenever we wanted and have a great day…Rosie just wanted to keep trucking, it was so enjoyable!
Our first stop was at Kangaroo Point Cliffs, we stopped and watched the rock climbers take to the wall for the day. Why would Rosie use a photo of strangers climbing when she has pics available of Whipper and Stitch having a crack? YakYak is there lending a helping hand making sure Stitch is holding onto Daddy. Great work guys, these cliffs are really high!
Rosie stayed with YakYak and we blew bubbles on the riverside while Whipper and The Operator went to exchange the bikes for the first time. Off again and we were headed for the Park under The Story Bridge, Captain Burke Park.
Rosie is jumping the gun a bit here, this is the view from the bridge looking down on the park. We waited for PinkyFluff and ChubbyCheeks, they were driving to meet us here and we
were all going for lunch together. We parked up the bikes and walked to the Story Bridge Hotel just up the road. What a great lunch we had in this grand old building.
We didn’t know at the time but this establishment had won Best Pub Restaurant in Queensland for the last three years…Rosie had a beautiful handmade pasta dish and The Operator had a Wagyu Cottage Pie…it was divine. YakYak wanted a chocolate milkshake and they made one especially for her and she drained the huge glass dry. ChubbyCheeks was just the best baby ever, Rosie thought she ate quite a lot…but when she was taken out of the highchair, surprise surprise, the majority of the food was secreted inside the chair…very cunning ChubbyCheeks!
You can see the bridge at about the height of the hotel in the hotel picture, we walked up the road to another bike rack, picked up another trusty stead and Rosie pushed her bike up the little hill to the bridge entry…Rosie was feeling a little unsteady from her 500ml bottle of Rekorderling Cider, I just couldn’t get going….The Operator had to get off his bike and give me a swifty push when no one was looking….
Rosie was puffing like a steam train when we got to the middle from the little incline, she had to stop for a pause and …take in the view….the sign was a very unfortunate place to stop at…still at least we know someone cares and if Rosie needed emergency help the number was right there for the boys.
YakYak was as patient as, she was settled in her seat and this was her space and time with Dad. She puts her hands on Whippers bum and says ‘I help you Dad’…Rosie could have done with abit of extra help….that’s the secret out as to why Whipper got about so fast. From here it was all downhill and Rosie wasn’t stopping.
The journey from the bridge down to this flat area was a little hair raising. A steep alley had to be negotiated…The Operator (under his breath) preferred it if Rosie walked…Rosie was a little apprehensive…and, buoyed by a little drunkenness thought, what the hell. The Operator gave Rosie the game plan….keep your brake fully on at all time….OK. Whipper went first, Rosie followed, it was so incredibly steep it was crazy….Rosie started down, followed by a screaming aaaahhhhhhhhh right to the bottom….YakYak thought it was hilarious and screamed all the way to the bottom too…we had so many people looking it was even more hilarious. I tell you what, my hands were squeezing the brakes so tight and I was still going faster than what I wanted too. Was quite exciting!
We parked our bikes at the Botanic Gardens and started walking through to the other side….just as the heavens opened up and the rain came pouring down. We sheltered under a huge tree to wait it out and YakYak had a game of soccer with the boys and a few passer-by’s who saved a couple of out of control kicks. The Botanic gardens are beautiful, these are Brisbanes oldest gardens boasting 20 acres of rare and exotic plants. A noisy Kookaburra screamed loudly in the tree above us and heralded back the sunshine. We picked up another bike and crossed the river on the Goodwill bridge back to the Southbank, Whipper said that even though we had already cycled this path it was nicer than cycling under the motorway.
We stopped for a drink and our last cycle exchange and Rosie and The Operator said farewell to Brisbane. We have had a wonderful time here with the bestest hosts who have really taken us under their wing and shown us a nice slice of their newly adopted city. Just enough mind you to make us want to come back for more….you have been warned! Rosie and The Operator have loved living with YakYak and ChubbyCheeks and will miss those girls terribly. It was slowly that Rosie and The Operator packed their bags and headed home. Thanks for the most wonderful holiday Whipper and PinkyFluff xx
