Last Days in Brisbane

Our wonderful Aussie Adventure holiday is winding down, and we have spent the last few days here in Brisbane – a very, bustling,  diverse city indeed.  Our last few days have been packing in some sightseeing, and enjoying the wonderful warm weather.  We spent several hours on one of the free City Hopper ferries, which stopped off at all the handy terminals along the river - we just stayed put and enjoyed the ride there and back again.

Enjoying the free ferry City Hopper

The following day we bought a package tour and  boarded another ferry, the Mirimar, which took us on a Koala River Cruise. A very pleasant trip indeed, and we enjoyed listening to the informative commentary all about Brisbane as we cruised along.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was established in 1927 with only 2 koalas; now with over 130 of these cuddly creatures as well as a variety of Aussie wildlife, it holds the Guinness World Record for the first and largest koala sanctuary in the World.  They are sleepy little creatures and spend their days eating for a while, then sleeping soundly.  Some of them had babies tucked up in their arms.

Such cute little koalas

Then there were the kangaroos, just lolling about in the afternoon sunshine – they were in a large open enclosure and the public were allowed to get up quite close to them.  The kangaroos were very relaxed with all the visitors.   I had always thought that large kangaroos could be quite dangerous with their strong legs and sharp claws, but these are obviously well used to being the centre of attention.

A very relaxed mob of kangaroos

Time for an ice-cream

Then today I saw some “patchwork with a difference” at the Museum of Brisbane.  Artist Carol McGregor works closely with members of the local Aboriginal community to record their stories on contemporary possum skin cloaks.  They were wonderful works of art indeed.  As possums are protected animals in Australia, these skins were sourced from New Zealand.

Contemporary possum skin cloaks, by Carol McGregor

And to finish off our time in the museum we had lunch at the lovely Shingle Inn, which looks for all like a little slice of England.  The original fixtures had been donated by the Bellchambers Family and installed into the City Hall by the Brisbane City Council.  Full of beautiful golden paneling, chandeliers, and old English style pottery and decorations, it was a lovely lunch experience indeed.    The table was set with engraved silver, together with the named crockery – so we enjoyed playing ladies and gents for a while.  We ordered waffles (with berries for her and bananas for him)  and coffee and enjoyed every mouthful.

Waffles for lunch at the Shingle Inn

Today, Sunday, is the last day of our holiday so it will be another early morning wake-up call to get to the airport for our trip home.  We’ve had a great time, experienced all sorts of adventures and seen some interesting places in this huge country.  But like all travelers, it will be great to return home again.

And remember if you are interested in reading a fuller version of our holiday travels, log on to our Travel Blog at www.romanyrambler.com

A Long train Ride to Brisbane

Our time in beautiful tropical Cairns had come to an end, and we travelled down to Brisbane on the Spirit of Queensland train.  A long trip indeed, taking 24 hours, but so relaxing sitting in the comfy seats and watching the scenery go by.  

And what a train ride it was – a 24 hour trip travelling down the Eastern coastline.  The spacious, comfy, leather seats which magically change into RailBeds in the evening.

Seating by day and all ready for bedtime

We passed tropical crops - the cane fields are never far away in this part of the country, and it’s cane harvesting time.  We passed these wagons filled with freshly cut cane waiting to be taken to the factory, as soon as possible.

Cut sugar cane waiting to be processed

Bananas are also grown in this part of the country and plastic bags are placed over the bunches of bananas to ensure they all ripen at the same time, and protect the fruit from pests.

Bananas growing

WE crossed rivers and streams, and I looked in wonder as a crocodile dozing on a river bank slipped into the water as we trundled by.  All too fast for me to snap a photo.  We certainly don’t have them at home.  Wonder if there are any crocs in this pretty stretch of water?

 

Lots of water birds

We were certainly well looked after in our carriage, and extremely well fed too.  Morning tea, lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next morning, all delivered to our seats.

