Now let's explore Brisbane, Gold Coast and Surfers Paradise!
Day 1 – Sunday (10/06/2012)
We left Melbourne – read about our trip there here – and we arrived in Brisbane shortly after midnight, and of course the airport was pitch black. There were no taxis at the exit and no airport staff, just the passengers from our flight. We noticed that they had formed a line outside and started calling taxis, so we asked them to order one for us too. We were lucky! After waiting for almost an hour, ours and the other taxis we had requested showed up.
We asked the taxi driver to take us to Thorneside, a city that is almost 1 hour from Brisbane by train, where a Brazilian friend of Celo's family lives. We arrived very late at her house, but we were very well received. Fortunately, we slept very well and I dare say it was better than any hotel or hostel we stayed at.
We woke up, got ready and had breakfast with our host, a super charming and adventurous lady. She told us about her life in Australia and made me really want to move there. Who knows, maybe one day…
She couldn't stay with us in the afternoon, but she gave us all the tips to get to Brisbane safely. We took a super comfortable and punctual train (she gave us the timetable) and headed towards big city. We passed through about 10 super cute little towns before arriving in Brisbane. We were delighted with what we saw!
Exploring Brisbane
We got off at Central Station and walked around the entire area. We passed by ANZAC Square , Saint Andrews Uniting Church and St John's Cathedral (so beautiful, with lots of stones… It took 100 years to build). We went down a street to get to the riverside and were amazed by the view. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy, but the ride was still a delight. We got to where the boat Kookaburra River Queens was there and we tried to buy tickets for the river tour and dinner (we had read that it was super romantic), but the available days weren't good for us, because we had already planned the amusement parks in the region. Too bad...next time! =)
We kept walking and arrived at the Botanical garden of the city, which is charming. We saw brides and groomsmen taking pictures, many Asians at an event celebrating their culture and other people exercising and walking around calmly. The cool thing about JB is that it is right on the riverbank, so there is a place where you can walk over the mangroves and see several crabs. I thought it was really crazy… lol. Right on the riverbank, looking at JB, you can see the modern buildings behind, giving it a charming view.
We crossed the Goodwill Bridge (beautiful!) and we arrived at the other side of the city, which is also very pleasant. We walked around the area near the river and came across many trendy restaurants, but expensive for us, considering that we weren't that hungry. We passed by them and decided to stop at a very charming one to eat crepes. We sat outside the restaurant and enjoyed the local fauna and flora, while our snacks were waiting to be ready. Look how amazing:
We loved our crepes – I have to say it was the best I’ve ever had and we had another Australian beer to add to our collection. We left there more than satisfied and saw an AMAZING public pool, with a view of the river and the city. It was closed (I don’t know exactly why), but we thought the space was great. It reminded us of the Piscinão de Ramos…lol.
We walked a little further and passed in front of a very famous chocolate shop that was recommended by our hostess – Max Brenner . Unfortunately, since the line was so long, we decided not to go in. We were really curious, so if you get a chance one day, be sure to go in and tell us how it went! =D
We loved the atmosphere of this region… lots of lively bars, people walking civilly in the streets, stands super tidy fairgrounds…what a nice place. We even got to the Ferris wheel Wheel of Brisbane and soon we bought ours tickets to see the view from up there. We were lucky that it was empty and we were alone in a cabin, in the most romantic atmosphere…it was perfect! The view is truly amazing. The city is beautiful and the winding river makes it even more enchanting. We spent almost 30 minutes on the Ferris wheel, just enjoying the moment. I highly recommend the ride!
We left there and crossed the Victoria Bridge, seeing from afar the Treasury Casino lit up in red and blue – beautiful! We rented a locker to leave our things heavier and we entered with all the desire in the world to play roulette and blackjack. Unfortunately, we didn't really enjoy the atmosphere of the casino because there was a live band playing at a very high volume and some very strange music. I could never imagine that happening in a casino. We played just for the record and lost very quickly. It made me angry but relieved at the same time, because I found it hard to put up with the noise and the desperate people playing. A heavy vibe, you know?
