28/6/2018
Thursday R & R must have been tired for they did not even wake until
8:00am. It was a pleasant 14*C though it
was one of those times when RA wasn’t sure to put a jumper on or not, probably
because of the high humidity. After
breakfast, R & R prepared what they needed for a day on their feet in
Brisbane CBD: socks and walking shoes, hats, jackets, gocards, wallets, lunch and
coffee/water, torch (for coming back in the dark). Shortly before 10:00am, RL circled the train
station carpark. He “stalked” the bays, and a guy who had just got off the
train, before he was able to park the Ute.
Within minutes (at precisely 10:07am) they were on the train heading for
Brisbane Central. The journey was
comfortable and clean and took about half an hour. R & R headed for Queen St Mall to the
information centre to enquire for a map that might be any better than what they
already had. It was similar but they
were able to work out where they wanted to be between the three maps that they
had of the city. RA really wanted to get
into a clock tower tour so they went directly to City Hall Level 3 Museum and
were given the next available spaces at 2:15pm.
With that in mind they walked around the Museum. The displays were all very interesting: one
focused entirely on children, 100% Brisbane interactive, where people can
answer a questionnaire about their impressions of Brisbane which then collates
data on opinions, William McInnes documentary about the history of Brisbane,
Convicts, Queenslander houses, Indigenous culture … R & R went out into the King George
Square public space where there was not only pop up food stalls but a pop up
skate rink which looked like it was providing lots of fun. Sitting opposite the lovely Uniting Church,
they had lunch and coffee. A pair of
ibis were looking for food and fetching rubbish out of the bin which provided
some entertainment. R & R were keen
to look at the Roma Street Gardens just to the north along Albert St so they
walked there and through the gardens.
They were fortunate to recoginse that they were actually on the street
with the Windmill (where the garden walls are made, like some of the oldest
buildings, from tuff – a particular type of multi-coloured volcanic rock
quarried at Kangaroo Point Cliffs and Town Quarry) on it so they walked back
that way. Not wanting to miss their
clock tower tour, R & R went back to City Hall and waited. There were people coming in to enquire about
the 15 minute tour (every 15 minutes all day) and being turned away as it was
all booked out. It was a fabulous,
though rushed, 15 minute tour to be riding up in the original hand operated
lift cage, past the clock mechanisms, up to the bells and the lookout platform
for a brief look over the city and down onto the 37m dome (copper) of the
auditorium. The clock chimes every 15
minutes on weekdays but not on weekends and the tower is still anther 20m
taller than the platform at 64m. R &
R had plenty of time to catch the free #50 City Loop which does a larger outer
circuit around the CBD in a clockwise direction and then the #40 City Loop
which does a small inner circuit in an anticlockwise direction. Many of the streets in the CBD are one way as
there is so little space the way the river is placed. They walked down through Queen St Mall and to
the treasury when just before 5:00pm the sun was setting on the statue of T J
Ryan, a lawyer and former Queensland premier.
It was only a block away from the Sebel on the corner of Albert and
Charlotte where Z, their son and B, his wife were staying. R & R waited in the lobby and it was not
long before first, Z then, B joined them.
Immediately they walked towards Victoria Bridge with the city now in
darkness and displayed at its best with lights on the buildings. R & R were enchanted with SouthBank and
its lights: on the Brisbane sign, the plant covered archway, on the wheel and
under the trees. Everyone had fish and
chips in mind, though B who had already had fish and chips earlier in the week
had fish burger on her list, so they read the menus of the many restaurants
until they found one that did fish. It
was a good choice with a generous serve of delightful food at a great price ($15
each). RL phoned his daughter, S to
check on her and everyone was thrilled when she said that she had confirmation
from the Uni assessor that she would pass her prac and be a fully qualified
teacher. They all sat chatting a while
though there was a sense of needing to get up and walk it off and, anyway, R
& R needed to get back to the train station to travel at a safe hour. Z & B walked them as far as the station
and within minutes at 7:28pm they boarded the train for the return journey to
Darra station. There were train security
guards on the train with quite a few people getting on and off and there was no
need for the torch as all was well lit at the station and car park. In no time all, shortly after 8:00pm, R &
R were having a cup of coffee at the camper, too tired to do anything other
than read a while before bed. It had
been a wonderful day and surprisingly … both R & R had felt really
comfortable and safe in the city and on the train.
