Part 1: Brisbane
We had been to Eastern Australia once before, after we had experienced our first Backroads trips to the northern and southern islands of New Zealand, 8 years ago in 2016. Then, we had taken advantage of being halfway around the world to self-plan 3 days in Melbourne and 3 days in Sydney to explore and sightsee. This time, Backroads offered a first-time ever multi-adventure trip to Tasmania, and again we self-planned visits to places we had yet to see.
On Saturday, October 26th we flew to San Francisco where we met up with Julie’s sister and brother-in-law and caught a 14-hour flight to Brisbane, Australia. Not only had we never been to Brisbane before, but it had been a desire to visit the “The Crocodile Hunter’s” Wildlife Center also known s the Australia Zoo, (Steve Irwin), and see his family (Terri, Robert, Bindi, Chandler, Grace, etc.) and marvel at the variety of strange and wonderful animals.
Part 1: Brisbane
We arrived in Brisbane on Monday at 6am and took the train into the city where we left our bags at our hotel which was across the street from the Botanical Gardens and proceeded to explore them on our way to a small café – “The Garden Club.” The gardens were beautiful and housed massive trees and lots of different large birds. We then crossed the Goodwill Bridge to use a pedestrian walkway along the Brisbane River towards Story Bridge. We passed the Maritime Museum which had many boats in dry dock and an old lighthouse. We continued along the river to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs which actively allow people to practice their rock climbing. The flowers and scenery along the way were lovely. Once we arrived at Story Bridge we received a notice that our hotel room was ready, so we caught the ferry at Holman Street to cross the river, and walked back to our hotel. After setting out things in our rooms, we headed back out for a local beer, and a walk to Queen Street Mall, before finally stopping for a late lunch at Mr. Edward’s. After returning to the hotel, we played cards poolside until a rain storm interrupted us and sent us inside for the evening
On Tuesday we were up early to prepare for a day visiting the Australian zoo. We hired a car for the 90-minute drive north of Brisbane. Nearing the Wildlife Park, we passed the famous “Glass Mountains” – steep peaks of volcanic intrusion jutting up out of the landscape. We arrived just before the park opened, and began our visitation by viewing the Tasmanian devils, dingoes, cassowaries, and some koalas, crocodiles, alligators, and tortoises. We then walked to see wombats, various birds, and the red kangaroos, which we petted and fed, before visiting more koalas, which we could pet. Then we strolled among the grey kangaroos, which loved being petted, and went on to see 2 large birds we never heard of before – the Jabirus, and the Brolgas. Then we explored the Asian section of the zoo where there were Sumatran elephants and tigers, and red pandas. We decided to head for a lunch break past Bindi’s island to the “Grasslands Café” to enjoy a Moroccan meal. After lunch, we visited the cheetahs before catching the park’s local train to go see the crocodile show. Since the “Crocoseum” was being rehabbed, we sat in the show stands as the Irwin Family, (Terri, Bindi, and Chandler), introduced themselves before Robert Irwin worked with and fed the 3 largest crocodiles – “Bosco”, “Occy”, and “Acco.” Robert would swish a chicken carcass in the water while stomping the ground to get the crocs to move out of the water toward him. He would then drop the chicken as the crocs would leap and lunge for him., After the show, we visited the gift shop and then, the famous wildlife hospital. There were multiple animals being treated: several birds, turtles, snakes, and multiple koalas. It was fascinating to observe the vets at work. To return to Brisbane, we walked to shuttle stop to get free bus transport to the train. Due to some local dispute, the train back to Brisbane only cost $.50 cents Australian per person – basically “free”!
Back at the hotel we arranged the next day’s travel & adventure theme before heading off to dinner – beers and ciders with nachos, chicken, and ribs. We ended the night enjoying the hot tub with a glass of wine.
Wednesday morning, we took a taxi to the Tangalooma Ferry Port of Brisbane. There, we purchased tickets for a Day Cruise to Tangalooma Island Resort via 75-minute ferry down Brisbane river to Moreton Bay to Moretan Island, where the resort is located. While on this protected sand island, which serves as protection for the entrance to the bay, one can experience whale watching, dolphin feeding , pelican feeding, snorkeling the Tangalooma wrecks, paddle-boarding, fishing, dune surfing, and a multitude of beaches, all while enjoying drinks and food from the resort. We walked the beach to the site of the intentional ship wrecks, where the water is crystal clear. The first wrecks were sunk in 1975, followed by more which were added in 1980 and again in 1995 specifically to attract sea life. 98% of the island is protected as a National Park, but there are a few permanent residents. Moreton island is the 3rd largest sand island in the world. In the past, the island had 5 lighthouses and a whaling station. All of the roads on the island are sand and only a few 4-wheel drive vehicles are located on the island.
While walking the beach to the wrecks, it was low tide and we saw a number of white starfish and a multi-legged (8 legs) starfish. We found live shells and live scallops at the water’s edge. The sea was a beautiful blue azure with a variety of fish of all sizes swimming lazily close to us and dolphins playing nearby. After a brief swim near the wrecks, we returned to the resort for drinks and lunch, After lunch, we had a few minutes to shop and to play a few hands of cards before catching the ferry back to Brisbane. Once onshore, we called an Uber to return to the hotel, where we got a snack at the bar before going off to bed.
