Brisbane

Trip Start Sep 11, 2008

Trip End Jun 05, 2009

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Where I stayed

Chill Backpackers

(Brisbane hotels)

Flag of Australia Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Monday, December 29, 2008

We got the bus from Agnes Water down to Brisbane. I only booked it from the middle of nowhere stop Fingerboard Road and planned to save a few dollars paying Macca to take us there in his bus as he swings by all the hostels every day regardless. The Greyhound left Fingerboard Road at 9.20 and at 8.40 we were still sitting outside the hostel waiting for Macca to turn up. We were really starting to panic, he was 20 mins late and we had alreay paid for the bus and a bus train combo to Sydney the next day. If we missed the Greyhound we would miss the connection the next day and lose about $400. Lucy found the owner and got him to phone Macca who said the Greyhound was stuck up north and would be 2 hours late. In true Queensland way he just wasn't going to tell anyone until they contacted him. When we did get picked up we still had to wait ages at Fingerboard Road chatting to Macca who is actually a great bloke, a proper Aussie, and his mate who runs the Scooteroo chopper tours.
We got into Brisbane about 8pm and dumped the bags at the ridiculously overpriced hostel with tiny rooms and no aircon or fan and windows which don't open. Luckily it was cloudy and cool. We headed straight out into the city searching for a pub and some food. We abandoned all ideas of saving money as we had mostly already done in Australia and went in the first pub we came across, Irish Murphys for a pint of Kilkenny then on to Nandos for a large super giant greasy combo chicken meal thing. We decided to keep drinking but after heading to a Belgian beer place with half pints for $12 and being accosted by Romanian Christians trying to convert the already very religious Lucy to Christianity we decided one pint was enough for the night and headed home. She did get a free book though.
In the morning we had time to go for a big fry up at a posh cafe on the banks of the Brisbane River and check out the lagoon with its inner city beach. I found the Skycorp Plaza, a large covered amphitheatre open to the public screening the cricket on a huge screen with just a couple of drunks asleep watching it but they bowled the last ball before lunch as I arrived. Took me a while to realise it was in Melbourne an hour ahead, having just finished my breakfast. The roads along the banks of the river are all on stilts above the water and are tangle up like bits of spaghetti which looks wierd, the skyline would be pretty cool otherwise. Its quite a small city and feels very friendly. We went to the museum which was cool, free, quite small and varied. Then we rushed back to the hostel, picked up the bags and headed to Brisbane Transit centre for a 17 hour overnight bus and train to Sydney...