Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Last day in Brisbane

This is our last day in Brisbane and we got up early to walk to the Botanical Gardens along the path on the north side of the river bank, on our map it is called the Riverside Bridleway. We had breakfast in the Gardens in the former Caretakers Cottage. It was hard to believe we were in the middle of a city surrounded as we were by Candlenut Trees, an ancient Dragon Tree, Bunya Pine, Queen Palms etc., exotic etc.

Refreshed we wandered on past Hibiscus, frangipani, and formal gardens full of dark purple salvias and white daisies with round mounded beds of white, lilac and purple sweet alyssum. Drought conditions exist here, reservoirs are down to 25% of their usual capacity. We saw a marker for the January 1974 floods, people dies, 6700 homes were ruined and the gardens were a part of vast areas of Brisbane that were under water. Hasrd to believe today.

We walked on down to the Old Custom House and then caught a City Cat ferry to the South Bank and Streets Beach. This is a beach with real sand created in the Southbank Parklands the beach runs down to a pool adjacent to the river. It also has a big screen - you could watch the cricket there while keeping cool in the pool! We walked further, on through the Cultural Centre which houses the Performinmg Arts complex and the Queensland Art Gallery and Museum, time for lunch and now we are in the cool, modern, State Library Here we can connect to the Internet for free, so I am grabbing the opportunity!

I've been posting from TinBilly's a backpackers in town for a small fee. I have to say the State Library facilities are somewhat more luxurious! It still doesn't stop the old chap from stalking about when he thinks I've been online too long though!

So we move onto Adelaide tomorrow morning. I don't think either of us will be particularly sad to leave Brisbane. It's time to move on, we've been here a week. Lets hope the cricket is better in Adelaide.

I'll put some photos up of our walk at some point. I have a new camera as my old one was lifted from my bag on a crowded ferry. Buying a new camera was a bit of an education, there are very few international warranties apparently, so if the new Canon I've bought goes wrong I have to send it back to Australia!! Oh well, that's life!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Shame the cricket has been so disappointing, but sounds like you've been doing plenty of sightseeing so thats good.
Big news here - the tooth fairy visited this last night! How time flies. x

axx said...

Gosh, that's been loose for some time :-) Glad the tooth fairy found you, what's the going rate these days? :-)

Anonymous said...

Rachels Tooth fairy brought £5!! I phoned ours and said just £2 would be fine! I had bought a special book about the tooth fairy that came with a purple velvet pouch! You should've seen M's face in the morning when there was a £2 coin in it! Ah how i wish that would last forever!
Hey - I gather Englands performance today was pretty good - heard 230+ for 3? Things are looking up!!! Have fun x

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the Ashes, England!

Hope your bowlers have fun on a great batters wicket.