It has been so fabulous so spend Christmas with all the family together. We spent Christmas Eve preparing food together ready for Christmas Day, with everyone joining in and much hilarity. We were certainly not preparing a full turkey roast as we can remember doing in previous years in England, and instead went for Coronation Chicken, ham and a selection of inspired salads featuring curried cauliflower and pumpkin and lentils.
Late afternoon we went to Eat Street, a buzzing area of brightly painted containers each one home to either a quirky shop or a food stall selling every kind of food imaginable.
We sampled crispy pork belly, haloumi fries, popcorn chicken, zucchini fritters, satay sticks and marinated lamb.
The place got busier as night fell with bands playing on several stages and we watched fireworks over the river.
On our way back we stopped to see the city lit up at night and here is Story Bridge.
Christmas Day was hot even when we took Fido for a walk in the morning. We had a lovely time opening gifts, then eating our festive feast.
There was champagne flowing, a little napping later in the day and then a swim in the pool as the rain started to fall and take the heat out of the day. The rain got heavier, the thunder and lightening started and then we had a power outage so sat playing charades by candlelight. All in all a memorable Christmas Day for us all.
Boxing Day was spent exploring Mount Coot-tha which is visible from Jade’s bedroom window. We started with the summit lookout which gives a great view of the city …
… then took a short bush trail to J C Slaughter Falls where there were a couple of Aborigine paintings on the rocks as part of an art trail.
We ended our outing with a walk round the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens which had some amazing cacti and succulents and a Japanese garden.
One day Jan dropped us at New Farm, an exclusive riverside suburb with lovely Queenslander houses …
… and we walked down to the river …
… then along the Riverside walk. Parts of the walk are along the shore, but where buildings are directly on the waterfront, a raised boardwalk has been suspended over the river.
It was a little grey and there were spots of rain but I still got a got shot of Story Bridge.
At Eagle Street Pier, we took the ferry across to Kangaroo Point, and took pictures back towards the Custom House, dwarfed by its neighbouring skyscrapers.
We walked down to the next ferry stop …
… and back over the river, then down to the City Botanic Gardens. This is a lovely green space in the city with huge trees competing with shiny building behind.
Southbank is the cultural centre of Brisbane, with a collection of museums, galleries as well as restaurants and bars. Right by the river is an area which was the site of Brisbane’s Expo in 1988 and then redeveloped as a city park with a man-made city beach, shaded picnic areas, a tropical rainforest walk and huge Ferris wheel.
It is also home to the iconic Brisbane sign!
To see the city from another perspective, we took a river boat cruise passed the Botanical Gardens and Kangaroo Cliffs where much of the stone for the city was quarried, under Story Bridge, up to Newstead, the oldest surviving house in Brisbane dating from 1846 but closed for Christmas, so we’ll remember this one for our next visit!
The river is lined with residential properties old warehouse buildings with heritage status converted into apartments.
Another day out was to Bribie Island, 60kms north of Brisbane up the Bruce Highway. It is a sand island separated from the mainland by the Pummicestone Passage and the Bridge that crosses was the longest, pre-stressed, pre-cast concrete bridge in Australia when built in 1963. We headed for Woorim Beach on the surf side and while it was fairly calm, we had fun in the warm waves.
Oh, and meet Chris’s new thongs – the old pair fell apart during our riverside walk and have been replaced by these smart Mambos!
Having built up an appetite, we stopped for fish and chips …
… then wandered along the shore on the passage side at Bongaree with views to the Glasshouse Mountains in the distance, our next destination.
These domes and peaks rising from the plain are remains of volcanic plugs and look stunning in the afternoon sun. We climbed a steep track up Wild Horse Mountain to a fire tower where we got a splendid view, with Mt Tibrogargan on the left, the tallest Mt Beerwah in the centre, and the conical Mt Coonowrin on the right.
We could also see back to Pummicestone Passage and Bribie Island …
… and Brisbane in the distance.
We didn’t stay for sunset, but caught this view on our descent.
Jan and a John live in Gordon Park, the smallest suburb of Brisbane, filled with lovely weatherboard Queenslanders, single storey houses, built on stilts, with wrap round verandas and decorated with cast iron or timber balustrades and gables and timber screens, louvres and fretwork.
This vernacular style deals with the possibility of flooding and maximises air flow to cool the house. Many people theses days choose to raise the house higher on its stilts like this one …
… and create a new floor of living space underneath, but Jan and John found it was more practical to build backwards and upwards, giving an open plan living space and bedrooms above.
The frontages are heritage protected, so the outside hasn’t changed a lot between the before …
… and after …
… but a year of planning and renovation transformed the inside making it the stylish family home it is today …
… complete with some lovely artistic touches!
Kedron Brook runs close by and provides a great place to let Fido off the lead in the doggie area, and the other side has a foot and bike path. We went out several mornings and returned for a welcome dip in the pool as it’s been around 30 degrees, even when overcast!
We contemplated finding a vantage point for the Brisbane fireworks, but decided in the end to go for dinner and found Fogata, serving delicious Latin fusion fare. We got the evening going with Pisco Sours and left with very full tummies! We were home in time for a swim then watched the Sydney fireworks on the tv before welcoming in the New Year one hour later in Brisbane. Happy New Year to you all!
Just a couple of days left of our visit and the first was spent doing a bit more cooking and chilling and on the last day, our cousin Andy came by with his fiancé Ellie, on their way home to Noosa.
We had a lovely day together, catching up with news, remembering times past and talking of future plans and even nibbled the gingerbread house!
The evening ended poignantly knowing our visit was nearly over. Jan is off to work tomorrow, and Chris Joanna and I will be leaving Brisbane and taking the road back to Sydney, all with memories of our lovely Christmas and New Year together.
Map
We’ve visited the Botanical Gardens at Mount Coot-tha before, but it’s a good place for a stroll and we even spotted wildlife, including a possum trapped in the cafe, causing chaos.
Poinciana trees are in bloom all over the city which has been a surprise as they weren’t flowering last trip and here is a huge one here making a bit of a show …
We’ve had a great time here but unfortunately all good things come to an end and it is now time to leave … our next destination, The Philippines.
Despite being sad to leave the 4 J’s in Brisbane, more adventure awaited!
Off Travelling Together 