Brisbane
Australia
Part of Brisbane's superb South Bank development, Streets Beach, with a sliver of the Brisbane River visible below the city's 'scrapers.
Brisbane Weather | Main Attractions
Fraser Island Pictures, Noosa, Gold Coast, Cairns.
Brisbane used to be right-wing, conservative and fundamentally dull. Two decades later and the capital of Queensland is an alternate universe, buzzing with entrepreneurial energy, a cosmopolitan lifestyle, exotic nightclubs and brilliant restaurants, a city known to locals these days as BrisVegas.
Like its mates Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, Brisbane is a spacious, green and comfortable river-city with zoo, Botanic Gardens and no shortage of entertainment or grub stops that must be a pleasure to work in though is it's still just a bit short of spectacular inner-city sights.
Brisbane seen from the air.
Photo by Samulili
Main attractions
• lounge about in the riverside lagoon, photo at top.
• Queensland Museum and Science Centre, a modern and interesting collection of exibits and information on local natural history, culture, science and more.
• Visiting the Lone Pine koala sanctuary, a natural home for the little furry morons (yes, really, they expend all their energy on digesting eucalyptus leaves and very little on intellectual endeavour). You can cuddle the little porkers if you wish, or feed parrots. The place also houses other Autralian wildlife such as kangaroos, dingoes and wombats.
• Take a Tangalooma day cruise to watch whales, hand feed wild dolphins, or just flake out on a magnificent beach at the Tangalooma Resort.
• Do some activities like biking alongside the river, kayaking down the river or abseiling Kangaroo Point Cliffs.
• Climb the Brisbane Bridge
• Check the panoramic view at Mt Coot-tha Lookout.
• Enjoy live music at Brisbane's Fortitude Valley entertainment centre.
• If you/your family needs more animals then the Alma Park Zoo could be of assistance.
• Take a river cruise. If you're desperate.
The Museum of Brisbane fronted by a statue of George V.
George V was the royal hero who helped Bugbog with its name. As he lay dying, one of his aides talked about holidays and travel to the favoured seaside resort at that time, Bognor Regis. Georgie's famous last words were, "Bu**er Bognor!"
The city's Botanic Gardens. The Duck Pond.
The Brisbane River with Citycat ferry.
Where Brisbane wins out in the tourist stakes is the sunny, moderately
tropical climate that drags as many chilled southern Australians up
here as it does foreign tourists.
The South Bank recreation
area development is magnificent, especially the free Streets Beach lagoon on the
banks of the unswimmable Brisbane River.
There is easy access to the beaches and other natural delights of North Stradbroke Island at the end of the river, a 30 minute ferry from Cleveland, 30 kms from Brisbane. NSI is great for snorkelling, surfing, fishing, bushwalking and camping.
Then of course just over an hour away there glitters the unnatural delights of The Gold Coast, with its theme parks, outrageous LOz Vegas glitz and massive sandy beaches lined with towering glass infernos (well they would be infernos if they didn't have air conditioning.
The city's riverside walkway at night.
Photo by Mnisawlpsa
Weather
Brisbane's climate is sub tropical, with hot, humid summers that tourists would do better to avoid. Summer (December-February) temperatures have average highs of around 30C (86F) and lows of 21C (70F), seemingly not too hot but it's the oppressive humidity that gets to tourists. That and the low grey clouds, even lower mosquito clouds, not to mention the torrential outbursts. So, to be avoided if possible, though the difficulty for travelers is that summer is probably the best time in Sydney while winter is the best time in Cairns, both prime tourist targets and Brisbane is between the two.
Winter (June-August) is the dry, cool season and thus arguably the best for tourism, with average highs of around 22C (72F) and lows of 10C (50F).
Biking along the extensive track beside the Brisbane River.
Brisbane Map | Australia Map
Next, The Gold Coast
Australia Pictures: Fraser Island, Noosa, Cairns
Beaches Guide | East coast beaches | GBR islands | Sydney