29/6/2018
Friday It was 13*C and Brisbane was shrouded in a grey mist when R & R got
out of bed at 7:00am, though it was forecast to be sunny all afternoon with a
top of 24*C. After breakfast RA checked
out the maps with a view to sleeping north of the city on Sunday evening, any
free spot near a rail station to return and cash in their gocards and be
heading west for Roma. Just before
9:00am, RA went for her shower having put a wash in before RL had his
shower. Putting faith in the forecast,
they put a second wash in and had a coffee before hanging it out and heading
for Goodyear Autocare at Sumner for their 11:00am appointment. While they were waiting for the tyre job to
be done, RA wrote the diary that she had not done the day before and RL read
some mags. It was 1:00pm before they
checked out with the Ute; well and truly time for lunch. After lunch, R & R fetched the washing
in, packed it all away and made the bed.
Shortly before 3:00pm R & R headed out to Inala Plaza, only about 10
minutes away to see what was there. It
was very interesting as Inala must be an extremely multicultural area with
shops that catered for food and clothing for different cultures. As there was a Woolies, R & R picked up a
few groceries. When they got back they
had a cup before going for a quick walk just before 5:00pm just to get some
fresh air. RL read while RA wrote some
diary for a while before dinner. RL put
his photos on the laptop. S rang and they chatted a while. After dinner RL and RA read through a blog
post draft. One way and another both RL and RA had chance to speak to some of
the people, most of whom are permanent residents, in the park, each with their
own story … it made RA feel humble to have the freedom to be so mobile and to
have so many choices.
30/6/2018
Saturday R & R woke at 6:00am, way too early and dark to actually get up so
they went to the toilet and went back to bed.
They got out shortly before 7:00am to a pleasant 12*C with a grey
sky. R & R had breakfast and
showered before heading for Darra Station just after 8:00am. They caught the 8:37am train into the city
and stopped into Chemist Warehouse to fill a script before heading to the Sebel
to catch up with Z at the appointed time of 10:00am. He joined them downstairs and they walked
through the botanical gardens towards the river. It was entertaining watching the large ibis
birds making a lot of noise squawking in the massive bamboo trees about 10m
above the ground. Everyone was most
impressed with a few old (the one they photographed was planted in 1859) fig
trees which had produced aerial roots which then became thicker and looked like
stems. So one branch from the original plant would then have many trunks
growing below it. They walked under the
bridge and back along the river to North Quay to take a ride on the free City
Hopper, a ferry which zig zaged from jetty to jetty back and forth along the
river. They were fortunate to have been
one of the earliest in line and then able to be one of the first on board,
thereby being able to take the only three seater up the front on the upper
deck. It was ideal for being able to
chat together and see everything and be able to take photos. By this time the
day had cleared and was most pleasant with only the slightest breeze. The full journey took about an hour and they
hopped off at South Bank to sit on the lawn in front of the water playground
and have lunch. They wandered through
the market stalls quite quickly on the way back because they did not want to be
late to meet up with B, Z’s wife, and her family at a bar on the Pier Street jetty. B’s brother M and his wife M actually live in
Bulimba, a suburb of Brisbane and because Z & B were coming over, B’s
mother, S and her partner, W, had actually come over for the week to stay with
B’s brother. It was lovely for R & R
to meet them, as they were now connected through Z & B’s marriage and had
never had the opportunity to make their acquaintance. A while later, friends of Z & B’s from
Mongolia joined everyone. R & R
chatted a couple of hours before dragging themselves away and walking to
Central Station. They were all such
lovely people and it was difficult to say “Goodbye” to Z & B again. Shortly after 4:00pm they were at the station
but had to wait a while for the next train.
