I visited Brisbane for a long weekend, staying with friends who had moved there in January. Emma and I spent Friday afternoon wandering Chinatown and South Bank. I was hugely impressed with the park and the beach – plenty of people were making the most of their chance to swim and soak up the sun.
South Beach Park and Pools
We followed the river along the cliffs and wound up at the iconic Story Bridge Hotel, just in time to cheer on the Hurricanes rugby team and treat ourselves to a couple of delicious ice-cold ciders.
Brisbane River
We devoted Saturday to a road-trip to the GC – home of the Mozzies*. As Emma and Will hadn’t made it down there yet either, we started at the Spit at the northern end and meandered down the coast, stopping frequently to gawk at the lack of beaches. The Gold Coast has been hit hard by erosion caused by a combination of floods and cyclones, with the result that the sand in many places is only a metre wide and cliff-like, rather than the normal golden expanse.
Broadbeach – not so broad…
We were pleasantly surprised that, far from the concrete strip of high rises and cheap hostels I had been expecting, much of the coastline is protected from the sprawl by green parkland. With playgrounds, BBQ areas, and even exercise machines, there was lots of room for people to enjoy the area, and it meant that the beach didn’t feel like just an extension of the street.
We made our way down to Burleigh Heads Beach to meet Julian, where happily a bit more sand remained, and made the most of the gorgeous sunshine and fun waves. A scrummy late lunch at Govinda’s (my first Hare Krisna cafe!) and a bit more sun time completed our awesome day.
Burleigh Heads Beach
* Maori Ozzies, as covered by the shocker of a reality-tv show, ‘The GC’.
