Brisbane

Tues 11th Nov 

Today I head out for my first day exploring Brisbane. First I walk from the hostel to the South Bank, an area with a wide range of restaurants, a man made beach/lagoon and fantastic views of the city. It has similarities to South Bank in London, with a music hall and Wheel of Brisbane. The main city is on the other side of the river so I take the footpath bridge across and head into the center where I get some lunch. After weeks of talking about it.. I next head to JB Hifi where I buy an early birthday/xmas/rest of the year present.. the new Hero 4 GoPro. With so much more to see during the year ahead I am keen to capture footage many of my experiences and adventures. 

In the evening I reunite with my Cairns Quiz Team champions Donna and Danny who are back in Brisbane working again. We head to the West End, a short walk from the hostel, a street full of many thriving eateries/quirky shops. We eat some tasty vegan curry.. and very cheap! Then head to the Melbourne Hotel for a few drinks.. where I am introduced to the pokies..before heading to the South Bank Imax Cinema to see Intersellar .. (plans have actually come to fruition.. back in Cairns I had spoken to Danny and Donna about the film, showing Danny the initial teaser trailer .. he refuses to watch trailers as they usual ruin the film, so would only watch the teaser.. the film came out close to the time I had planned to be in Brisbane so we arranged to watch it together when I arrived.) At times a stunning movie visually with an impressive score by Hans Zimmer, great dialogue but a fuzzy final third that only sunk in the morning after.. A must see though. Be prepared.. 169mins.

Weds 12th Nov

Today I get myself up and running with the new GoPro, write up my previous weeks adventures on my blog and back up my photos. I eat again at the curry restaurant and then explore the city by night. Due to the G20 taking place this weekend, there are many pop up marquees where you can light up the city.. you choose the colours for each building and then see the lights change after hitting GO. 

Thurs 13th Nov

I have decided to stay for one more night after enjoying the city so much. I begin planning ahead for the weekend.. booking up my greyhound bus and then finding a hostel for my next destination Surfer's Paradise. I grab my wallet to put my bank details into the booking section and.. no bank card.. ?? I have a rummage around my bag and a slight sweat and panic sets in.. I check my balance online and am relieved to see no money taken out and realise that the last time I had it out was when paying for the GoPro... I phone up the store.. and to my relief they have my card there! Pheww. I head into the city via the Botanical Gardens. 

After picking up my bank card I had planned to take the bus to Mount Coot-tha, the bus however stops going to the lookout from 4.45pm onwards so I head back to my hostel which works out well because Danny has invited me to a poker night at the Melbourne Hotel. I head there for a drink before hand and then play poker in the evening.. all out after the first break!

I have loved my time in Brisbane and maybe I have had the realisation that I am a city guy from being here. I'm excited now for Sydney and Melbourne over my last two weekends in Oz with Byron Bay to come during my birthday and a roadtrip also..