R & R were back at the camper in just over the hour, had a cup and
went off to find St Mark’s in Inala to go to 6:00pm Mass. They knew that there was a big Vietnamese
community there and that Mass alternated been English and Vietnamese over the
weekend. The car park was in darkness and virtually empty when they arrived
with 10 minutes to spare and it just did not seem right. Fortunately, there was
one lady who was walking to her car and was able to assist. What they did not know is that there are
actually two different churches about 500m apart. Problem solved, RL shifted the car and they
found the other church easily. It was
big and packed. While RA cooked dinner
on their return, RL rang his sister, E, as they had missed her call. After dinner RL rang S, his son and chatted a
while. RA wrote diary while RL
read. It had been a lovely day … but it
had been a long day and they were both tired.
1/7/2018
Sunday R & R got out of bed at 6:30am to a warm 16*C. The city was shrouded
in a light fog and there was a forecast for rain later in the day and through
into the next day so R & R were keen to pack up and move before it
rained. They had breakfast, showered and
packed everything down before returning the gate key to get their $25 deposit
back from the caretaker. That done they
set out for Wylie Park RA at Lawnton about 50kms to the north east from Oxley
Pines where they had been staying. They
had agreed that they wanted to avoid tolled highway heading north so they
plotted a course which went via Mount Coot-tha.
Just after 9:00am, RL was headed towards Mt Coot-tha 17kms away with RA
clutching the maps. It was only then
that they actually realized just how hilly Brisbane was and that all roads are
dependent upon the direction of the Brisbane River and its many other rivers
and creeks. The scenic drive around Mt
Coot-tha was steep so they chose not to drive that way especially as the city
was still covered in mist and they would see nothing from the lookout. About 9:30am, R & R stopped at the JC
Slaughter Falls picnic area. It was
packed with lots of people, families and exercise junkies, doing all the walk
trails up to the falls (which weren’t falling), the Aboriginal Art Trail and to
the Summit. R & R walked for a
couple of hours and it was delightful in the slightly steamy semi tropical
forest. They took a few photos,
especially of the art works which are modern, not ancient, and some very
interesting fungus. They had a cup of
coffee and a banana before heading off for Wylie Park Rest Area 35kms north
just after 11:30am. Again it was hilly
and winding in suburbia and there was one point, in an area called The Gap,
where the Hum had trouble with the clutch because he had stopped for a red
light on an extremely steep incline.
They were relieved to have arrived at Wylie Park. Not for long!
The sign stated that strictly no camping was allowed. Obviously things had changed since the Camps
9 book was written. R & R had chosen this park because it was
free and near a train station and they were hoping to get the deposit for their
gocards back on Monday at the nearby train station. Anyway they enjoyed lunch, chatting with RL’s
brothers S and then G, before consulting their maps. So, about 2:30pm they set off for Caboolture
Showgrounds, near a train station, where there was a fee payable. RL spotted a fuel station with diesel at a
fair price so he detoured to fill up. RA
got some Telstra credit as the Optus phone had nearly run out of data. When they arrived, it was obvious by the
activity that there was an event in progress and the campground was closed to
the public until the next day. RA
telephone the next available choice, Woodford Showgrounds, 30kms away, only to
be told it was full up. Strike three! There was nothing to be done but to book into
the Caboolture Caravan Park. Caravan
parks are usually more expensive than showgrounds, but not always so. Shortly after 4:00pm, RA was checking in at
reception and they were glad that they did not have to look elsewhere. It was still 19*C but with the forecast of
rain overnight and the next day. After
they had set up, they had a cup before checking out the facilities at the
park. RL read while RA sorted out the
dockets and set up a couple of new spreadsheets for the month’s expenses and
places for each day in the new month.
After dinner, they looked at the maps together to make a plan for the
next day, being mindful to have a couple of options for camping. They heard a couple of drops on the roof but
hardly what they could call rain. RL
read and RA wrote the diary for the day.
It was a weird feeling knowing that all the “family” parts of R &
R’s holiday were now over … and all the family in Perth would be out at Ten Ten
celebrating J’s birthday without them.
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