More of Queensland, Australia

Driving around the Brisbane area doesn't seem too bad, well as long as you can get used to driving on the other side of the road. I find my relatives impressive because the Philippines drives on the rights side like everyone else, but they got used to driving on the left side once they moved, but they are still able to go to other countries and drive on the right side. I'm not sure I'm capable of doing that. I drive terribly to begin with.

Mt. Coot-tha, Brisbane Botanic Gardens
Mt. Coot-tha is a very short drive from downtown. The top of the mountain allows for a great view of the city. Unfortunately, I have no pictures because they day I went was one of the foggiest and rainiest days. Actually it rained for many days while I was in Brisbane. I was really unlucky this time around. Anyway, the area also has a very large Botanic Garden that you can walk around. It also has a small planetarium. I do mean small. This Botanic Garden is very nice though.

Sanctuary Cove, Hope Island
This area is south of Brisbane closer towards the gold coast. It has a large golf course, large resorts, some privately owned homes, and a marina with a boardwalk. It's a very nice area and seems fun to hang out at.

Gold Coast
South of the city of Brisbane is the famous Gold Coast which has the well known Surfer's Paradise. It's about an hour or so drive from the city. The area of the Gold Coast is littered with waterways so it takes a few bridges to finally reach that outer island that is the beach. Sea World is there, which I didn't got this time but I did go back in 2007. I'm sure not much has changed. My family brought me to the Palazzo Versace there because it is just so posh. Then we walked alongside the beach and checked out the boardwalk of shops at Surfer's Paradise. It looks like this place has really expanded since I last visited.

 The Pacific Fair Shopping Centre is also in the Gold Coast. It is the most lavish mall I have probably ever seen. Not only is it large, it is really made for people to just hang out in. There are lots of seating areas with fun furniture. It has a large outdoor space with some small pools that kids can wade in and even lounge beds. I had fun just relaxing in this mall. I can see why my cousins like it here so much.

Like I mentioned before, I was very unlucky in that it rained for much of the time I was there. Like many warm places, most of the things to do in Brisbane is outdoors. Many of their malls and outlet stores are outdoors. One of the other places I would recommend but I didn't get to do is the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. I believe I did that one when I was younger. My memories from that long ago are so vague but I remember you got to touch so many animals. which was cool because most of these animals couldn't be found in the Philippines.

I will always go back to Brisbane so long as I have family there. Next time though, since I will already be in Queensland, I'd love to take a side trip to Cairns and maybe see what's left of the Great Barrier Reef. It would be great if all us cousins could go together!

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Brisbane is the first city or I guess area of Australia I had traveled too way back when I was just a child visiting relatives with my grandparents in 1999, I believe. We already had quite a few family members established there for a while since even before that trip. I remember cousins my age visiting me from Australia and I had badly wanted to go to visit them as well. In terms of relatives close to my age, they are all in Brisbane.

It's actually funny remembering it back then. Our first trip was during the Australian winter. When I was a young girl who had only lived in the tropical Philippines, I remember having to bundle up for this harsh winter. I remember it being so cold. Who knows what those temperatures really were now. After living in the U.S., both my trip back in 2007 and this year have reminded me just how mild a Queensland winter is. In some of these photos, I'm actually wearing shorts. Their early winter was like a nice spring day at times. Cold in the mornings and evenings, but hot in the middle of the day, especially when the sun is shining. 

The city of Brisbane, compared to Sydney, is a lot less crowded and less busy. My relatives are actually able to drive to the city from where they live in the suburbs and the drive is tolerable. My aunt told me a lot of people actually retire to Brisbane or other places in Queensland because of the mild weather and quieter atmosphere. Anyway, here are some sights to see in the city itself.

MacArthur Museum

There is this historic building in the middle of the city that General MacArthur had used apparently as his headquarters back in the second world war. Although they have turned it now into an apartment complex, there is a small museum for the general on the first floor.

Anzac Square, Anzac Memorial

I had to get my uncle to explain this to me since I'm not familiar with the term but ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. 

St. John's Cathedral, Customs House

Just some pretty buildings as I explored the city. It was cool how at the customs house, they had the doors open so you can look in from the street and see out into the river.

Cruise Along the Brisbane River

Boarding at the Eagle Street Pier, there is a free ferry that takes you along major piers on the river that are within the city limits. It's a good way to see the much of the city's buildings without doing too much walking.

Treasury Casino, The Queen's Gardens

The Treasury Casino is a very elegant looking building actually right by the river and the highway. Next to it is the Queen's Garden which has some statues and is also in front of another large elegant looking building that I never did figure out what it was.

Brisbane City Hall

Another beautiful building with a very tall clock tower. The first floor of it is, I believe, the museum of Brisbane. I took a peek inside but I didn't get to fully explore the place.

Gallery of Modern Art

It looks like a really large building from the highway but the actual exhibit space is very small. Most of it is free but it does have some special limited time exhibitions that you would have to pay for. 

Queensland Art Gallery

This one shows more traditional types of art. The inside is very pretty with a pond/fountain that has a bridge you can walk across and an outdoor seating area for the cafe that has a small sculpture garden.

Queensland Museum and Science Center

It's actually larger than it looks and consists of three or four floors. It's also another natural history type museum with dinosaurs and also current animals and plants, especially local ones. I learned that cuttlefish have species that are huge and there was a preserved giant squid. I thought that was cool.

SouthBank

A very nice area. Named because it is on the southern side of the Brisbane River. It's a nice place to hang out with lots of restaurants and bars. There is lots of nature and outdoor seating to just sit by the river. In the summers they have a public pool.

Brisbane City Botanic Gardens

This seems to me more like just a park rather than a botanic garden. It's on the north side of the Brisbane river right by the Queensland University of Technology campus. It was a very nice walk and at the end I reached the campus then crossed the Goodwill Bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge that connects to South Bank. On the bridge I got to see a beautiful sight of the city at night.

There is quite a bit to do in the city. Lots of great places to eat and shop. PappaRich became like my favorite place. Other than within the city limits, there are still quite a few other places to see in the area.