In Brisbane we stayed in a really nice hostel called Bunk, which has its own pool and bar. We thought it was further out of town than it was, so for the first day we kept getting the train everywhere until we realised the centre of town was only really about 10 minutes walk away, opps! Darn maps, so deceiving!

On our first day there, we (got the train) into town and visited the old Town Hall, which had beautiful ceilings inside and a huge ballroom. We also took the lift up the clock tower for views over the city. The lift passed right up behind the clock face itself, which was illuminated by sunlight and pretty impressive... probably more so than the outside views which were now blocked by newer, taller buildings. After walking around Brisbane centre we realised there wasnt really very much to see, it is just a city like any other and was never going to match the last city we had visited, Sydney. We had a look around a few shops then (got the train) back to the hostel. Later in the evening the bar held a quiz night, which included a round of Blind Date. It was very funny to watch, especially when foreigners got involved. I think some of the more subtle meanings of the questions were lost in translation leading to totally ridiculous and embarrassing answers!

The next day we got the bus out to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, reccommended by my parents. I have been waiting to see koalas for my whole life so I was very excited on the bus, much to Bens amusement! The Sanctuary did not disappoint, with over 100 koalas of all different ages, from "kindergarten" to "nursing home". They were a lot more active than I had expected, moving around to find the best eucalyuptus. The males especially were very active, occasionally fighting with one another and letting out huge grunting noises like pigs! We went to the koala talk and got to stroke a koala called Marcus, then later I held my very own koala :) Childhood dream accomplished! The sanctuary had lots of other animals as well, including kangaroos which we handfed, dingos, emus, native birds and a lone cassowarie. We watched a bird show, which was a total disaster! The first owl flew up into a tree and was then attacked by minor birds...the ranger had to climb up and get it out! Then the hawk flew away into an even more distant tree and wasnt even attracted back by the lure. It was very funny watching the ranger ad-lib for a good 15minutes as everything fell to pieces!

On our final day in Brisbane we walked out to Southbank, across the river, to the parks. There was a long walkway through the grounds, covered over by an impressive flower trellis, leading to a host of man-made lagoons and streams. Shame we didnt have our swimming stuff with us, but it was nice having a paddle. Instead of walking back to the hostel we took the catamaran ferry along the river, which gave us a different perspective of the city. The next morning we took the bus up to our next stop, Noosa.

-S