3 hours after departing Hervey Bay, we arrived in Brisbane to our new home away from home. We got some groceries and cooked a nice family dinner, then put Arra to bed at a decent time. I think we all needed a bit of a chill day.
Our first full day in Brisbane we actually headed out of the city to nearby Surfers Paradise at The Gold Coast. Surfers is a top tourist destination with lots of shopping, high rises and a huge, beautiful beach. We checked out a few of the shops and then headed to the beach. We had some playtime in the sand (Arra shared her toys for Cody and Carly's sand castle competition) and some time in the cool water. Arra is loving the waves and the ocean and showing no fear now. She's such a beach baby. After we'd had our fill of the beach we made our way back to Brisbane and walked from our apartment through downtown to South Bank. This is a busy area along the river with lots going on including outdoor movies, a huge public swimming pool, restaurants, art galleries and an outdoor market on Friday nights. We went to the market and out for dinner while there that evening, and then returned to catch a boat the next day.
Fam Jam at Surfers Paradise
The boat we were catching on our 3rd day in Brisbane took us to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This was a great day where we took a guided boat ride on the Brisbane River to the sanctuary. We learned some history and got to see many giant houses before arriving at the 11 acre site. During our visit we saw animals native to Australia, the highlight being, of course, the koalas. We each were allowed to hold a koala briefly. The sanctuary has a time limit in order to ensure that each koala is not held for more than thirty minutes every day and that they are not disturbed at all every 4th day. We also got to feed and pet the kangaroos and wallabies in the 5 acre kangaroo reserve. We even saw 3 mamas with little joeys sticking out of their pouches! We finished off our visit to Brisbane with a stroll through Chinatown and takeout for dinner!
Arra and I feeding a wallaby
Cody cuddling a koala
We were "warned" by more than one Australian not to bother with Brisbane, but I thought it was a wonderful city with lots to do, lots close by and an all around good vibe. Our few days there were not enough for me. Today we head to Melbourne to meet up with Clara and Jon for the next leg of our trip.
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