But it wasn’t quite all smooth going.  I was wide awake after my latest venture down the carriage at 5.00am the following morning when everything went berserk.  “Whoop, whoop”, went the sirens, the lights all came on and everyone raised their heads to see what was going on.  My first thought was “smoke” and I hurriedly put my shoes on, didn’t want to evacuate in bare feet, and told Robin to wake up now and put his shoes on quickly!  It was in fact smoke which had set the alarm off.  Luckily the train was not on fire – we were passing through a smoky burn off beside the track and the smoke had got sucked through the air intake into the cabins.  A false alarm – but it’s good to know that the alarms and procedures all work.  So that was certainly an early wake up call for everyone.

The RailBeds were changed back to our comfy seats, and after an early coffee from the Café Car, we settled down to wait for breakfast.  And getting slowly closer to Brisbane as we chugged along.  It was a great trip, very relaxing, (except for the fire alarm going off), and we would certainly recommend it as an alternative to flying.

We are now in Brisbane, and staying here, right in the middle of the CBD.   And look – I’ve got my very own laundry – aren’t I the lucky one!

We’ve come back from the Outback

We’ve finally returned from our outback adventure and vintage train rides – so now we are back in civilization and internet.   So what have we been up to since we last met up?  Here are a few highlights.  First up was our trip on the vintage Gulflander.  This train is a bit of an oddity and is said to go from “nowhere to nowhere”.  The Normanton to Croydon railway line has remained fully isolated from the Queensland Rail Network.  This remote railway line is Heritage listed and the only line in Queensland still measured in miles. 

Sign at the station toilet building

Then we took a gentle boat ride through the Cobbold Gorge.  Quite a unique place due to it’s extreme narrowness, closing in to a tiny two metres wide in some places, with 30m cliffs on either side.  It is fed by several springs keeping the water level constant, allowing boat access even in the “dry” season.  And yes, crocodiles make their home in the waters too.

Beautiful Cobbold Gorge

And we heard the amazing story of Swampy the Braham bull.  This friendly bull with the larger than average spread of horns was a gentle boy and a family favourite, and when he escaped from his paddock the owner went looking for him to bring him safely back.  But there was no sign of Swampy anywhere.   Just as he was about to give up, the owner saw something flashing on the riverbank – it was Swampy, his head and horns being thrashed around on the ground as a croc was trying his darndest to swallow him whole.   Chills ran down the owners spine – most of his beloved Swampy was inside an enormous crocodile, and it was only the bull’s massive spread of horns which stopped him being swallowed down. Quick as a wink, the rancher reached for his knife and slit the croc down his belly, and helped pull Swampy out of the jaws of death.  Once the bull had tottered to his feet and recovered a little strength from this ordeal, he walked slowly back to his paddock with the owner, and never went missing again, enjoying several more years of life on the range.

Swampy the bull

Our two day Savannalander trip was full of fun, and the drivers were young, fit and keen, and loved what they do for a living.  We travelled through the harsh dry country, stopping for morning tea on day one at the rustic outdoor “café”

We ate simple fare at lunch time stopping at isolated country pubs in the middle of nowhere.  The train stopping each week must make a huge difference to their turnover and keep the businesses viable.

There goes a kangaroo

Happy to be riding the rails

And then the train was stopped by Ned Kelly and his gang

Next was a visit to the Undara Lava Tubes.  About 190,000 years ago, a large volcano erupted violently, spewing molten lava over the surrounding landscape. The lava flowed rapidly down a dry riverbed. The top, outer-layer cooled and formed a crust, while the molten lava below drained outwards, leaving behind a series of hollow tubes.  Absolutely amazing!!!

Inside a lava tube

We’ve certainly seen such a lot with our small trip through the outback, and we wouldn’t have missed this rail trip for the world – another thing crossed off our bucket list.  Remember – you are very welcome to log on to our travel blog at www.romanyrambler.com for a fuller version of our holiday travels.