We left and headed towards Central Station, because we had to catch the last train to the Cleveland area, passing through Thorneside. We managed to catch it without any problems. In the end, we bought a prepaid card that gives a discount on train tickets (I don't know how much, but there is a discount...lol). After almost 1 hour, we arrived in a deserted Thorneside and went straight to “our” house.
Day 2 - Monday (11/06/2012)
We woke up, had a hearty breakfast with our dear hostess and got ready to go back to Brisbane. We took the same train and off we went again to the big city.
We got off at the central station and walked through another area that contains many, many shops.
We inform ourselves on how to get to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and we managed to catch the bus right away. It's amazing how well informed everyone is and how good the public transport is. The bus left exactly at the scheduled time.
Lone Pine Sanctuary
After almost an hour on the bus, we arrived at the koala sanctuary. We had read only good things about this place, and guess what – it really is the best! We paid our entrance fees and as soon as we entered we came across many koalas sleeping in the trees, of course. These little animals sleep 18 hours a day! Crazy, right?? But they are very, very beautiful.
We continued walking through the sanctuary, which is a kind of zoo, and came across a platypus. I had never seen one before! The animal is quite cute, but also quite dangerous (I think the female can even kill if she releases a substance when she feels threatened).
Then we found a Tasmanian devil and decided to wait for it to be fed, to hear what the keeper had to say about it. These animals only exist in Tasmania, an Australian island state, or in zoos. They recently discovered an extremely contagious virus among them, which has been decimating the population of these animals. They still haven't found a cure for it, so we run the risk of these animals only being found in zoos in a few years.
We left the lecture feeling a bit shaken by this news, but we saw so many cute animals afterwards that it was easy to forget. Then, the MOST AWAITED MOMENT OF THE TRIP finally arrived – holding a real koala! We paid about AUS$20 (almost R$$50) to be able to hold these animals in our arms (Queensland state laws allow it!) and I have to say it WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY!
The staff was very smart to demand that our hands stay the way they are. Imagine if my hands were completely free and I could crush the animal with a tight hug… ouch…
It was a unique feeling. The koala really is a very cute animal, although a little smelly. It is much heavier than I imagined, but it is easy to hold for 5 minutes. My heart was racing while I held it. When I had to give the animal back to the girl, I almost cried, asking to keep it for longer. I wanted to pay an extra AUS$20 for another 5 minutes, but after the euphoria wore off, I gave up on the idea.
We picked up our printed photos and continued walking around the sanctuary. We came across an area with lots of kangaroos, including a mother with her baby. We walked around a bit more and left the sanctuary to catch the last bus to the city. Everything went well!
We arrived in Brisbane, walked around the streets a bit, ate at Burger King and caught our train to Thorneside. As we were almost arriving in the city, a couple fighting caused a scene that caught our attention. You know how it is, right? We thought the worst could happen, like all Brazilians who are scared of violence. The guy even told us to stop looking at them. We did so, but I had an absurd urge to laugh out loud, because the way he said it was so funny. Thank God, I managed to control myself and we arrived home in one piece. Phew!
Day 3 - Tuesday (12/06/2012)
Valentine's Day!!! Today's schedule: Amusement park!!! 🙂
Dreamworld
We woke up early, had breakfast, packed our mini-backpacks (we would sleep there) and went straight to the train station. It is very easy to get to the amusement parks. We asked for information at the train station in Brisbane and arrived quite easily at the “Dreamworld“We arrived just before 10am, the park opening time, so we were practically the first in line. It was a really good feeling!
With the park map in hand, we planned our trip, with the goal of going through the most extreme rides right away, just to be sure... what if it gets as crowded as the Disney parks... lol. We didn't get the packages with the water parks, because we would only have 2 days there, but I think it's worth it, huh... I don't know, spending 4 days going around the parks calmly.
