Arrival at Brisbane

brisbane1
Originally uploaded by chazjac

April 29
Brisbane
Sunny and Mild

What a change from Canberra. It is a sunny and warm afternoon here, just made for a stroll about the town. I just got back from a very nice walk using a couple of the bridges over the Brisbane River.

It was cold but sunny this morning in Canberra. While I was uploading the journal entry and a few photos from yesterday, I noticed that our coach had already arrived, about 45 minutes early. He thought he was to pick us up at 7:30, while my contract said 8am. It of course was not a problem for us, but I felt badly for him, as he had nothing to do for about a half hour. The students started showing up at 7:30, and we had the coach full and ready to go by 7:45. So, it's all good!

As we drove to the airport, we saw frost on the ground. It was really cold in Canberra last night! There had been snow in the mountains south and west of us, which means that skiing season is arriving for Australians about a month early. But I have seen frost only one other time while in Australia: our second year, while on a sunrise camel tour in the desert.

The flight from Canberra to Brisbane was an uneventful 90 minutes. Our train ride into Brisbane made me a little nervous, as the recorded announcement kept saying that the train was an express and would only be making limited stops. But it stopped at Roma St., and we got off, walked out of the station and over to the Tin Billy.

Tin Billy is a very simple hostel: clean, nice features, and a good location. Of course it's near the station, so that helps a lot. There is a pub adjoining it so students can get a meal that's fairly inexpensive, and it's a short walk to the city center. We've used it for several years now, whenever the course has gone through Brisbane. It's also pretty quiet, and this year, our rooms are not on the street side. That was one drawback of the Y Hotel: the rooms faced a very busy street, and it could get quite loud. But I anticipate quiet evenings here.

For the first time on the trip this year, my colleague and I will share a room. That's a departure from past years, where Larry and I usually had twin shares, and I am a little mystified that the Y Hotel and Canberra YHA gave us two singles -- we were charged for one twin share in both locations. I did not complain; it's always nice to have some space. But it will be fine, and the room is very nice.

I spent the afternoon looking for the new dock for the Mirimar. In past years, the boat would depart from the north side of the river -- that's the side we're on. But this year, it leaves from the south side, so we need to cross to get to it. It's about a half hour walk; not too bad. From the maps, it appeared that there were two bridges that would serve us equally well in getting to the boat, so I wandered about to figure out the shortest route.

The Brisbane River is a tidal river, salty for much of its length, then brackish. Like any tidal river, it changes course four times a day. Sharks do inhabit the river, so humans tend not to use it so much for swimming, though I have seen water skiers on it in some years. The river does empty into the ocean, widening as it becomes the waterway for a major industrial port.

In the city, it is lined with parklands and docks. The parklands are like most in Australian cities: kept up well and friendly to the users. Since swimming in the river is problematic, many of the parklands will have swimming pool areas as well that include artificial beaches. Most of the docks are private; there is a lot of pleasure boating on the river, and some folks will have craft worthy enough for the coastal ocean waters. Brisbane Public Transit does operate RiverCat ferries, so some of the docks serve as terminals for these. There are only a few bridges across the river, so certainly there are traffic snarls; the RiverCats presumably alleviate that.

And tomorrow, we will sail up the Brisbane River to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.