No rest for the Holiday Makers

It’s just as well that we planned a rest day or two between our sightseeing trips or we would have trouble keeping up – especially in these tropical temperatures.  We had a great day out at Kuranda, a lovely little village situated high in the rain forest.  To get there, we joined the huge crowds at the terminal and boarded the Skyrail, which whisked us away over the tops of the trees.  Gliding ever so quietly, although we did get a bit of a fright when the Skyrail stopped dead a couple of times.  Luckily it soon started up again to take us on our way and took advantage of a couple of stops to get out and admire the scenery.  Then  we boarded the Skyrail the final time, and glided the short distance into the pretty little town of Kuranda

We took advantage of the free shuttle bus taking passengers up the steep hill, and went to see what Birdworld had to offer.  Birdworld is in a large open air aviary and has both exotic species, and native birds.  Birds were everywhere and the parrots in particular were getting up close and personal with the visitors, and it wasn’t too long before they decided to jump on our shoulders too.  Nibble, nibble, they went, and we had been warned that they love anything shiny, such as earrings, necklaces, and they even had a go at the shiny cord around my neck holding my sunglasses.  Their specialty, we were told, was chewing the buttons off men’s caps - Robin quickly removed his cap and put it out of their reach.

Many different parrots at Birdworld

I was thrilled to finally see one of the large native birds, a cassowary up close.  These magnificent birds are covered in a thick “mane” of silky black hair, which doesn’t really look like feathers at all.  With their striking “horn” on top, swinging wattles, strong beak and those dangerous clawed feet, they are certainly an imposing bird.

A magnificent cassowary

Lunch was next, and we enjoyed a BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato in a bread roll), plus a nice cool milkshake and iced coffee at the Frog Café.  Then I heard the man at the next table order crocodile curry – why didn’t I think to give that a try?  A little shopping in the large market, and then we walked down to the railway station for a ride back to Cairns on the Kuranda Scenic railway.

Snapped from the carriage while going around a curve

A fleet of refurbished original red-wooden heritage carriages were coupled behind a 1720 class diesel locomotive, painted in blue and yellow.  This design portrays the legend of the Buda-dgi carpet snake, said to have carved out the Barron Gorge.  Our two hour journey commenced, and we travelled slowly through the rain forest, with points of interest being pointed out. The historic railway line was opened in 1891 after 1500 men armed only with hand picks, shovels, and dynamite laboured long and hard to carve a track through the mountains.   They slowly created 15 tunnels, 93 curves, dozens of bridges and 75 km of track.

Aboard the Kuranda Scenic Railway

Another first for us was to see a group of pelicans in the wild - these were down at the foreshore on a little spit of land.  As the tide kept getting higher, and their little piece of land was slowly getting covered over, they just keep moving closer and closer to the sea wall.  The pelicans were having a great time, bathing in the water, vigorously flapping their wings, and laying their large beaks sideways in the water to wash them.  Others were busy preening their feathers, turning their large beaks this way and that to reach the areas that needed attention. 

We sat and watched the pelicans for ages

My “ever so handy raggy denim bag” with a long shoulder strap has been invaluable.  It can carry all sorts of things, from shopping, to a couple of water bottles which we really need to carry in these rather warm temperatures.  It is so much warmer here in Cairns that at home, where we have much colder winters.  I made this sturdy bag some years ago when we had a trip to UK,  adding some tags with rings attached so that I can clip my wallet and camera case inside with “dog clips” to keep them safe.  This bag has been on several overseas holidays with me, and means I don’t need to bother with a handbag as my wallet is safely attached inside the shopping bag.

Stuffed full of purchases from the markets

Some of my purchases from Kuranda in the bag. Souvenir tea towel, Aussie dried pineapple and mango – just the thing to nibble on, and a packet of coffee, grown and roasted in Australia.  No doubt the dried fruit will soon get gobbled up, but we will leave the coffee sealed to take back home.  Must admit I didn’t realise Australia had a coffee growing industry.  Robin bought much more than me, a new tee shirt and two new caps!

A little shopping at the markets

A wonderful day out, and another thing crossed off our bucket list.  Remember – you are very welcome to log on to our travel blog at www.romanyrambler.com for a fuller version of our holiday travels.