After a comfortable nights sleep (written after a week camping) we headed out to explore a little more of Surfers Paradise before our early afternoon bus. Venturing north along the river towards a park, naturally, we soaked in the views and the sun.
After reaching the park, we took a U-turn and walked along the beach back towards the central hub.
We figured it may be a while before we would be interacting with sand… so we stood in the sand until we sank (a little).
Suitably sanded, we popped back to the hostel to pick up our bags on route to the bus station. Fortunately our bus journeys were getting progressively shorter, within a swift hour we were in Brisbane!
We dropped our bags off at the new hostel and quickly head out to explore the South Bank, botanical gardens and the CBD in the glorious afternoon sun.
Although I am a big fan of sharp, crisp concrete structures, the addition of light and greenery really transformed the buildings into friendly, approachable spaces!
As we approached the Ferris wheel we were greeted by live music! Brisbane has several outdoor live music venues that are free to attend!
The sun was beginning to set as we walked back across to the North side of the river on a second pedestrian bridge.
On reaching the botanical gardens we were greeted by crowds heading to a concert in the Riverstage, a venue at the tip of the peninsula. Headlining were London Grammar, a UK act, and although we didn’t have tickets we decided to venture back later on to listen from the nearby botanical gardens!
First though we were pretty keen to grab some grub, a couple of burgers were on the menu this evening. I had the veg. patty and Hatti had the Portobello mushroom. Both were glorious!
Well fed we headed back through the botanical gardens, which are open 24/7, to listen in to London Grammar for a short while… before walking off dinner and exploring a little more of the business district in the nighttime.
More exploration of Brisbane tomorrow. We were mighty impressed by the first glimpses!
James
Spring-time flowering Bougainvillea on the tentacles – spectacular!