Brisbane

8^th - 10^th January

Brisbane with Alana and James

We dropped the Spaceship off back at its depot and were greeted by James and Alana who took us back to their flat and made us most at home.

They live just outside the centre of Brisbane at a place called Ascot which was very nice and convenient for the CBD.

Alana and James, Gin and Tsuki

The first night we settled in, celebrated Alana’s birthday with a few small glasses of wine (can’t lie really – Alana and I made sure we had big glasses) and sat down for a cheese, crackers and salad feast which was delicious.

In the morning we walked into Ascot and had a full on coked breakfast at their local café whilst Alana and James planned the day around ferry times, markets and the best places to see in town.

The Brisbane Cat

We got on the shuttles ferry – a small and very fast catamaran that dropped us in town right near to where Alana worked. She then walked us around town, via some of the best shops and in towards the village where the markets where. By about 3pm we were all like the walking dead, it was baking hot and the alcohol from the night before was seeping through – the only thing to do was stop for a pizza and a beer before we hopped onto the bus and headed home.

Brisbane city centre

Sunday was spent at home relaxing, catching up and chilling after Alana had been out with some work mates to celebrate a friends birthday and we had been up all night chatting and eating more cheese and crackers.

Brisbane CBD

On Monday morning both Alana and James had to go to work sadly, so they let us hang about their flat looking after their beautiful but hilarious cats, whilst using the internet and sorting out our washing (a very big thank you!).

the ever-affectionate Tsuki guards the house

11^th – 13th January

On Monday afternoon James drove us to Simon and Cate’s which was just down the road. We said our goodbyes and a very quick hello to Cate who was guiding us inside to get away from mosquitoes – who were out in force.

Simon and Kate's house

We tried some of Simon’s homebrew – which hit the spot, and settled down to a bbq feast with their other house guests, Simon’s sister and her boyfriend who had been staying since Christmas.

As Simon and Cate both were up early the next day they showed us where everything was, told us to make ourselves comfy, and we all settled down to watch a film before bed.

View of Brisbane from South bank

Simon and Cate live in a Queenslander house in Brisbane, again not far from the CBD but Cate works in their local town of Albion. We arranged to meet her at work for lunch and we spent a bit of time in her architect’s office on Tuesday afternoon, meeting her colleagues, checking out their building and of course using the internet.

We headed back for evening dinner at a nearby restaurant – delicious. Spending the night again at Simon and Kate’s

Wednesday was the day to explore Brisbane on our own. We managed to work out the train system, got the right platform and travelled into the town, even getting off at the right station. (something was not right with us – it’s never normally that simple!)

We embarked upon a very quick walk around town heading through the main business district out to the South bank, walking through the Botanical Gardens, crossing the river and then walking back through town. Amongst all this we had also arranged to meet an old friend of Paul’s, Bernie (the mountain-board guy from Camp Chippenaw, NY 2002). The reason we were short of time was that we had a flight to catch to Hervey Bay, and a tour booked up on Fraser Island.

Walking through the Botanical gardens

Thank you Simon and Cate for putting us up and the lift to the airport.

Sadly, when it all panned out we only managed to get about fifteen minutes with Bernie in Brisbane station – it was lovely to see you ( will get longer with you next time). 

Paul and Bernie - 

a brief reunion from Camp Chipinaw 2002