It’s been a pretty good few days in Brisbane. A lot to catch up on so let me just get right into it.
After the weekend in Surfers we decided to hang out at the YHA for a few nights. It’s a quieter hostel and we wanted to rest and get our energy back up. Nice place to be fair. It felt like more of a hotel than a hostel.
Our first full day here we didn’t get into an awful lot. We rented some scooters and cruised around the city. Just to get accustomed to where everything is. We took them into the Botanical Garden which was the best because we could just cruise without worrying about pedestrians and cars.
On Wednesday we went to North Stradbroke Island which is about an hour away from the city. We hopped on the ferry and spent a few hours walking around. The ocean walk was absolutely stunning. And within five minutes I saw my first kangaroo! After five months in Australia without seeing one I think I deserved it!
The best was yet to come though. As we approached the ocean we found a cliff face to sit on and just took in the scenes. The whales are still moving up the coast and they were out in numbers that day. They were jumping out of the water and slapping their tails on the surface. They were sticking their fins out and waving at us. We even saw a few pods of dolphins and a turtle.
The water was so clear even from where we were sitting we could see all the way through to the bootom. It was absolutely amazing. We moved on to the beach and took a quick dunk in the water before catching the bus back to the ferry. The waves were pretty rough here and I got knocked around quite a bit.
Yesterday we made a move to the Australia Zoo which is one of the best in the world. Steve Irwin found the zoo and through the success of his TV show he was able to build an amazing facility.
The zoo here is so intimate. There’s not many cages. Only for animals that can be potentially dangerous. You can get right up to the Giant Tortoises and pat them on the shell if you wanted.
The best part by far was the kangaroo enclosure. You grab a bag of kangaroo food and the roos just come hopping over. They are so docile and so soft. It really was an amazing experience. Something I won’t be forgetting any time soon.
I did manage to see my first koala too. Unfortunately they are susceptible to COVID so you couldn’t touch them or hold them. But under normal circumstances you’re able to feed them and cuddle them free of charge.
The crocodile show was also amazing. These things are huge. Maybe ten feet long and seven hundred pounds. The show was well done and it was amazing to see one up close. I’ll have to be careful around the water once I move up to Crocodile Country (north Queensland).
Besides that, we’re just hanging out and going out a fair bit. The city seems kind of dead but the nightlife has been pretty solid so far. I’m feeling confident and that translates to the amount of fun that I’ve been having. Just meeting people and going with the flow.
We’ll probably stay here for a few more days and then move on to Noosa. I think the plan is to take it easier there then we have been. It’s been go go go for more than a week now. We definitely could use a rest.