A good thing about Brisbane is that the sun rises early and so do most of the Brisbanites, I guess its a case of getting all the big jobs out of the way before the sun becomes too intense. The kids were up by 7.00am and Whipper and YakYak were cooking pancakes and bacon to be served with banana and lashings of maple syrup. Thanks guys, what a way to start the day! Rosie and The Operator had a great sleep and now with full belly’s and our fill of great coffee brewed by PinkyFluff we were out the door.
Our first impressions were of the city at night which was magical, in the daylight it was just as impressive. Clean, open, green and accessible feeling, being the third largest city in Australia 2.5 million people cant be wrong. Yet it does feel wrong, because you were not fighting amongst the crowds, you had space and plenty of it, brilliant! This is the Victoria bridge which I took my night time photos from last night, we are on the Southbank walkway and cruising along.
This is how The Famz roll, ChubbyCheeks in the pushchair laden with all manner of goodies that PinkyFluff would pull out like a magician at the drop of a hat if needed. Yakyak is on her trike, she pedals away at a hundred rotations a minuet as only the young can sustain and is a mighty good driver to boot, with The Operator glued to her side…..at her request.
Rosie and The Operator have been tempted on this holiday, not just by the fact that its free lodgings and board although that does appeal to the Scots in The Operator…tempted by the fact that PinkyFluff has been doing a 100 day project…her subject, 100 Things I Love About Brisbane. It has been a journey of discovery for her as she explores her new locale and, the bonus…she shares it on the web.
http://100daysproject.co.nz/project/2013/526 So, Rosie and The Operator have had a teasing preview of what is on offer…
The Arbor is just that, it is a beautiful walkway that runs adjacent to the river and winds through the Southbank parkland, steel tendrils bend and wind overhead like the bougainvillea that grows in a canopy over it. It is a cool and fragrant path that draws you in with every twist and turn.
The Wheel of Brisbane is just up ahead, YakYak is all excited, remember, The Operator has the key to it….we are going to catch it on the return journey. Whipper makes a great tour guide and has plenty of facts and info on the city to divulge, Rosie loves a good yarn and will pass on as much as she can remember.
Just past the wheel is this giant outdoor sound shell, Whipper says they have concerts and plays in it and all seem to be free to the general public. It has a huge ceiling on it with lighting rigs and seating for a couple of hundred at least The sides are all open to the world, remember, it is on the public walkway, and it as clean and tidy as a whistle…..
Ok, so this is an Australian White Ibis….Rosie will liken it to a Scavenging Rat, having never seen one ever before Rosie could not believe her eyes when flocks of them were scavenging around café tables for scraps. Its cute to see a wee sparrow land on a table foraging for crumbs….these birds are huge, and creepy looking and slightly bigger than a chicken. Its not cute to see them terrorising picnickers and café goers. The Operator had to save ChubbyCheeks later in the day as one had snuck up and was looking the steal a piece of mandarin directly out of her wee hand!
Its a day of firsts, Rosie has never seen a beach in the middle of the city…let alone a spectacle such as this one. Welcome to Streets Beach a man made tropical beach built on a terrace overlooking the Brisbane River.
This is a major piece of landscaping, The Beach has a sparkling clean, crystal clear lagoon with white sand beaches, palm trees, pebbled creeks and shady shallows surrounded by sub-tropical trees and exotic plantings. The Lagoon here is about 1 metre deep and Whipper said the beach above would be about 5 ft at its deepest.
YakYak knew what to do, she was off her bike, pants off and wading into the water at the drop of a hat. There was no one here mid week at 10.30 am ish. It was just YakYak, a flock of squarking seagulls and three very bored looking lifeguards sitting in their towers waiting for some action. This beach is just packed on the weekends and in summer PinkyFluff said…its cold today at 21c…apparently.
Back on the walkway we get to the end of The Arbor, we walk to the middle of the Goodwill Bridge and the brown free flowing Brisbane River swirls under us. This river curls in and around on itself like a snake, curiously the CBD and surrounding areas is actually built on the rivers flood plain…and great floods they have had! There have been three major floods in the history of the city 1893, 1974 and 2011.
Well, today there is not a rain cloud in sight, it is warming up nicely and Rosie and The Operator are feeling a little dry…PinkyFluff takes us to her favourite riverside café. Its too hot for coffee….
Love the back WALL of this café/bar…time for Rosie to plug her WALL project. 100 days of WALLS http://100daysproject.co.nz/project/2013/564 teehee.
A dose of sunshine and a couple of jugs of Spicy Mojitos coupled with the most divine Sweet Potato chips I have ever had Rosie and The Operator were well into holiday mode. YakYak was the proper lady with her BabyCino while ChubbyCheeks was having a snooze in the pushchair.
We turned back and walked along the river bank the way we had come, the amazing thing is even though we were covering the ‘same’ ground we were travelling in a completely different walking zone to before. The river and CBD were stretched out before us, then we ducked into a tree shaded boardwalk with lush tropical plantings.
The Rainforest walk was cool and leafy and there, stretched out on a rock was a Water Dragon…this lizard was about 400mm long. Rosie has never seen anything like it (again), it was just chillin in the shade, once you see one then all of a sudden you seem to be able to see all its camouflaged friends, there were about four others in the vicinity. PinkyFluff said they can grow as big as one metre long.
The Wheel was rearing its head above the canopy of Rainforest as we popped out into the clearing that housed the Nepalese Pagoda, a beautiful hand carved peace pagoda built by the Nepalese for World Expo 1988, afterwards it was gifted to the people of Brisbane and sits in this serene, tranquil setting.
YakYak and ChubbyCheeks have been perfect on this excursion! YakYak in her laid back pedalling position on the trike, riding like she owns the footpath. Sounding her bell as and when needed. Sometimes there would be a slight rise in the footpath and a push from The Operator always came in handy, or, PinkyFluff would put the front wheel of the pushchair into the tray on the back of the bike and locked in place they were the perfect road train with YakYak steering the way and PinkyFluff providing the momentum. Rosie thought this method would end in tears…but YakYak new the score and will be as good a driver as her mother when she grows up!
By the time we reached the Wheel Rosie was more tuckered out than YakYak….just as she is now….will stretch this day out another one Rosie thinks….TOMORROW – THE WHEEL OF BRISBANE! And Yes, The Operator has the key!
