THE CITY OF BRISBANEBrisbane (pronounced BrizBan) is Australia’s third largest city and is the Capital of Queensland with just on 2 million residence. The city is built around the Brisbane River that snakes it way from the hinterland down to Moreton Bay. The CBD (central Business District) is approximately 23 kilometre’s from the rivers mouth in Moreton Bay, this vibrant city CBD is roughly 2 kilometre’s in area so is a easy walk around .The city lay out is in a grid setting with the streets running east to west named after the females The streets running north to south are named after the males with the financial sector down near the river running along Market Street this district also house the street market on a Sunday morning. Queen street Mall being the main thoroughfare the Queen street Mall is a pedestrian zone only and take in from William street to the west to Edward street to the east and has numerous shopping malls and eateries and pubs in the area as well as some Major hotels.
The CBD also has the wide variety of accommodation from backpacker hostels and apartments, hotels vary from 5 stars down to affordable 3 stars. We use The Australian dollar and do not have daylight saving in the city or state of Queensland
The Climate Brisbane is a Subtropical city which means hot humid wet summers and dry mild winters
The Summer temp from November thru to march of 30C (86F) minimums of 21C (70F), the rainfall is approximately 11 days a month during this period with an average rainfall of 100mm or 4inches.
The Autumn (Fall) March thru to May temperatures are 25C (79F) and minimums of 15C (50F),
The Winter temps are from June to August 22C (71F) and minimums are 10C (50f) these can get lower during the end of winter where we usually experience minimums of 5-8c
The Spring temps are from September thru to November 26C (79F) and minimums of 16C (61F)
The TransportationBrisbane has a diverse range of transport options from Buses, trains, ferries, taxis, and bicycles, With the Buses etc you will need a Go card it is a prepaid swipe card that you swipe when you get on or off the transport, all buses ferries and local trains use this card so you can use it to get on a bus to the city a ferry across the river then a train to get back home if you have that transport facility near you.
There is a bus service called the great circle line that takes you to most of Brisbane’s major shopping centres. You can get on them at any Major shopping centre and go from the north to the south side of Brisbane via bus. The Buses also travel from Mount Gravatt bus interchange along the bus way into the city‘s Queen street bus station, this is the central hub for most of the buses going to various destinations with in the city.
The Brisbane transit centre is located in Roma Street and is the Hub for all intra and interstate buses and trains this is where you come into or leave Brisbane via road and rail. The Central station in town also has the airport Train that takes you to both the international and domestic airports.
TelecommunicationsBrisbane has the same area code as the rest of Queensland which is 07 Public phone boxes are slowly being phased out so a mobile phone is nearly essential tool today. The internet is widely available thru either hostels cafe’s or hotels it is rather expensive compare to overseas countries some places charge as much as 10 dollars an hour if you look around libraries have free internet for an hour some universities have it as well. Telstra and Optus are the main mobile phone suppliers there are others but for reliability I would suggest you stay with Telstra as it has the better coverage and less drop outs is dearer but depending on how long your stay is they maybe worth the extra money there is also calling cards that maybe used from private and public phones to call loved ones back home or to book accommodation else where in Queensland.
Things to see and DoBrisbane has a wide variety of places to visit and entertainment precinct’s to visit
Alma Park Zoo
Lone Pine Koala sanctuary
Performing arts complex
South bank markets and parklands
Queen Street Mall
Fortitude Valley’s China Town
DFO airport and Jindalee
Botanic Gardens
Roma Street Parklands
Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens
Mount Coot-tha Lookout
Bike ways Brisbane has over 27klm (16 miles)
Story Bridge Adventure climb
Kangaroo point cliff rock climb
Various produce and craft markets mainly on weekends
The Sports
Brisbane has the following sports
Winter sports are as follows
Rugby League
Rugby Union
Australian Rules
Soccer (football)
Lawn bowls
Grid Iron (Only at special places)
Summer sports
Cricket
Baseball
Tennis (all year round)
Swimming (most pools are closed for the winter and only selected pools are heated in the winter)
The HealthBrisbane has 8 major Hospitals and 4 private and various GP doctors with in the community all of these will see you in an emergency it is a user pays system for foreign travellers but if you have travel insurance then you may reclaim the cost via your insurance .
The water is good to drink as well no need to buy bottled water unless u like wasting good money on water that is not needed even Australians buy bottled water but that is because they have been brain washed into believing it is better where in fact the tap water is a lot better than bottled
The LawsWe drive on the left hand side of the road like the rest of Australia; the legal age for driving is 18 on a P Plate and 20 on an Open license. The drinking age here is 18 with photo id and the legal limit is 0.05% blood alcohol when driving a vehicle. The speed limits vary depending where you are in the inner CBD it is 40kph in the suburbs on minor roads it is 50kph and on other roads it is 60 on two lane roads speeds maybe posted as 70 or 80 kph and the maximum speed unless posted is 100kph some sections of motorway are 110kph.
Pedestrians have right of way on all crossings unless traffic lighted then they have to wait for the green walk sign.
The Customs We do not Tip in Australia unless you feel that the service was exceptional, we don’t expect a tip so are embarrassed when we are given a tip. If some one asks for a tip you are quite with in your rights to tell them no and walk away.
Australian are know to given rude gestures and verbal abuse towards their mates listen to the tone of it and don’t jump in thinking you are protecting them as it is usually done in jest.
We say thank you for service given and are polite to servers and other customer service people they are there doing a job so expect to be treated politely.
The BanksThere are major Banking facilities with in the CBD and surrounding suburbs plenty of ATM machines it is advised that you check the ATM's carefully for tampering as there has been a spate of ATM skimming machines found attached not just in Brisbane but world wide so as a security precaution i do advise that you check the ATM if in doubt go to another. The Hours of operation vary but generally most Banks and institutions are open between 9am and 4.30 pm
Major Credit cards are excepted all over be aware some retailers and outlets charge an extra fee for use especially Diners and American express cards.
Quick links to services Brisbane tourism
http://www.ourbrisbane.com/see-and-dohttp://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/brisbane/Weather
http://www.weather.com.au/qld/brisbanehttp://www.bom.gov.au/qld/forecasts/brisbane.shtmlTrans link for all transport needs
http://www.translink.com.au/Brisbane Airport For flight times and departures
http://bne.com.au/flight-info-bookings/sea...departure-times
starter kit For Brisbane
Aug 25 2010, 09:17 PM
well done!
