Two months have flown by very quickly and sadly, we are we are now winding down our time in Australia. In our travels over our last week, we’ve tried to cover as much territory and squeeze in as many activities as possible. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed celebrating Easter in Australia and are rushing to purchase our last souvenirs to bring home with us.
Brisbane's Story Bridge Lit Up in the Evening
It would be foolish of us to believe that we could travel for two months and not encounter any rainy days. Indeed, we contended with the worst weather of our trip this past week when it rained for four days. On a couple of these days, we chose to avoid outdoor activities, and hopped into our rental car to explore some areas of the city that we hadn’t seen yet. At Mt. Gravatt, it was drizzling slightly when we arrived at the summit lookout, and we found it quite fascinating to see the city bathed in fog from a distance.
Foggy City View from Mt. Gravatt
Driving through the pouring rain toward the mouth of the Brisbane River, we were quite curious about what we would find by the coast. During this drive we primarily encountered extremely heavy truck traffic. Truckers who were enroute to unload their cargo onto ships at the Port of Brisbane sped by us in droves whipping up the water from the rain onto our windshield. At Fort Lytton National Park (by the river mouth), we watched a group of school children who were unloading their bus get drenched by the rain while their teachers all stayed perfectly dry under the umbrellas that they carried. How fair is that? Regardless, we remained in the car and continued along on our merry way. At the port lands, we discovered oil refineries, loading cranes for the ships at the docks, and huge stacks of large containers destined to be loaded onto container ships. In contrast to the industrial activities, we were relieved to come across the Port of Brisbane Shorebird Roost along the coast. At that place, we viewed birds which included pelicans and egrets living on an island and enjoying their protected status on the reserve of land that is maintained by the port authority. On yet another rainy day, we drove to the Fortitude Valley area of Brisbane (the original centre of the city), to Chinatown, Newstead Park, and to New Farm Park (where we happily travelled to on the CityCat ferry on a nicer day later in the week).
Port of Brisbane Shorebird Roost
New Farm Park in the Nice Weather
The day that we spent at the Workshops Railway Museum in Ipswich (town out in the suburbs of Brisbane) was by far the most productive “rainy day” activity that we planned during the week. We found it fascinating to walk right up to vintage steam and diesel trains, and to also tour the air-conditioned pods where we found brilliant displays depicting the glories of the golden years of train travel. We quite enjoyed the interactive exhibits and walking through the historic buildings on the grounds. As we ate our lunch on the porch of the Trackside Café, we were able to picture the workers from the previous century eating their lunches in the historic dining hall located in the building which is also used as a reception area for weddings and other events.
Impressive Vintage Locomotive at the Railway Museum in Ipswich
Trevor Drives a High Speed Tilt Train
Restored Spencer Motorcycle at the Railway Museum
Thankfully, better weather arrived for our last week in Australia. On a much nicer, sunny day, we were finally able to eat lunch outdoors again. To help us celebrate, a friendly Eastern Bearded Dragon lizard kept us company while we ate our meal at a park on Kangaroo Point. Afterward, we toured the Queensland Maritime Museum which we passed by many times previously on the way over the walking bridge to the South Bank. We were thrilled to view the vintage boats, mementos and artifacts depicting the golden age of ocean travel and naval history. Outside on the museum grounds where outdoor displays are kept, we especially appreciated seeing Jessica Watson’s sailboat up close (teenager who circled the globe), and exploring the frigate World War II frigate, the Diamantina.
Video: Sharing Some Tidbits With a Friendly Lizard (click)
We felt less like tourists over the long Easter weekend as we attended several seasonal celebrations at the Cathedral of St. Stephen, and a couple of outstanding choral concerts that were presented by Brisbane’s finest musicians. At the Cathedral of St. Stephen, the Archbishop of Brisbane officiated over the Way of the Cross Celebration on Good Friday and the Easter Mass on Easter Sunday. The 8-voice professional liturgical choir provided very moving music for the Easter Celebrations and the church was packed to the hilt. We found the smell of incense to be extremely strong in the church though, and we really wonder why the church leaders don’t consider changing this tradition and moving toward a healthier and more environmentally friendly alternative.
Upon attending an evening concert at the Queensland Arts Centre on Maundy Thursday, we were impressed with the superb performance of Handel’s Messiah presented by the Brisbane Chamber Choir in partnership with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. On Good Friday, we were equally impressed with the polished, dramatic performance of John Rotar’s Passio (musical dramatization of the Passion of St. John) at the Cathedral of St. Stephen that was presented by the combined forces of The Australian Voices and the One Equal Music vocal ensemble. Rotar, an Australian composer, also serves as the conductor for the Australian Voices and he conducted the performance of his own work.
Brisbane Chamber Choir and Queensland Symphony at the Queensland Centre for the Arts
To round out our Easter Celebrations, we splurged and made a reservation for the Easter lunch buffet at the Suzette Restaurant at the Sofitel Hotel downtown. At the buffet, we overindulged in succulent seafood and other exotic local and international dishes and desserts while seated at a table that offered us an amazing view over Anzac Square and Post Office Square.
Easter Sunday Buffet at Suzette Restaurant Overlooking Anzac Square and Post Office Square
For our final Australian out-of-town outing on Easter Monday, we travelled to the Currumbin Sanctuary on the Gold Coast. We viewed many interesting Australian animals at Currumbin, but the highlight of our visit was the rainbow lorikeet feeding which takes place at 8:00 am and 4:00 pm daily. 100s of lorikeets fly out of the trees daily for this feeding, and we loved having the opportunity to interact with these colourful birds so closely.
Video: Lorraine Feeding Lorikeets at Currumbin Sanctuary (click)
The end is near. We depart from Australia on Wednesday evening, April 3rd on a Qantas Airways flight to Los Angeles. We will spend a few days in Los Angeles before we arrive back home in Canada on April 7th. We are feeling very sad about leaving Australia where we have enjoyed many amazing experiences over the last two months, however, we also look forward to getting home again and sleeping in our own bed.
