With the kids now grown up it’s easier to get time away, and so Jenny and I decided to spend Easter in Brisbane and just ride around the city – visiting old haunts and friends.
We took the bikes down in the car and parked it near the hotel and used the bikes for the next few days. The hotel had no parking, but we were lucky with it being the public holiday all the surrounding street parking was free, and we got a spot quite close to the hotel.
It was late in the afternoon when we arrived so decided to do a bit of exploring on foot. We were staying down the bottom end of the Valley and had a nice walk around.
Street mural near the Brunswick street train station – I guess this will come down when the development behind it is complete 🙂
Newfarm Park – late in the day – lots of Welcome swallows plying their trade
Brisbane River – looking nice and peaceful
We think this is the site of the old Paddy’s Markets — what a great place that was. I’m in two minds about all the urban renewal – on one hand it’s great because it stops urban sprawl and land clearing, but something has definitely been lost as well — less community now, more high density yuppyification.
Honestly, this was a novelty for us!
Pretty night lighs near where we staying
This was an interesting and unusual dawn to wake up to – in the city with highrises around us.
On the way driving down the range we heard a loud bang and Jenny’s front tyre had popped. The wall on the tyre was fairly worn and corroded, and I think as we got to lower altitude the inner tube had less pressure on it, so expanded out through the weakened tyre wall and popped like a balloon. Fortunately there was a bike shop nearby so we could fix it first thing in the morning.
It might be old and warn out but it still goes (much like me!) – in fact both of us are still using the bikes we went around Europe on in 1999.
We were soon out riding around – Brisbane has a plethora of bike tracks – many of them new to us since they were built (or rebuilt) after the 2011 floods, and we just hadn’t been on them before we moved away from Brisbane.
In fact we probably spent most of our time marveling at how big the city was, how much it had changed etc etc since the 80’s and 90’s. But you get that!
We met my sister for her birthday and then enjoyed sometime at a cafe before we went for a run down the river on a Citycat – which are very bike friendly.
I’m afraid the panorama feature on this phone is pretty bad
It was a lot of fun – and all for fifty cents each – we then had lunch and were joined by our friends Mike and Isabelle and went to the Howard Smith Wharves, the Botanic Gardens and Southbank
I always loved the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane – still as beautiful as ever
This is the Old Government House – apparently Laurance Olivier gave a speech off that balcony in the 1950’s when he toured Australia.
With our friends Mike and Isabelle who joined us riding.
Brisbane’s ever changing skyline. There was a White-bellied sea eagle here too – flying up and down the river, which was pretty cool
Heading home at dusk – navigation was quite easy now with google maps and the like. The next morning we had a walk around the Valley – it was a lovely morning, but a bit depressing.
This magpie was foraging at the end of the Brunswick street mall. There was a lot of Tree martins circling above this intersection too – which was amazing. It goes without saying I recorded a lot of surveys in Birdata – and filmed a lot too, but I won’t fill the page here with all that! I did 12 surveys for 20 species – but it was all incidental surveys as we were going around, birding wasn’t the object of the trip. However recording them when and where I did is still important – for instance the Tree martins near the bottom of the mall is the first time they’ve been recorded there in Birdata. I’ll put the list of the birds at the end of the page.
I don’t like urban decay – but there’s still something artful about it
I just find this so sad.
Well they’re not really going anywhere actually — highly territorial.
After we checked out of the hotel we drove to Stones Corner, and we were very impressed to see the planting in this waterway. This used to be grass and a cement drainage line. I know it floods here in heavy rain, in fact when I first moved to Brisbane in 1989 (not far from this area) houses here were still recovering from a flash flood. The creek line has now been re-established – I think this is wonderful.
In the afternoon we met our son and went ice skating at Acacia Ridge – he’s recently taken it up, and I used to skate alot when I was kid – I was most surprised to know it’s still all in there and I can still do it! It was a lovely end to the Easter break.
Here’s to more little trips like this – and just enjoying life!
And here’s the bird list:
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Number of surveys counted in | Reporting Rate | Includes Breeding Records |
| Australian White Ibis | Threskiornis moluccus | 3 | 25.00% | |
| Noisy Miner | Manorina melanocephala | 3 | 25.00% | |
| Australian Magpie | Gymnorhina tibicen | 3 | 25.00% | |
| Torresian Crow | Corvus orru | 3 | 25.00% | |
| Australian Brush-turkey | Alectura lathami | 2 | 16.67% | |
| White-bellied Sea-Eagle | Haliaeetus leucogaster | 2 | 16.67% | |
| Australasian Figbird | Sphecotheres vieilloti | 2 | 16.67% | |
| Welcome Swallow | Hirundo neoxena | 2 | 16.67% | |
| Rock Dove | Columba livia | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Crested Pigeon | Ocyphaps lophotes | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Bush Stone-curlew | Burhinus grallarius | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Silver Gull | Larus novaehollandiae | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Australian Pelican | Pelecanus conspicillatus | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus moluccanus | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Blue-faced Honeyeater | Entomyzon cyanotis | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Pied Butcherbird | Cracticus nigrogularis | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Willie Wagtail | Rhipidura leucophrys | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Magpie-lark | Grallina cyanoleuca | 1 | 8.33% | TRUE |
| Tree Martin | Petrochelidon nigricans | 1 | 8.33% | |
| Fairy/Tree Martin spp | 1 | 8.33% |