OUR STAY IN BRISBANE

Whilst we were staying with Wayne and Louise we barbecued, or rather they barbecued for us, visited local places of interest, had a go on the City Cat up the River into the city centre, checked out Lone Pine Reserve and went shopping for camping gear. Only later in our trip was I to realise that I should have more attention to Wayne’s prompting about what to buy there in the camping shop. I felt at home here in Brisbane and I am sure that it is a pleasant city to live in. Of course most places one visits as a holidaymaker are pleasant as one doesn’t have to live with the day to day trivia of making a living, paying the bills and putting up with the neighbours.

Although Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia, behind Sydney and Melbourne, it doesn’t feel like a crowded metropolis. We went into the centre on the City Cat, a catamaran running frequent services along the Brisbane River. We got off at the South Bank Parklands and had a very pleasant walk down through the park after having a look round the Queensland Art Gallery. It is a great leisure area with lawns and a bathing pool with an artificial beach. We crossed into the town centre via the Goodwill Pedestrian Bridge. We spent a little while wandering around the city centre and I was able to redeem myself a little here. I had brought my digital camera along and its two accessory lenses but forgot the memory cards so I bought a 4GB replacement. This meant that we were able to click away at hearts content. Unfortunately we didn’t start clicking until after we left the town centre.