We went in. We started with Buzzsaw, a roller coaster on the very left. Biggest mistake of my life. It's very, very, very fast. I felt dizzy and had a headache all day. =( Celo loved it and even did it again at the end of the day, but I didn't even think about it.
Some rides were closed for maintenance, which was a shame. I think it was because we went in the low season, I don't know. We went on almost all the rides that made sense and were open, since the park wasn't even very crowded. We took turns on the rides with encounters with beautiful animals, like white tigers, super cute koalas and an absurdly large crocodile. I loved the show with the tigers and their trainers. The white tigers are really incredible!
We also went on a motorcycle roller coaster, which was really cool. I thought it was really fast, and of course my dizziness got worse. Celo ended up going on the coolest rides, like The Claw and the Giant Drop. I made sure to film him and take lots of photos to save for posterity.
In short: the park is lovely. Everything is extremely organized, expensive and the people are very polite. I thought it was really cool. The best part was when Celo tried to get a bear for me from one of those shooting toys and ended up getting a pen instead. Then I went to a little shop and he went to the bathroom. Suddenly, he came back with a beautiful yellow teddy bear to celebrate Valentine's Day! I thought it was really cute!!!
Sleeping in Surfers Paradise
We left the park as it was closing and caught a bus to Surfers Paradise town. We got off at a stop that we thought was good (feeling same) and we went looking for a cheap hotel, with our backpacks on our backs and the bear in our hands. We found a hostel that my cousin had recommended, the Islander Backpackers Resort and there we went, after eating at Subway and buying some medicine for a headache. We arrived at the hostel, which was huge by the way, checked in and went straight to the room, which unfortunately smelled very musty.
I took the opportunity to rest a little and we ended up waking up at dawn. We went for a walk around the city (we were starving) and the only places we found open were McDonalds and Burger King near the beach. What a nice atmosphere…we loved it. We ate, walked around a little more, passed by a Brazilian party (we even got a pamphlet for courses in Australia) and went back to the room.
Day 4 - Wednesday (13/06/2012)
We woke up early, had breakfast at Subway and we took a bus to the other park called Movie World. We were able to see the city better during the day and we simply loved it! We regretted staying for such a short time. Beautiful people, modern buildings, greenery, cool cars, beach vibe and best of all: lots of sun. I loved it!
We arrived at the park before the gates opened and we were already planning our way there with the map in hand. When we entered, we realized that this one had many more rides than the other and that it was also much more crowded. Patience…
We went on the Scooby Doo roller coaster, SuperMan, on a water ride that gets you really wet, we watched a really cool car show and also the stop, which is the parade with all the Warner characters. I thought it was pretty tacky to be honest, but I saw the kids excited.
Even with this cheesy show, we liked Movieworld much more than DreamWorld. I think the adult rides surprised us more, as did the structure of the park itself. If you have more time, be sure to go to the water parks. They looked really interesting and they have promotional packages that make the water parks almost free. 🙂 We'll have to go back to try it out, that's for sure.
We left the park at the last possible minute and caught the bus to the train station, which would take us back to the town of Thorneside. We got there and went to dinner with our hostess at a Thai restaurant in the neighboring town, which had delicious food. I didn't catch the name, sorry.
We returned home, packed our bags, booked a taxi to the airport and went to sleep. The next day, we took a flight to Alice Springs (Australian desert) with a stopover in Cairns for just 2 hours.
I told you all about our trip through the Australian Desert in this post: Alice Springs (Australia Desert) in 5 days
All posts from this trip
- Summary of 30 days in Australia and New Zealand
- Itinerary – Sydney and Blue Mountains (5 days)
- Itinerary – Auckland, Waitomo and Rotorua (3 and a half days)
- Itinerary – Christchurch, Arthur's Pass, Franz Josef and Fox Glacier (4 days)
- Itinerary – Queenstown and Milford Sound (4 days)
- Itinerary – Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, Philip Island and Yarra Valley (7 days)
- Itinerary – Brisbane, Surfers Paradise and Gold Coast (5 days)
- Itinerary – Alice Springs (Australian outback) (5 days)
