Brisbane Details

Well! Our time in Brisbane is at an end, and now we’re headed on to Melbourne. I have to say, I was quite captivated by Brisbane. We have friends that we met in NY when we lived there, who call Melbourne their home. They were away so we didn’t get to see them this trip. But I found myself thinking of them and how amazing it must be to live here! It’s just a beautiful city! The mild weather and all the trees of course helped me to like it even more. Lovely, lovely place!

So, our second day in Brisbane, we went up the coast to a church meeting. We arrived just as they were starting the sacrament – a little late, too bad. But we stayed for the service which was really nice. A missionary spoke first – from NAMPA, Idaho!! So great, right?! We talked with him briefly afterward. His talk was followed by a newly returned missionary sister, who gave a really nice talk about being yourself and finding your true spiritual self. 

After the meeting, we met up with Jensens and headed further north, to Noosa Head National Park. We had planned a quiet picnic and a coastal walk. Well, it turns out that everyone in the whole of Queensland must have had similar plans, because the place was packed!! Not even a parking spot ANYWHERE near the park entrance. So we drove down to a different beach and had our picnic. Brian had put together a delicious pasta salad for us that we really enjoyed. And Lynda-Sue brought stuff for chicken salad sandwiches as well. Very tasty lunch! Then we let the kids dip their toes in the water for a bit – which turned into some very serious “wading.” (Read that, “not swimming on Sunday, but really looking a lot like swimmers, in church clothes.”)

After that, we made our way back to the park and it had cleared out slightly, so we parked and walked the trails as we had planned. It was gorgeous! Lots of waves crashing against rocks and cliffsides below, and sweeping beaches of white sand and palm trees. Our hike turned out to be a bit over four miles round trip. That was pretty long for our littlest Camillie girl. But she did ok, and got some head rides from Daddy. And the other kids did really well, despite not really wanting to hike as much as they preferred staying at the beach where we had picnicked. The farthest point was a lookout called Hells Gate, with a rock-walled cove we could look down into from way above, and watch the water roiling and broiling against the rocks. It was pretty spectacular!

When we got home that night, everyone was pretty tired out. So I made a quick dinner of fried eggs and toast and we headed to bed fairly early… like 8pm for the kids, 9:30ish for me and Brian. Not bad!!

Monday was our day to head to the Australia Zoo! This was something I personally have been looking forward to on this trip, and it did NOT disappoint! It was even more impressive to me than I had been hoping! School is back in session here, since they’re headed into winter time. So it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves. There were zookeepers everywhere, with displays or animals to touch or pet or learn about. Samantha and Spencer held a big lizard and petted a great big green snake. And they touched some porcupine thing… forgot what he was called. We saw giant tortoises that are the same age as me and Brian, and will live to be 150 years old! The zookeepers were feeding them and giving lots of info to make it interesting. The real highlight was probably the kangaroos. They were in a separate enclosure with gates. We passed through the gates, and we were right in their pasture with them!! It was so cool! The only rules were to be gentle, don’t feed them people food, and don’t chase them. But there were no zookeeper “guards” on duty or anything. We just got to walk right up to them and pet them! They were so soft and so cute and fun to see! All the kids were super excited to pet them, and Camille kept trying to give them little acorn nuts she was finding on the ground, so cute. 

We also petted a koala, which was pretty cool too. Except, did you know koalas actually sleep 18-20 hours a day!? They’re pretty much like sloths, but cuter. Haha! I didn’t know that, so I was kind of underwhelmed watching them because they just don’t do much. But it’s neat to say we all petted a koala, right?! (We could have paid $25 apiece to actually hold and cuddle one, and get our picture taken. But hey, the petting part came with our entrance fee, so… you do the math.)

We also saw a crocodile show with a 350+ lb croc named Murray. The zookeepers had lots of fresh meat for him, and told us lots of crocodile facts while he went chasing them around, doing tricks to get his meat. He looked really ferocious and humongous! I think the kids were impressed, but mainly, by that time, they were getting tired and worn out and HOT! It was a very sticky, humid day, which kind of sapped the kids’ energy. We were smart enough to rent a stroller for the day, so Camille at least had a bit of a rest (and missed the whole croc show.) But sadly, our zoo trip didn’t end so well. It was one of those things where … it was a good thing, until it wasn’t. Sigh. One boy in particular just had had enough. So we left. Without seeing the Tasmanian devils. Will I regret this in years to come?? I hope not, but maybe?

We went back to our beach with the Jensens and played for three hours until the sun was setting and we were all wiped out and hungry. The Jensens left for their place, and we made a pasta dinner and watched Moana on Netflix for the evening. Early bed again, for all except Brian who found he still had to finish up just a few more things for work. (I think he’s done now for real. Maybe?)

Every morning so far, I’ve woken up about 5:30am to use the bathroom. And then, Camille has woken up right then too… for the day! Lol! So, our mornings keep starting early, but slow, as Camille and I wait for everyone else to wake up. Today Spencer joined us by 6, and we watched Tangled on Netflix. Later on, we wandered down near the beach to a pavilion where they were having a celebratory gathering of sorts to welcome the relay baton carriers for the Commonwealth Games. It turned out to be kind of a big deal. The baton has been carried through several countries in the Commonwealth over the past few weeks, and the games will be held next week in Brisbane. So, they had a little ceremony as it passed through our particular town. Brian and I like happening into things like that. Our kids, on the other hand, were quite underwhelmed by it all and just wanted to leave.

I think we were all a bit on the grouchy side today. Lots of bickering and irritating behavior from our kids, followed by a positive “pep rally” from Dad that still didn’t help some of them very much, which then left me and Brian both feeling irritated. We took an extra long time getting out of our place – partly because the roads were closed for that celebration thing, and partly because we didn’t have a lot of cooperation in the kid department. But we eventually got packed up and on our way. We had to stop at a locksmith and get the lock on our rental van fixed; the kids put a stick in it and broke it off in there on Sunday after church, kind of frustrating. Luckily it only took half an hour to fix, and only cost $25. Phew! (We were worried the rental place would probably charge a couple hundred or so to fix it, ya know?)

Then… back into Brisbane for a bit this afternoon. Our big event was to take a water taxi up the river a few stops and back. They have free water taxis, which was perfect for us! We even got seats on the upper deck. The stop where we got off had an amazing, gorgeous garden section, and some lovely fountains that turned into a full-on manmade swimming beach area complete with sand and rocks and little water features running into it. We were all wishing we had more time to enjoy it, but as it was, we let the kids wade for just a few minutes – the REAL kind of wading where they don’t actually get drenched! Ha! Then we found a fun park for just a little bit before we had to get back on our boat and head back to our van, and then to airport. Next stop, Melbourne!! We’re meeting friends in the city tomorrow, feeling excited.