Obligate sunrise pix
Not on the original list – Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, the third largest city in Australia (2.6M) and definitely bustling without seeming overwhelming. We docked at the new cruise terminal which, as I mentioned last Oct & Nov) is out in the middle of nowhere. It is lovely, shiny, and definitely set up for larger ships. It is the one with the “hike forever” gangways.
Those gangways may go up and down, set to connect with a lot of ships – but it obviously wasn’t worth the people and effort to connect it to a ship that is this small. Not for less than 200 passengers on board. We can go down a gangway to the pavement and walk across the pier, through the building and out to buses.
The shuttle bus dropped us off at ANZAC Square where we met Jill & Graeme. The park itself was full of trees, statues, benches and walls all around with [it seems] the names of all the towns every in Australia.
The next portion of the day was spent walking around and generally enjoying the sites. Ignoring some of the challenges (schools are out for summer vacation – The Brisbane main museum wasn’t an option. The Dinosaurs might be a brilliant exhibit but there were hundreds of the small demons pushing and shoving in every area of the exhibits). The Maritime Museum, for whatever reason, was also closed. Off the downer stuff….
So we wandered through the city museum which had extensive art exhibits beyond the standard history of the city and it’s growth
Meet “Wall’oh’roos”
including incredible botanical paintings, plus yarn crocheted art by an 80+ woman who didn’t want to give up having flowers when she wasn’t mobile enough for extensive gardening.
Brisbane grew up along its’ river and there is both a ferry system that runs its length and the City Hopper which covers a small central section for free which we took from North Wharf to the Marine Museum (closed) and then back to the Queensland Museum area and complex.
I mentioned all the kids? Right. Skipping the main museum, George and I elected the Art Museum and Gallery after lunch while Jill & Graeme headed back to the train station. There were no children in the art museum which we perused.
The variety of items on display was extensive; ranging from early settler’s oils and textiles through Aboriginal Art. I completely skipped the really avant guard stuff. If it needs an essay to explain it….
It was mid afternoon when we hiked back to ANZAC Square and caught the bus back to the ship.
