Breezy, brizzy Brisbane

DAY 10
 Location: Noosa/Brisbane
Temp: 20 C
Weather: Sunny
Activities: Noosa National Park, Brisbane South Bank
Accommodation: Tinbilly (XBase)

My day was neatly cleaved down the middle by the bus ride to Brisbane right at noon, but I managed to seize what I could of the morning despite 'sleeping in' to 7 a.m. Flashpackers was good enough to provide a free breakfast and I stuffed myself full of toast, cereal, and tea, and promptly packed up the last of my belongings to check out before boarding the courtesy shuttle into town.

Noosa National Park's hiking map posted at the park entrance. I followed the Coastal Track to Granite Bay and back with some construction detours on the path.

I was back on Noosa Beach and walked the good half mile or so to Noosa National Park where I'd planned to hike the easy 30-minute Palm Circuit trail they have, but ended up getting diverted to the Coastal Track because of construction.

If I'd had more time I would have explored this inlet a little more fully from swimming to bouldering!

The Coastal Track was on the 4 of 5 difficulty rating and I hoped my breakfast would hold out as I embarked on the hilly trail. But it was as gorgeous as it was busy! Families walking together, pairs, runners choked the trail, but I managed to secure a couple pictures relatively free of foot traffic. I got as far as Granite Bay before having to turn around to find lunch and catch the 11:10 a.m. shuttle back to the hostel. My bus would be leaving at 12:40 p.m.

Granite Bay. Beautiful!

I walked fast down to the Bay Village food court and submitted to Subway again because despite it's outrageous cost, it was still the cheapest (and fastest) eatery there. I got there about at 10:50 or so and had to hurry back to make the shuttle.

I ate while I waited, hopped the shuttle, did some last minute mail check and such while I still had free WiFi, and had another cup of tea to tide me over. I gave my German friend a trinket from Hawaii which he enjoyed, it was the least I could do for his sharing beer the other night. And we went together on the same shuttle to the Greyhound terminal about a half hour later.

The coast quickly dropped out of sight as we headed inland to Brisbane--where our driver estimated we would arrive at 2:50 instead of 3:15 p.m. Suits me. I distinctly remember the bus slinking into this super long tunnel in the suburbs and popping up on the other side into city. WHAM! Where the heck did this concrete jungle come from? Having come from coastal town to coastal town, Brisbane was a sock to the teeth.

And don't get me started on the bus terminal. This monster was three stories tall and naturally, we were on the third floor and I had to work my way to the bottom to find my accommodation for the night. I had a map of the immediate quarter, but coming out onto the street, I tried to get oriented to the streets. I let intuition guide me to one corner and like magic, there was Tinbilly's just sitting there on the corner! Lucky.

The view from my bunk at the Tinbilly in Brisbane. All the beds were taken except for this top bunk. 

I checked in and found I'm in a 10-bed dorm. I hope I sleep tonight...

Dropping my stuff, I was back out on the street and on my way to Queen's Street Mall, several streets up the way, but I found all sorts of helpful things walking like the proper ATM, Travelbugs (where I am using their internet to post this blog entry!), and a number of eateries. But tonight I'm dining in as Tinbilly's feeds their guests rice and pasta for free! Like hey I'm passing that up. I'll probably eat it for breakfast too!

The Brisbane Treasury building and a structure that took me a moment to discern was a soccer ball in front.

I made it to Queen Street and meant to turn left toward the shops, but I looked right and saw the art and entertainment quarter of the city and I went straight for it.

A map of the arts district across the Brisbane River and I ran the gamut of them from the outside. The State Library of Queensland was neat and the Sciencenter looked like it would have been really cool to see, but I had to contend myself with what South Bank had to offer.

I looked up at just the right moment to see these jeweled bugs hanging out on this bean pod outside of the state library. I hopped up on a wall to snap a quick picture of them. I'm not a bug girl, but there's something to appreciate in these colorful little guys.

Crossing the Victoria St. Bridge, I meandered into the Queensland Library first and their bookshop and cafe; it was neat seeing all the Australian authors and their books lining the shelves. From the library I discovered the Sciencenter and went over the busy street via the Melbourne Pass and found myself on South Bank--which I fully intended to explore.

I believe this structure was wedged by "The Edge" building. You can see Brisbane proper across the way.

I got this shot of Victoria Bridge from the Melbourne Pass that links the northern bank of the arts district to the Performing Arts Center and Brisbane's Wheel on South Bank. Wow, what a nice afternoon.

I passed the Queensland Performing Arts Center (and wanted to walk around in it but decided against it), Brisbane's Opera House (where I found I'd just missed Julie Andrews yesterday...), and the Wheel of Brisbane. All very cool, all things I would like to do, but would like to do more in Sydney. It was still neat to find all these places I wanted to see right out of the starting gates though!

The Arbour on South Bank was in bloom and lent a whimsical floral banquet on this winding path in Brisbane. 

One of the lagoons on South Bank. It was a little too chilly to swim in my opinion but there were kids playing in the Aquativity park.

I walked beneath the green and purple flowering Arbour walkway, along swimming lagoons, shops, restaurants, cafes, street performers, a number of ice cream parlors, and got as far as the Arbour View Cafes area before turning back because it was starting to get dark. I saw the ferries running up and down the river, but wanted to walk despite my legs being sore after my long hike this morning. But I pressed on as the sun set and the temperatures dropped.

I'm so glad I got to post today, I didn't think I'd get the chance! And now I'm looking forward to pasta and rice. More Brisbane exploration tomorrow.