A Pleasant Stay in Brisbane

As I was planning for my trip to Australia, I had seen many people online say to skip Brisbane if there wasn’t enough time.  In speaking with some Aussie friends, they also told me the same thing.  However, my plans did include Brisbane so I decided to make the most of my 2 days there.  Perhaps compared to the bigger cities of Melbourne and Sydney, there isn’t as much to do, but I found Brisbane to be laid back, easy going, relaxed and very pleasant to visit. 

I arrived into Brisbane in the afternoon and after dropping my bags off at the hotel, it was already the early evening and I walked all the way down to the Eagle Pier area in hopes of dining at a restaurant that I had read about.  I was a bit early, so spent some time meandering around the pier and taking in the nice scenery of the area.  The area was filled with people, but I guess it was 5pm on a Friday afternoon, so perhaps that is expected.

After dinner, I took a long walk along the water, which eventually led me to the New Farm district and the Wilson Outlook Reserve.  It took a bit longer than I expected because I actually got lost for a bit, as I didn’t realize I was to take an elevator up to get to where I wanted.  I was quite surprised to see these public outdoor elevators in a few places in Australia.

By the time I arrived at Wilson Outlook Reserve, the sun was setting, and I had a fantastic view of Brisbane during the sunset.  It is a popular spot to watch the sunset, as many people were enjoying picnic dinners there, while others had their tripods and camera gear, waiting for the lights to come on.

The next morning, I made my way across the Victoria Bridge and after a light breakfast, began to explore the South Bank area.  I can see why millions of tourists visit this area each year, as it was definitely one of my favourite places in all of Australia.  I loved how well planned the whole area is, from the restaurants, to the man-made pool to the Epicurious Garden and the Nepalese Pavilion.  There is so much to do in this area that you could easily spend all day here.

The man-made pool is very popular with locals and tourists alike.   I walked by it during the day and again at night and it was always packed.

Perhaps, my favourite part of the area is the Epicurious Garden.  What an amazing idea, to have this garden in the middle of the city, and allow people to pick and use what they need.  I heard that the area is run by volunteers, but I didn’t actually see anyone attending to the garden while I was there.  I wish we had this in Canada, but obviously it would be much more difficult with our weather.

From the Epicurious Garden, I look one of the free city ferries in hopes of getting closer to the Story Bridge, so that I could take a walk over it.  It ended up taking me over 20 minutes to walk across the bridge, but it offered a different perspective in regards to views of the river, so I enjoyed it.  It was on the bridge that I discovered that the colour of the water was a strange greenish hue.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to walk across the Kurilpa Bridge.  The amazing structure is located a bit further north than the Victoria Bridge, which seem to be much more accessible.  Given this reason, the Kuripla Bridge was much less crowded, which was great news for me.

A short walk from the bridge took me back to the South Bank area, where I could see all of the same views from the morning, but with nightfall as my background.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 days in Brisbane and found the city to be really charming.  It is definitely very different from the hustle and bustle of the bigger cities, but I think Brisbane would be one of those places that I could consider living in.