Drizzly Brizzy.

Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Whitsunday Islands and back again (Part I)

(Well, it's been a few days and I've put this off long enough, so time to start chronicling our August holiday travels.  There's kind of a lot so we'll do bits and pieces at a time.)

Saturday morning, 22nd August we left the hostel bright and early (not so much on either account, it was overcast and raining, and half-past eight) to catch the CityHopper ferry departing the North Quay at 9:15.  We were the only two passengers for a while and stayed on the lower enclosed deck out of the rain and chatted a bit with the captain, but went to the upper (open) deck for the trip back.  (Despite the wind and rain we didn't get too wet and the pictures were much nicer from up top.)  There were some other tourists (evidenced by the fact that they came up to the top) as well as some morning commuters or other cityfolk taking advantage of the free service.  It was a nice way to see Brisbane along the river.. this activity is probably more popular in the summer.

Departing the Sydney Street Station, last stop before the CityHopper
turns around and heads back from whence it came.

Lots of sailboats on the river (not too many sailing, though.)

Kookaburra Queens I and II paddleboats.  We also saw advertisements for a "Mississippi Mardi Gras"
(...wait, what month is it?  where are we?)

One thing we noticed in Brisbane was the lack of old buildings.  It's a new city: all the
skyscrapers were built relatively recently (from the 1970s to last year.)

Ferry stop.

We really liked the look of this old house tucked between the condos

Riverside park.  We saw people climbing up and rappelling down the cliffs
the following day when the weather was nicer.

Mangroves along the riverbanks

Pedestrian bridge and buildings shrouded in low clouds

We disembarked on the South Bank side, walked around a bit in the park (there was quite a bit of activity because there were dragonboat races going on), then went to the Queensland Art Museum.  We crossed the river then and headed back downtown to the CBD (Central Business District) for a late lunch.  

Confucius, a gift from China in 2009

South Bank-side riverside park

Public "beach" and swim area in the riverside park

Nepalese Peace Pagoda

Rainforest boardwalk in the park

Brisbane Square Spheres in the CBD

We ate at Taro's for lunch for some pretty good ramen but more interesting, Orion Beer from Okinawa!  We ordered a mug  to share for the nostalgia.  They had heat lamps so we were able to eat outside, it was really quite nice.

But we were singing the Orion Biiru song for the rest of the trip

Shoyu ramen with tamago, negi, nori and a bit of beni shoga

After lunch we headed to City Hall to visit the Museum of Brisbane and then took a tour of the clock tower.

This was the tallest building in Brisbane until the 1960s

The floor in the City Hall lobby

Just happened to be some kangaroos in King George Square.

Last item on the agenda for the day was the Broncos versus Knights rugby game.  We've seen a little rugby around Armidale and on various screens while we've been out and about, but I still don't quite understand the point of it.  To me it is more a game of persistence than athleticism or skill, which is just not very interesting.  It was kind of fun when they scored and they shot fireworks into the stadium though.  (And the horse would run out with a Streets ice cream (Good Humor in US) flag.)  It was also pretty interesting to us that the Queensland Police Pipe Band opened the game.  (Probably won't find too many bagpipes in stadiums in the US, but being the commonwealth I wouldn't be surprised if that was the norm here.)  Next time we'll have to find an Australian rules football game.  We've enjoyed just a little bit of footy and it looks (and sounds) a bit like a hilarious free-for-all.

There's a strange thing lurking in Brisbane/Queensland known as the Golden Casket.  (Worst name ever?  Right after 'Hairy Tales Comb True' salon in Guyra.)

And.... well.....  Just because.  (...Masumi-chan?)