On leaving the Gold Coast, we drove north to Brisbane and put our watches back an hour.. We were really peeved to be coming here, not because Brisbane is less than wonderful but because we were all too aware that we only had 3 days left in Australia.
We arrived at our hotel in Brisbane and found it to be in a central location right above the train station. They had regular trains running to the airport and could give us a discount on the train tickets. We decided there and then that we would no longer need the car, so we set off on foot to find an Avis place where we could ditch the jaloppy. Brisbane is really easy to get around on foot. The streets are in an easy grid shape and are named after English Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses. The Queens and Princesses run north to south and the Kings and Princes run east to west......simple.
We found the Avis place and arranged to drop our car off 3 days earlier than planned. After dropping off the car, we went for a walk around the city. It's a lovely, compact city situated on the Brisbane River. There are plenty of good shops, cafes, restaurants and entertainment areas. Many of the good restaurants are situated on the river with views over to the other side and the wonderful bridges.
We paid the obligatory visit to the Gabba to watch England try to play some cricket. It was a lovely atmosphere though, everybody was really friendly. It is relatively cheap to watch sporting events in Australia, therefore they are family events and everyone brings the kids. What a difference to rip off Britain where nobody but the rich can afford to take the kids to premiership matches.
On our way back from the Gabba, we walked across the pedestrian bridge and through the Botanic Gardens. We had been in these gardens during the day and they were lovely. The thing is that it was now night and they were darned spooky. Unseen night creatures were rustling in the bushes and I had a feeling of overwhelming jitteriness. There has been a recent spate of rapes and attacks in Brisbane parks, whilst we were in Oz these attacks were all over the news. Me and Sparks were totally alone in there and I was beginning to wish that we had walked around on the crowded streets rather than take the short cut through the park. There was some rustling in the bushes to our left, was it my imagination, or was the rustling getting closer?????
Suddenly, the bushes parted, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a possum shot out....... It stopped abruptly when it saw us and Sparks bent down and extended his hand to it... Well, the next thing we knew, it was sniffing his fingers and then it proceeded to follow us through the park.. I tell you, he's like Dr Doolittle is Sparks, we couldn't get rid of the little ******. The possum left us when we finally exited the park, it was obviously out of its' comfort zone, I was back in mine....
We also spent a day at a friend's house and caught up with some of my old colleagues. It was wonderful to see them again, they have only been there for a few months but had already got into the laid back lifestyle, swimming pool in the garden, big barbie on the patio. It's a fact that people think that NHS staff go to Oz for more money but the reality is that we are actually paid less. The money there does go a bit further and the lifestyle makes up for the move. My colleagues now get less holidays and less pay, but they are happy, not stressed and don't feel like they need the holidays.. I have to say that it is all very tempting.
We came home from my friend's house on the train, both a little worse for wear after the wine and beers we'd all been drinking. They do like a drink in Oz..
We had to pack our cases as we were leaving the next day. We'd had a brilliant time in Australia though but it was time to go..
Here are some pics of Brisbane and its' river, and of course........ a pic of the Gabba.