I can’t believe we’ve been in Australia for over a month now, it has practically disappeared in the blink of an eye. We had one more stop to make in the capital of Queensland for a few days before flying out to the next country on our list, New Zealand.
We managed to check into our Southbank apartment at around lunchtime on Sunday, and after briefly settling in decided to go for a wander along the river for a bite to eat. We were planning on hitting an awesome food market later in the evening, so a light snack of corn dogs from one of the many vendors along the riverside was perfect.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday sees The Collective Markets host a dazzling array of local artisans and traders along Little Stanley Street, and we wanted to check it out. There are loads of quirky and interesting stalls at this market – I finally managed to find myself the perfect Australian hat made from old, recycled truck tarpaulin; and Hunter and I accessorised with matching Croc skin cuffs, while Kate and Bam found themselves some kitsch handmade earrings.
That evening we wanted to check out one of Brisbanes most vibrant and iconic food and entertainment venues, Eat Street Northshore. Having caught a bus from our hotel to Teneriffe Jetty, we hopped on the amazing city cat ferry for the short ride around the river to Northshore. The ferry system in Brisbane is extensive and a perfectly serene way to navigate the city while seeing it from a different angle. Why pay for an expensive river cruise when you can travel all through the city like the locals do every day for only a few dollars.
Before long we had landed at our destination and followed the eager crowds and enticing aromas towards the container city we had passed on the water. This erstwhile derelict dockside wasteland was transformed in 2013 by local entrepreneur Peter Hackworth. Completely constructed from vibrantly painted shipping containers, and comprising over 50 individual food traders, this market is the perfect place to spend your evening. The sheer choice of food is almost overwhelming, and you really need to have a good look around before deciding what to plump for, if you want to avoid the very real threat of food FOMO that is. The five dollar entry fee (free for kids) allows you to browse at your leisure and then enjoy the live entertainment while you eat and drink. There is a main stage area, which was hosting a hilarious soul barbershop trio while we enjoyed our Japanese pizzas, along with a DJ stage and several small singer/songwriter kinda setups dotted around the site. And don’t worry about getting caught in the rain as there are no less than 9 undercover seating areas arranged around the entertainment where you can wait out a shower or two over dinner and drinks.
Don’t forget to leave room for the various sweet treats on offer for after as well. There is a whole area in the middle dedicated to sugary delights, and Bam couldn’t resist the crazy candy creations of Professor Fairy Floss. Although, fair warning, candy floss on a stick is not the best option in high humidity – eat quickly or watch it disappear right in front of your eyes!
We were keen to cool off after finishing school on Monday morning, but we are unfortunately not staying right next to the beach anymore. Aha, Brisbane has the perfect solution – why not just build a beach in the middle of the city! That’s exactly what they have done at Streets Beach on the banks of the Brisbane river with views over the CBD. This urban oasis is a perfect blue lagoon surrounded by white beaches and tropical plants. There are various places to lay out a towel or pull up a deckchair while the kids cool off under the watchful eyes of the life guards. I find it incredible that this is all free to use and accessible to all, and it really reflects that “quality of life” aspect of living in Australia that sets it apart from everywhere else. Again, I’ve said it before, but if this was in the UK it would be a different story. First you’d have to pay a fortune to park anywhere near it, then it would cost another small fortune to use it, and of course it would be completely mobbed all the time and not actually relaxing at all. And that’s assuming that you had the weather to even enjoy it in the first place. It just seems to work here, and it’s a really lovely place to hang out.
Refreshed from our afternoon dip, we retired to our hotel to get ready for our evening excursion. Bizarrely, after meeting up with my old school friend Dave a few weeks ago, I then discovered another of our fellow school chums also lives in Brisbane. After a few messages to people who might know, I managed to scavenge a current phone number for Jake, and tonight we were heading to his house to catch up, meet each others families and break bread together for the first time in 20 years.
Jake left our school when we were 16 because his Dad had decided to follow his heart and move his family to Australia in search of a better life. I guess it turned out to be a good move on Jake’s behalf, as after living in several other countries he has returned and is now settled here as an adult with his wife and two kids, happily working as an architect. After bumping into each other by chance in New York 20 years ago, and consequently putting him up for a few weeks when he moved to London soon after, I haven’t seen Jake much since school. But again, the dynamics are still much the same as they were all those years ago. The stories and names came flooding back over a beer or two, and it wasn’t long before he pulled out some old photos, taken shakily on an old 35mm camera just before leaving in 1996.
We shared a great evening of reminiscence before he kindly gave us a lift home. Unlike Dave, Jake doesn’t visit the UK much anymore, and so I fear that could be the last time our paths cross. Although who knows, stranger things have happened and will happen again!
Our final day in Brisbane, and indeed Australia, was gearing up to be a wet one. A bit of a shame really, as I had really fancied doing the climb over the Story Bridge arches with the kids, as we missed out on the Sydney bridge climb due to Bam being too young. But we didn’t fancy the risk of being atop the 80m bridge in the middle of a thunderstorm, so we thought we would check out a museum after school instead.
The Queensland Museum is home to the Sparklab exhibition, an interactive and hands-on science exhibition for kids featuring experiments and displays making science easier to understand. Perfect, we hadn’t had a science lesson for a while, and there were plenty of other interesting exhibits to wander around at the same time.
While we were nestled obliviously in the belly of the museum, we were blissfully unaware of what the weather gods had been cooking up for us outside the concrete walls. Unaware, that is, until the shrill sound of the fire alarms suddenly startled us. “No problem,” said the lady giving the talk on weather systems (ironically), “it’s not an issue until the siren turns into a whoop-whoop sound instead.” Of course, that was like a red rag to the proverbial bull of fate, and there was instantly a deafening “WHOOP WHOOP” over the tannoys.
Righto, time to evacuate I guess, as we were hurriedly herded down the stone fire escape and out into a covered yard. Seldom have I ever seen such heavy rain, and it was all the more impressive as it had been a reasonably bright day when we entered the museum no more than an hour ago. It must have literally been directly above us as we were cast outside. The blinding flashes of lightning were followed instantly by deafening cracks from Thor’s hammer. Maybe the roof had been struck by lightning? The arrival of two fire trucks prompted the staff to continue with their fire action plan, which unbelievably involved pushing us all out from under the shelter of this covered yard to the meeting point a whole block away. There was no point trying to run for it, 30 seconds in this torrential downpour surrounded by 100 other museum-goers was enough to entirely soak us to the skin. So we made our way through the crowds and into the Starbucks on the other side of the road to seek shelter with a warm drink while we waited for the alarm bells to stop ringing and the fire crews to dissipate. Eventually we managed to make our way back to the museum, and straight into the bathrooms to make use of their hand driers. Air-con and soaking wet clothes do not make for happy children (or a happy Kate for that matter!). I don’t know if you’ve every tried drying a child (or a wife) under a museum toilet hand drier, but it’s a strange and frustrating affair, albeit quite amusing if you look at it objectively.
We were only left with another hour or so to explore the rest of the museum, but that was enough to enjoy one or two more science experiments and take in the biology exhibits on the top floor.
So even though we had opted for the safe, indoor activity rather than the risky outdoor one, we somehow still managed to get completely drenched. Although, to be fair, I would not have wanted to be strapped to the top of that bridge like a big Pommie lightning conductor when that storm passed over, so I guess we still chose the right option!
That’s it – dinner and an early night because our Uber was picking us up at 6am the following morning. Australia you have been a blast. It has been a real privilege exploring just a small part of this incredible country over the last few weeks, and it’s given me a real itch to come back in the not too distant future to see more of it. But for now, New Zealand and a new adventure awaits…