Brisbane

So this Easter we decided we would visit our friends in the North. Flights were booked to Brisbane in Queensland and we were set to fly out on Good Friday, returning the Following Sunday. It was quite exciting knowing that we would be seeing our friends although being afraid of heights I wasn’t too sure what I would make of their apartment as it was on the 31st Floor!

On good Friday they phoned saying that they were having difficulties buying beers for the evening and, being a sound project manager, I instigated a risk mitigation strategy and went to the pub. At the airport we sat and ate Hungry Jacks (the Australian version of Burger King) and drank another beer. I had a massive Aussie burger, which had beetroot and egg as well as the standard quarter pound of dead animal. Absolutely delicious but somewhat filling. As we waited for the plane to taxi to the runway and take off they announced over the intercom that there would be a meal served during the flight. Now I am used to budget airlines so was not expecting to get fed whilst making this small internal flight, but not wanting to waste food decided that I would eat whatever was placed in front of me anyway. We ordered some wine and were served pasta. I was quite stuffed at this point and was happy that at least Duncan and Emma didn’t have to feed us and we could get down to some partying as soon as we landed. But no, Queensland had a surprise for us. It was dry! That’s right, in some quaint and ancient law it appears that some holidays in Queensland are taken seriously and they will only serve alcohol with a meal. And not just a bowl of chips either but a full blown main meal. Well I was stuffed and there was no way I was going to be able to eat a full meal just in order to buy a beer at the pub. All the bottle shops and supermarkets were refusing to sell booze so it was a fairly quiet first night in Brisbane, this didn’t matter as we were with good company but still I think there should be some kind of warning, maybe at the airport:

“Warning, you are about to enter a backwards state that doesn’t serve beer today so please stock up before you travel”, something like that anyway. As it turns out that the 31st Floor provided a spectacular view over the Brisbane skyline and I wasn’t too afraid to get out onto the balcony.

First day in Brisbane and we had a good look round the city, it’s sort of like a small Melbourne. It has the tall buildings but not spread over the area that Melbourne has so it wasn’t long before we decided to have some fun at a bowling alley. I am terrible at bowling so after two games I wasn’t surprised to find my self humiliated and scoring very poor. I missed the pins so many times that my scorecard looked like a game of numbers hangman, 5 dash, dash, dash, 3, dash, dash, 4 etc. One day I will score over a hundred at this thing. I did get chance to buy a copy of Underbelly, an Australian crime drama based in Melbourne that is not allowed to be sold in Victoria due to the fact that some of the crimes featured are still under investigation there. It’s really good viewing and we watch episodes trying to figure out where they were filmed!

The following day we had a trip to the zoo planned. Australia zoo! The home of the crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. This zoo is quite remarkable in that it caters for indigenous species and is home to Koala’s, kangaroo’s and, of course, saltwater crocodiles. They put on plenty of shows for the visitors and we had fun feeding Elephants, not strictly an Australian species, and getting up close and personal with some Kangaroo’s, feeding them and stroking them in the park. They seem a little lazy to be honest but I suppose when your dinner is delivered by thousands of eager children and adults you really don’t need to run around much. Certainly no hopping! I managed to stroke a baby crocodile, it was in the safe handling of one of the many staff members I must add, I don’t go round trying to stroke killer animals usually.

Then the main event, a carefully choreographed display of Australian wildlife including snakes, birds and crocodile feeding. Steve’s wife Terry was running the show and we were lucky as his children Bob and Bindi were also taking part in the show, with Bindi feeding the crocodile in the arena. A thrilling, if somewhat touristy, few hours out. The one thing I certainly like about Australia zoo is it’s commitment to preserving the wildlife of Australia rather than focussing on the usual array of international animals that feature in almost every other zoo on earth. It is a real tribute to Steve Irwin as they are passionate about saving the wildlife and preserving the Australian continent so that other people in the future will have the opportunity to see these unique animals up close. If only they didn’t have to write Crikey on every piece of merchandise!!

Whilst we were in Brisbane our friends confirmed that they would be moving to Melbourne and that Emma would be coming down in a couple of weeks to start the house hunting for them, having been in this predicament I suspect we will have some housemates for a few weeks, at least in Melbourne you can buy a beer when you want one!