Wednesday March 08, 2023
The day started as we docked at the brand new Cruise Terminal which was completed at a cost of $185 million dollars in 2020 using more that 2,000 pillars to hold the walkways dock and a very luxurious terminal. As COVID hit, there was no traffic so it stood, unused for a couple of years and has only been open for a couple of months. As such it was a maiden call and we docked port to dock. It is about 1/2 hour coach ride into Brisbane and is located in a very industrial area close to the container port. It was surprising that there were no shops of any kind, just on / off access immigration and customs, and all the usual needed items for a port. Perhaps once it starts getting used in the future some shopkeepers / cafe facilities, will set up their areas.
Today the tour was to visit / drive through Brisbane, go to the top of a hill for a brief stop to admire the view and then go to a Koala and other indigenous animal shelter. The coach seemed also to be new, which was great, but the three microphones, one wired, one Bluetooth and the third used mainly by the driver, didn’t really work so the guide, who never divulged his name had to talk in a loud once. Unfortunately, there was a blind man in the front row that was listening to his emails making it difficult for all to hear, then the driver put on music until one of the guests suggested we have a little more focus on the guide. Anyway, after about half an hour we went through the town, with the “old” buildings dating to the 1880’s. There is a great deal of construction, with many of the areas being torn down (including the Mexican Restaurant Guzman y Gomez – where Diana and Nelson got tacos last time) and they are building Olympic ventures in their place. The swimming pool will be above the railway station for example so major works are being done as Brisbane will be the host of the Summer Olympics in 2032. It is a nice, clean modern city of 2.5 million and as most cities, there is a lot of traffic, but there are several green parks and even a small botanical garden in town.
We then drove up Sir Samuel Griffith Drive to the top (226 meters / 741 feet above sea level) to the Mt. Coot-tha Summit Lookout, which has a nice view of the city and a cafe, small shop and interesting boards with facts and figures. While originally it was called “One Tree Hill” it was changed to the aboriginal name of Coot-tha or Kuta meaning Place of Honey. We had 20 minutes at this stop and 4 women arrived back on the bus 20 minutes late which did not put those already on the coach in a good mood!!! There was a small settlement of aborigines that lived in Morton Bay in 1830’s. With the advent of British prisoners, this was transformed together with “free” settlers by the 1860’s, and by 1910 it was already a town with many colonial buildings and became the Capital of the State of Queensland.
We then continued about 15 minutes in the coach to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary at 708 Jesmond Road, Fig Tree Pocket, Queensland 4069, (Phone +617-3378-1366, web – http://www.lonepinekoalasanctuary.com), where we stayed for 3 hours. This was formed in 1927 by Claude Reid who realized there was a need to save the koalas, with just 2 koalas. The name comes from the sole pine, planted in a cotton fields by Daniel Clarkson in 1867, and was the only pine in the area and used as a marker for people coming up the Brisbane River. The pine stands at the entrance of the complex. The first Mirimar River cruise arrived in 1934 and by 1990 the wildlife animal hospital was opened and was cited in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s first and largest Koala Sanctuary.
The two highlights of this experience were feeding the Kangaroos and wallabies and getting “up close and personal” with the numerous Koalas (Phascolarctos Cinereus) in the complex. It is a cross between a zoo and a conservation and education experience where there are many local Australian animals. Queensland is the only place where one can hold Koalas as they rotate the 100 or so Koalas that they take care of so they don’t get too stressed out.They will only allow a certain number of people to touch the Koalas before they close the queue. Unfortunately it was closed down before we got to the front on three separate occasions. A strong suggestion for next time or those that plan on visiting – book a time on-line. Going through the website you can book a time to hold and have your picture taken with the Koalas. A QR code will appear on your device which guarantees you a place, jumping the queue and allowing for a definite picture with a Koala. The fees they charge help to defray the cost of maintenance, as does the entrance fee. They will also do pictures with snakes and dingos. Koalas have a gestation period of 33-35 days and then the baby (about the size of a jellybean) crawls into the pouch where it continues growing. We had three hours at the place which was about right although they do have “shows / demonstrations” of birds (free flight raptor), dogs (sheep hoarding), food and shops etc that you can attend and participate in the event. Eastern Water Dragon lizards were roaming wild and one needed to take care not to step on them: they are large lizard type animals, resembling an iguana and can remain under water for an hour if necessary. Another interesting animal was the Southern Cassowary (Casuarius Casuarius Johnsonii) a large black flightless bird (like the ostrich) with fancy head ornamentation, but as they lack a tongue they swallow their food whole and thus in their excrement, the seeds come out whole and thus they are great dissemination’s of seeds. One of the “Ugly” ones was the Tasmanian Devil – a black dog like creature with a nasty face a bit like a pig with tusks. The Platypus is an aquatic mammal that lays eggs, it is one of the only mammals that produces venom and the male has a venomous spur on its hind legs that can create excruciating pain if it stings a human and uses electrolocation by sending out waves from it’s flat out (like radar) to locate prey. There is boating on the water and you can take a trip back to Brisbane on the water (Mirimar Cruises – mirimarcruises.com.au; Phone 0412-749-426). As we were leaving there was a sign that indicated distances from where we were to certain cities around the world: London – 16,519 km; New York – 15,500 km; Mexico City – 12,690 km to name a few.
We returned to the coach and decided to be dropped in town at ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Square, where a very helpful lady pointed out a good restaurant / pub just across the street in the red brick Grand Central Hotel. We took her advice and had a nice lunch washed down by a special Australian beer which is 10% alcohol. We wandered down to the Queen Street mall and found an excellent “gelateria” so enjoyed pistachio, mint and “dulce de leche” ice creams. We returned, tired via the 1/2 hour ride in the shuttle bus and retired to a shower and bed, skipping supper and the show as we were still full from the delicious late lunch.
Roger & Anne Travels 