Australia 3.1

Our third trip to Australia in January and February this year was all about seeing son Stephan and his family for the first time since 2022, while using the opportunity to see more of Australia – a huge country we are getting to know in small instalments.

The ‘instalment’ this time around was based on a suggestion by Stephan that we meet the family in Sydney and do a slow road trip up the east coast to Brisbane, where we would catch a flight to Mackay in Queensland, their new home town. That appealed to us, as it meant spending quality time with the family while our grandkids had school holidays and Stephan was on leave, at the same time seeing a part of Australia that we had not visited before.

We had left Sydney behind and enjoyed two days each at Caves Beach, Nambucca Heads and Gold Coast, now it was time to conclude our road trip with a short visit to Brisbane

Wednesday – Some shopping and a slow trip to Brisbane

After checking out of the Meriton Suites in Gold Coast, we tagged along with the family to the nearby Pacific Fair shopping mall, with no particular goal in mind other than to see what it looked like and while away some time before undertaking the (supposedly) short trip to Brisbane, a mere 75 kms away.

What we found was a mall much like those in all big cities with the usual mix of shops, some with names we recognised, others not, and walkways full of people of all ages but predominantly young and fashionable.

First stop was at Le Bon Croix restaurant for tea/coffee and something delicious – the choice of croissants and tarts, the latter fresh and brightly coloured, was tempting

After some deliberation I chose this slightly more conservative one to accompany my coffee

Then the girls did a round of the shops with the boys in tow, before returning to the car and setting off to Brisbane.

Traffic was painfully slow all the way to the highway and for most of the way to Brisbane, which turned the short journey into a 3 hour affair.

Thank goodness for the technology that provides a map and directions on the console – it’s hard to imagine driving in a foreign country to a city you have never been to before without it.

Nevertheless, driving in constant traffic on roads you have never driven on before is not easy (dare I say especially at our age), so it was not surprising that I missed the turn into the Indigo Hotel Brisbane City and had to find my way around a series of one-way, busy city streets to get back to the hotel, adding to the already somewhat nervy state I was in.  I was mightily relieved once we had offloaded our bags, got them to the room and I had taken the car to the off-site parking a block away.

The family had delayed their trip due to the traffic, so we went in search of a restaurant on our own, ‘following our noses’ along strange streets and ending up a few blocks down George Street at Lennons in the Hyatt Hotel – we enjoyed a good dinner and by the time we got back to the hotel the family had arrived.

Birds added: None!

Thursday – Brisbane – Gardens and the Museum

We slept a bit later and went for breakfast as late as allowed.

We had decided to visit the Botanical Gardens in the city, so we ubered there and took a slow walk from the drop off point, taking in the lush forest like gardens along the way.

A cafe with a view beckoned for tea…

Refreshments were accompanied by the presence of Noisy Miners and an Australian White Ibis / Bin Chicken as well as a Water Dragon that dashed between our legs causing a flutter or two.

 A nice surprise awaited when we carried on along the pathways, in the form of three Bush Stone-Curlews standing like statues among the trees.

I had hoped to find this species, which is of the same genus as our Dikkops – Burhinus – so is akin to being a cousin, albeit on a different continent.

Further on we came to the ponds which held a number of Dusky Moorhens.

At one of the ponds I noticed two birds flying low over the water and snatching something from the surface. On closer inspection of the photos and after comparing my photos with the Birding app, my hopes for another lifer were confirmed – Blue-faced Honeyeater.

This juvenile Laughing Kookaburra was quite content scratching about in the leaf litter and seemed unconcerned by our presence

The kids were keen to visit the Queensland Museum and with closing time just an hour away we ubered there from the main gate of the gardens. It was a worthwhile trip with outstanding exhibits although we had to rush it a bit.

The digital recreations of prehistoric scenes were particularly impressive

We all found something interesting to see, mine being the displays of Aussie birds and butterflies

On the way back we had a glimpse of the river and views of the city from the minibus cab that we called

No this is not the cab! Just a sleek Aston Martin outside our hotel

We rounded off the day with a last meal in the hotel restaurant, which was Japanese fusion and our ‘Wagyu Bagas’ were the best burgers we’ve had in a long while.

Tomorrow we travel ‘home’ to Mackay on the last leg of a memorable trip.

Triplist – Birds added

• Bush Stone-Curlew at the Botanical Gardens
• Blue-faced Honeyeater at the Botanical Gardens
• Australian Brushturkey on the lawns where we waited for our Uber

Friday – Brisbane to Mackay

The last morning in Brisbane required some careful planning – we had to return the rental car to a site near the airport by the designated time of 10.30am and fit in breakfast, final packing, fetching the car from the parking garage off-site and getting the baggage loaded.

Before returning the car we also had to find a filling station and fill the tank (myself – no attendants here) Fortunately it all worked out nicely and we were dropped off at the terminal by the rental company’s shuttle bus with plenty of time to spare.

We had almost four hours to wait for the flight, which went surprisingly quickly, and the flight was just an hour and a half.

We were at the house by 6pm and immediately had a swim in the pool to shake off the hot and humid conditions – just a taste of the “Durban on steroids” weather we would experience for the next three weeks.

We are looking forward to our stay in Mackay which a first impression suggests is a pleasant town without pretension.

Footnote on modern travel

Just when you think you can deal with everything modern travel throws at you, something new crosses your path! Checking in online is old hat but I have always relied on an actual person at a check-in desk to drop off our bags. That wasn’t an option when checking in at Brisbane Airport, so I just had to figure out how to do the label printing and baggage drop without the aid of another human being for the first time – very intimidating!

Travel nowadays is all but entirely reliant on technology, and it is a constant learning curve and a mind challenge for the older generation – you really have to keep your wits about you, even when doing something ‘ordinary’ such as riding in a lift….

The lift at the apartment suite we rented in Gold Coast had no buttons in the car – you choose your destination when calling for a lift in the lobby and the smart technology does the rest. Still rather unnerving to get into a lift car that has no controls other than door opening and closing buttons.

Oh well, we live and learn…