Top 10 Places to See In Brisbane - Special Guest Post!

I'm not in the position to go anywhere and everywhere in Australia, so when Gagan from Brisbane Blog offered a guest post about Brisbane, I was more than happy to post up the article.

I hope you all join me in welcoming Gagan to The New Australian.

Top 10 Places to See in Brisbane

Brisbane is the state Capital of Australian State Queensland and is the largest city of the state. This Beautiful city is located on the Brisbane River and is surrounded by many national parks, rivers and inlets. Brisbane is the third most popular destination for tourists after Sydney and Melbourne. The City contains a lot of Museums, art galleries, parks providing tourists lot of places they can explore and spend quality time. In this article we would be putting the Top 10 Places which you can’t afford to miss on your Brisbane Trip.

Mount-Coot Tha

Mount-Coot Tha is a mountain suburb in Brisbane. The Mountain is 287 meters above sea level and is located at 6 Km in the west of Brisbane. The Monut-Coot Tha reserve contains more than 1500 hectares of native wildlife. The lookout includes cafe, gift shop and restaurant. There are several track of different difficulty levels involving some uphill sections or Tops.

South Bank Parklands

South Back Parklands is another popular place to visit in Brisbane. It is located at the Southern Bank of Brisbane River and includes lot of attractions like Wheel of Brisbane, Swimming lagoon, street Beaches. More than 200 events are organized in South Bank each year. South Bank is also a mecca of Restaurants and Coffee Shops , where you can enjoy flavors of all around the world.

Roma Street Parkland

Roma Street Parkland is spread over 16 hectares of land in the center of Brisbane. It is the largest urban subtropical garden in world. The parkland is divided in to five individually designed themed gardens – Spectacle Garden, The Lake Precinct, The Forest and Fern Gully, Celebration Precinct, Upper Parkland. Roma Parkland is a wonderful recreational are where you can enjoy with your whole family.

Brisbane City Botanic Gardens

The Brisbane City Botanic Garden is located at Garden Point on the Brisbane River. The roughly triangular park contains many rare and unusual botanic species. The Brisbane Gardens are open 24 hours for tourists free of charge. The main Interest of Gardens are the City Gardens Café, the water hill foundation and Gardens Cycle Hire station at Entrance.

Brisbane Forest Park

Brisbane Forest Park is located on the western part of Brisbane adjacent to Mount-Coot Tha reserve. Established in 1973 the Park has informational and educational center of Australian Wildlife. The entrance to the Park is Located at the Gap where you can reach by Bus 383 or Car. You can enjoy Great lookouts, Walking Tracks and picnic spots in the park. The Walk-About Creek Wildlife Centre display Australian wildlife including native birds.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was founded in 1927 and is located in Brisbane Suburb of Fig Tree Pocket. The sanctuary has a diverse wildlife including Koalas, Kangaroos, Wombats, Echidnas and various species of Reptiles. Visitors can feed the free roaming kangaroos in this reserve. You can see lot of colorful birds like Australian Parrots in the Sanctuary. The Entrance of Sanctuary is From Brisbane River which is easily accessible by a private taxi or a local bus.

Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay is 19 km from Brisbane and is the largest bay on the eastern coast of Australia. From Sailing to Sand Toboggan there is lot to do in Moreton Bay. From Swimming to surfing you can enjoy everything in the blue water of Moreton Bay .You can also feed Dolphins at Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resorts on Moreton Island. Events are organized all over the year on Moreton Bay including the most popular Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race. It is one of the most favorite places of tourists who love water sports.

Fortitude Valley

Fortitude valley is suburb of central Brisbane named after 19th century Ship SS Fortitude. It is Brisbane one of the most Fashionable and vibrant Precinct. The valley is known for clubs and nightlife and is the best place for you to visit if you are more in to Partying. The valley is the cultural hub of Brisbane. Local Events are organized all over the year. The main events are Valley Transmission, Valley Fiesta, Valley Jazz Festival and Big Gay Day.

