A message to Leon who left a comment about seeing us at the rugby: Please email me on mupersan1@gmail.com & we can get together for a beer.
Easter Friday saw us heading 23.3km up the road to Mount Coot-tha (pronounced Cootah) where there's a fabulous view of Brisbane city and across to Moreton Bay. Although calling it "Mount" is a little ambiguous..... Big hill would describe it better - but that doesn't really sound good, does it? ;) Funnily enough, having just said that, I was reading about the history of the reserve and it used to be called "One Tree Hill". The following from the Brisbane Lookout website: "A name derived by virtue of a solitary Eucalypt tree that stood at this southern most point on an otherwise bare knoll. The name 'Coot-tha' or 'Kuta' was taken from the Aboriginal name for the area which meant 'honey' or 'the place of wild honey'."
Easter Friday saw us heading 23.3km up the road to Mount Coot-tha (pronounced Cootah) where there's a fabulous view of Brisbane city and across to Moreton Bay. Although calling it "Mount" is a little ambiguous..... Big hill would describe it better - but that doesn't really sound good, does it? ;) Funnily enough, having just said that, I was reading about the history of the reserve and it used to be called "One Tree Hill". The following from the Brisbane Lookout website: "A name derived by virtue of a solitary Eucalypt tree that stood at this southern most point on an otherwise bare knoll. The name 'Coot-tha' or 'Kuta' was taken from the Aboriginal name for the area which meant 'honey' or 'the place of wild honey'."
The route from our house to the Lookout at Mount Coot-tha
$2 for a few minutes with the telescope thingy - shoulda just brought the binocs!
The Summit Cafe in the background
Scott's turn! He was checking out Archerfield airfield...
There must've been a plane landing or taking off!
Brisbane city centre - as the crow flies, only 7km away
Summit Cafe & the function rooms - not a bad spot for a function
Brisbane City centre - a bit of a hazy day - there was a fire near the airport which created the haze (you can just see it to the left of the city). 
A very strange lady offered to take our picture - thank you strange lady!
A little pavilion on the summit with a marble & brass compass floor
Love this photo!
Cappuccino & a muffin for breakfast
Came across this little walk further along the same mountain road
So we decided to stop and take a look
Most parks and open areas have these drinking fountains - notice the bottom tap & bowl for dogs
Gold Mine picnic area - everything is so well maintained and clean
The path leading down from the picnic area 
Oops! Forgot to get the exploring hat!
Gone exploring...
Scott diving into a sea of ferns - the pic doesn't do the mass of ferns justice unfortunately 
What?
So it seems that they actually found gold here - not very much or of a very good quality, but they found some. An excerpt from the other half of this sign: "This track leads to the Ghost Hole Mine on East Ithaca Creek, one of the original mining leases on Mt Coot-tha. The mine was first worked in the 1890's, and again in the 1920s-30s but most of the mining activity occured during the 1940s-50s."
Tracks from the old tram they built to transport the gold (not so) rich ore - no mean feat! This couldn't have been easy terrain to work in.
The camera was wrestled from my paws!
Ghost Hole Mine - of course Scott had to leave the path to check it out. He's obviously not the only one - the mine has been filled in except for this small hole.
He didn't pay me enough to keep this out of the blog! LOL!
Indie...? Scott...? Indie...?
A termite infested tree cut down and left to rot
Some of the gum trees had this beautiful rust coloured trunks which added the most stunning colour contrast amongst all the green.
A butcher bird hunting
Let your imagination wander...As we got back to the car after our walk down to the mine, it started raining. It had been threatening for a while.
Having been in Brisbane for just short of 2 months, it was time to get onto the river and ride the ferries. We parked the car down near the Regatta Hotel in Toowong and hopped on at Regatta & just rode.....
Having been in Brisbane for just short of 2 months, it was time to get onto the river and ride the ferries. We parked the car down near the Regatta Hotel in Toowong and hopped on at Regatta & just rode.....
(Click to enlarge) We got on at Regatta (far left of map) and rode all the way to Apollo Road (last stop) and then all the way back to Southbank 2 (middle somewhere). After lunch, we took the ferry back to Regatta to hop into the car.
The City Cats really move! It even managed to blow my hair back!
Close up of the Kurilpa Bridge construction - the red supports are temporary & will be taken away once the two sides have been connected and all the white bits are connected. They bring each section of the bridge on a barge and lift it up & connect it. There has been significant progress just in the 2 months we've been here. The bridge is due to be opened in 2010.
Looking across the river at the Wheel of Brisbane & the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) - where we're going to see Chicago at the end of April
This is a City Cat - similar to what we were on
Walking & cycle paths stretch all the way along the river
My explorer! We actually met a Saffer on the ferry - Mike - who was on a whirlwind tour of Perth & Brissie to decide which city to move to. You can just see his shoulder & backpack on the right. It was his last night in Brissie so Scott went to pick him up from the city later that afternoon while I made spagbol (good old page 1 - my folks always say that this is page 1 of my recipe book) for supper. Mike, if you read this, please mail us & let us know how you're going!
The back of the stage at RiverStage in the Botanic Gardens where we saw Chris Isaak live a few weeks ago
An Aborigine at South Bank who wasn't really playing the didge - just blew on it every now and then when someone looked like they were going to stop. No one was impressed and the dude packed up & hopped on a ferry after a little while.
A beautiful walkway at South Bank - the plants they're growing over the walkway are bouganvilla. It's going to look stunning once it's completely covering the walkway.
Camera got snatched away again!
The Nepal Peace Pagoda at South Bank. This was Nepal's representation at the World Expo '88 and was hand carved by 160 Nepalese families in the Kathmandu Valley. Some 80 tonnes of indigenous Nepalese Terai forest timbers was felled specifically for the Pagoda. The Pagoda took 2 years to complete.
The Peace Bell
The carvings are absolutely beautiful and so intricate. I could've stood there all day looking at the detail, but boys get bored..... ;)
And so on to the Wheel of Brisbane!
Looking up...
Me? Nervous? No way!
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Okay.... maybe a little nervous....
The Peace Pagoda from above
Looking North on the way up
A "Green Cab" at South Bank
Playing the fool
Scared? Funny! 
You get to go around about 4 times so after the first scary bit at the top, you start to appreciate the beautiful views from so high up. QPAC is just on the left.A bit of video footage I took while we were up on the Wheel
I thought those of you in Sefrica would find this funny - a speed limit for bikes & rollerbladers on the footpaths. Imagine being able to police THAT in SA!!!
One of the beautiful mosaics on the river walkway at South Bank - this one of a rainbow lorikeet
We stopped for lunch at Wang Dynasty - a fabulous Chinese restaurant on the river. The food was EXCELLENT and the beers went down a treat!
People out for a stroll at South Bank - a view from the restaurant
Also from the restaurant
Must be one of the old ferries...
Scary Mandy at Wang Dynasty!
1 comment:
Wow, it's like a real 1st world country - that must be so wierd! Um, we had elections here...only one person died. It was great...
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