Brisbane, The City – 12/17/2012
Dec 21st, 2012 by admin
On Monday we finally got to see a bit of Brisbane. Brisbane is a large city with older colonial buildings dwarfed by new glass-walled skyscrapers. It’s a city of just over a million people and it has the energy and vibe of a big, modern city.
Our hotel, the Manor Apartment Hotel, is just lovely. It’s a remodeled Art Deco building that has been set up as an all suite or apartment hotel. It’s very nice and our room, apartment really, is a bedroom, living room and kitchen. You could easily move in here for an extended stay. An added advantage is that the hotel is located right in city center, one block from a huge pedestrian mall and 2 blocks from the River Walk on the Brisbane River. Very convenient.
We get up, get a small breakfast in the hotel and head out for a short walk to South Bank where there’s a boat that will take us to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It’s an hour and 15 minute ride up the Brisbane River with a taped narration all the way. The narration is a bit hokey but it is informative.
We get to the Sanctuary where we have about three hours to wander about. The Sanctuary is really a very open zoo. The koalas are on enclosures but the enclosures are small and open sided which puts the koalas only an arm length away. Though it’s a zoo most of the animals are so close that it’s hard to remember that it’s more zoo than sanctuary.
They have a large number of kangaroos and wallabies that are kept in a large, fenced field. The visitors are allowed in the field to feed and touch the kangaroos. Not a “wild” experience but rather nice nonetheless.
Then it’s back to the boat and the return to Brisbane. It’s been a very sunny and very hot day. We’re done.
Later down to the River Walk for a Chinese dinner. And then back to the hotel for the night.
Obi-wan