Queensland Cultural Centre

Queensland Cultural Centre is located at South Bank adjacent to Brisbane River. It is the home of important Art institutions of Australia like Queensland Museum, State Library of Queensland, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, and Queensland Art Gallery. Gallery is open every day of the week from 10 am to 5 pm. You can learn a lot about the rich culture and heritage of the country after visiting the Queensland Cultural Centre.

Tamborine Mountain

Tamborine Mountain is located in the south of Brisbane is a 28 Km-square Plateau. The major attraction on Tamborine Mountain is Gallery walk which is a street of Cafes and souvenir shops. Tamborine Mountain has lot of walking Trails passing through Rainforest Regions, cliffs and waterfalls.

***

Gagandeep Singh is working for a Brisbane Australia, which is a complete blog dedicated to information about Brisbane Hotels, Travel and Tourism.

And We're Back

After about a week away (one night in Eden and five nights just south of Bateman's Bay), the husband and I are back and feeling pretty relaxed. The drive back all in one day was a bit hard, but we made good time. We also had a meal voucher, so we didn't have to cook when we got back. (Always a plus after a long trip.)

I didn't do one bit of creative writing during the whole trip, but I am not going to stress about it. Relaxation was the aim of the holiday, and we achieved that aim. The place where we stayed - The Chalet Swisse - certainly is a place I can imagine going back to as a writer's retreat, though.

Now that I'm back and refreshed, I want to make a good start of it. I'm currently looking around for calls for submissions both to write for and to post on InkyBlots. If you have any you want advertised, let me know. Even if I don't qualify/write in that genre, I'm happy to post it on my site.

More for a good start, I have printed off some raw recipes (raw chocolate!) to try in the following weeks. I am excited to try new things and I know I could use a detox after all the seafood mornay I ate...

We missed a heat wave in Melbourne while we were away, but it looks like it's going to get right toasty again, so I'm sure cold and easy meals will be more than welcome.

Ten Things They Never Told Me Before I Moved to Australia

1. Huntsman spiders don’t eat people.

Someone could have told me that before I found my first one. Sheesh.

2. Mail isn’t delivered on Saturdays.

This probably seems like such a strange, little thing to most, but it took me a few weeks to figure out that mail isn’t delivered on Saturdays. I think it is absolutely awesome for the postal workers. I’m not quite sure why there is mail delivery on Saturdays in the States.

I do wish someone had enlightened me, though. The neighbours must have thought I was all kinds of excited to pick up the junk mail…

3. The importance of your 18th and 21st birthdays are reversed here.

In the States, your ‘big’ birthday bash is when you’re 21 and legal to drink. Your 18th is special, too, given you’ve (hopefully) graduated from high school and can now go die for your country. But, of course, it’s just not special until you can drink.

I didn’t do much of anything for my 18th in the States, so I decided to make a big bash of my 21st here. However, it wasn’t until we were eating and having fun that a friend leaned over and told me about the difference. He’d ended up having his 18th overseas and his 21st in Australia like me.

Even so? Best birthday ever.

4. The amount of food choices is stunning.

This probably isn’t true for everyone who visits Australia, but it was in amazing ways for me. The most exotic thing I ever had back in the States was tiramisu when I went with my class to a dinner theatre. I thought I was living well then, that’s for sure.

When I moved over here, my husband and I made it a point to try all the different kinds of food. I’ve had everything from Greek to Chinese, Vietnamese to Italian and Thai to traditional Australian.

If you are a foodie, you must visit Melbourne. That’s what it comes down to.

5. To some people, I will always be a ‘Yank’.

I plan on becoming a citizen in two years and living in Australia for the rest of my life. I’ve made no secret of those facts, either. And, paperwork or not, I feel Australian. This is my home and that’s the end of it.

Yet, even though I can pronounce Mildura properly, drink like an Australian, swear like an Australian sailor and can explain what a hook turn is, that will never be good enough for some people. I try not to let it bother me, because the people who object to where I was born – even though I had no power over that – are very few and far between. A lot of people are even genuinely happy for me.

Still, it would be nice to be accepted period.

6. Australia is huge.

It’s not exactly breaking news that maps don’t do Australia justice and geography isn’t the strong point for most people. I’ve heard the story a few times of ‘a friend of a friend’ who wanted to have breakfast in Melbourne, have lunch in Sydney then a walk over the bridge, spend the evening in Darwin and be back to Melbourne before the day is out. I hate to admit it, but I was also one of those people who didn’t quite get that Australia is massive.

I think we need to make an effort to send out more of those ‘Australia’s size compared to other countries’ postcards.

7. Kangaroo is delicious and healthy.

During my first weeks here, my husband/then boyfriend did something that you are never supposed to do to people: serve them a meal and, after they have finished, tell them they didn’t eat what they thought they did. Thankfully, it worked out for him because the dish was kangaroo and veggies, and I just so happened to love it.

Very lucky for him.

8. Shopping trolleys in Australia are weird.

I don’t know what’s wrong with the trolleys here or how it ever started, but they are weird. Trolleys here just don’t want to go in a straight line.

Admittedly, at first I just thought that Australians were used to pushing their trolleys around at an angle. Then I tried it myself and found I was being dragged out of going in a straight line. Parking lot or grocery store, you never see that sort of thing in the States. Here? I often see people struggling with their trolleys in one way or another.

Strange stuff.

9. You can swear on television.

I love it and I think it’s funny. I’m not quite sure what it says about me, but I am glad to see it happens in Australia and it’s not overly abused.

10. Sex sells – and it is used to sell.

One of my first and funniest memories from my first days in Australia is a shoe commercial that had me staring in shock. Without going into too many details, there was a spider who wanted more every time this woman smacked him with her shoe. In a voice similar to Barry White.

I never used to think of myself from coming from a conservative area, but that certainly turned out to be the case. I would have fallen over in a fit of laughter if I hadn’t been so shocked about that commercial.

Of course, now the novelty has worn off a bit and, when I actually watch television, most of the commercials are tame if not completely boring. Even so I will never forget that kinky shoe commercial.

Until next time…

Vacation Day One

Readers, meet Eden, New South Wales. This is the view from the Bayview Inn. Aaah. There is a similar view from the absolutely magnificent restaurant at the end of the inn.

Aaaah. I'm already feeling more relaxed. Mmm.

(And yeah, we went swimming in the pool. It was a hot, hot day for driving so many kilometres.)

To Be Honest

I have been having a tough time lately for reasons I don't care to mention. I'm not in any sort of trouble that warrants help; it's more the kind that makes me want to curl up in bed and not face the world for a few days.

But, I have work and a life - not to mention a husband - to take care of, so I soldier on and just take a bit longer to get back to normal.

Thank you all for bearing with me.

Making the World a Better Place With Fun

I love these.

Friday Fill-In 148

Friday Fill In

1. It was a dark and stormy night, as it would have been a quite mystical experience to have a night that isn't dark. However, it was nice to have the storm add to the overall ambiance of the night.

2. I cannot stand books being mistreated, especially burned, so I offered to take the books myself.

3. Rushing out, I ran into the screen door.

4. I offered my husband some of my green smoothie for breakfast...I think I heard a howl!

5. Shhhh... the Easter Bunny is coming.

6. I'm going to get cranky if you don't give me something good to eat!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to trying out some new raw recipes and relaxing, tomorrow my plans include working ahead to cover the upcoming holiday and Sunday, I want to sleeeeeep!

They’re Turning Weird in Melbourne - Intro to the Hook Turn

Trams provide regular public transport across the inner suburbs of Melbourne and in times when the freeways and tollways around the city are called car parks (Monash Carpark, Eastern Carpark etc.) by frustrated Melbournites, trams can provide calmer access to many locations.

Mostly things go well for residents and visitors alike, but there is a facet of Melbourne not seen elsewhere. They are labeled with numerous epithets by those who don’t understand them and they provide an easy way to spot visitors to the city.

Hook turns. More recent tramlines are laid in the median strip of roads so they have a free run through traffic, but in the city that isn’t possible. So, at labeled intersections in the centre of Melbourne, right turns are done from the left side of the road.

In Australia, driving is on the left side of the road, like the UK. So as you approach a labeled intersection, wanting to turn right, you move into the left lane and put on your right blinker. (indicator) You proceed through the green light to a point where you’re directly in front of the traffic waiting for their red light to turn green, moving (if possible) to the left of the lane you were in so traffic behind you can go through. And wait.

When the light on the road you wish to turn onto goes green, after checking your rear view for drivers who think red lights mean go really fast to get through before the other road takes off, you promptly (delays will get you honked) turn to your right and travel off down the road.

Three Years

Three years ago on October 11th, 2006, I stared down at beautiful Melbourne as my plane flew in to land at Tullamarine airport. Looking at the beautiful morning sun shining over the landscape, I knew I could be happy here. I knew this could be my home.

Even though I had started my trek in the US so many hours ago and had barely slept on the flight over, nervous anticipation kept me wide awake. I hastily applied some lip gloss and tried to do what I could with my hair. The plane from Sydney to Melbourne was nearly empty anyway, so I didn’t care if I looked a bit silly.

After all, I would be meeting the man I loved in person for the first time. With all the technology of phones, instant messaging and even video chats, meeting in person can never be replicated.

Of course, three years on, I look back on the day and chuckle a bit. I remember taking off my shoes because I didn’t want my husband (then boyfriend) to think I was taller than I actually was. I also remember sitting in awed silence for most of the way home, as I had never been through a city as big as Melbourne. Not to mention that I’d just come from a particularly dreary autumn in the US to the beautiful spring weather of Australia.

And, of course, within hours of arriving, my then boyfriend and now husband treated me to my first legal drink on Australian soil: a strawberry daiquiri.

All while I giggled over the fact that the café we went too actually had a menu item with the word 'ass' in it. (Big Ass Brekkie)

Three years on feels like nothing in regards to the time that has passed – merely a drop in the bucket. But I do feel I have used the time well. I have travelled to nearly every sector of Victoria as well as in many areas of Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales.

I have learned about Australian history and culture, and I have also learned a lot more about the United States than I ever could have learned within its borders. I have been exposed to countless different beliefs, ways of life, philosophies and – of course I have to mention it – food!

Alas, three years on and I still have a lot to learn. While I can have a Captain Cook at all the books I like, there are still things in Australia that only experience can teach you. Even if I wanted to spit out VB when I tried it, and even though I happily admit to liking Asti Riccadonna, putting me squarely in the ‘strange lot’ for some people, I am enjoying every moment of it.

I am even moving more of my attention into Melbourne’s café culture. I have started a website that combines my love of books and reading along with my love of cafés. You can find the site at http://www.downunderviews.com I have a notebook filled with places I’ve been from the Tea Rooms in Hall’s Gap to Center Stage Café in Chelsea, so if you have any recommendations for places you love anywhere in Australia, please do not hesitate to contact me either on the website.

Though I had twenty years in the US, I didn't truly begin living until I came to Australia. Not only because The Bloke and I met and then got married. Not only because I had moved to a new county. I truly began to live because I found the place I was meant to live in and the person I was meant to be with all along.

Australia is a beautiful place, as I am sure I have told you many times and many ways in these posts. I only wish that everyone had the opportunity to travel here and experience life here (and then go home, as too many people not leaving tends to upset the locals a bit).

I’m raising a glass to three beautiful years in a country I absolutely adore and to the man - The Bloke - who made it all possible to happen.

I’m hoping that there will be many more years and good memories to come.

Until next time…

Baking!

All the baking I did?

Now you see...