The epic journey involved leaving Newcastle on a miserable Monday afternoon a perfect time for a get away. Newcastle to Dubai, Dubai to Changi, then onto Brisbane. After only managing two hours sleep in total on the journey over I was feel surprisingly ok when I arrived into Brisbane. Only the flight between Changi & Brisbane had any turbulence, the food was very good as was the entertainment on board.
I had booked a coach transfer that was ready & waiting for me. At the hostel I did have to call & get the girl out of bed. But my room was nice & clean, & there were plenty of facilities on site. Having to make my own bed after a transcontinental flight was quite the challenge though!
I could only manage 3.5hours sleep so I headed down to reception for $1 unlimited coffee to start the morning off right. After chatting with people back home, I donned my cap, grabbed my half a gallon water bottle, and headed off to city hall to meet Linda my Brisbane greeter. Three people had cancelled, so our walk only consisted of myself a woman from Melbourne & a lass from Germany. This allowed us to explore what we wanted very well in the city. As it was a Wednesday there was a market taking place and I grabbed a Bratwurst with sauerkraut & German mustard for my breakfast. Brisbane has undergone quite a change promoting arts and multiculturalism. This all started from the 1988 expo that was held here. Throughout the city are individual pieces of art. We explored old hotels, new building projects, as well as the South Bank area. This area by the river has many fine dining restaurants has as well as a public outdoor pool with an artificial beach. The walk took three hours in total and allowed me to see and learn a lot more than if I had walked around myself.
Despite being summer I seem to have just missed the good weather & rain often interrupted the walk. I was told a cyclone that had come over from New Zealand had closed the beaches at the Gold Coast. Let's hope the weather improves at some point.
I purchased a pair of boots for the evening time before grabbing more German inspired food for lunch. I had chicken schnitzel in the Guilty Rouge pub along with a pint of VB.
The walk and jet lag were taking its toll so I stopped back at the hostel for an hours rest before heading on to the Castlemaine XXXX brewery for their 17:00 tour.
This was a fun intimate affair with only two other German's on the tour with me. The brewery is located in the suburb of Milton but a short walk from my hostel passed Suncorp stadium. On the tour we heard about how Castlemaine had adapted established brewing techniques to produce a beer suited to the hot climate. Of course after the tour the tasting was very enjoyable too.
Around the corner from XXXX was another brewery that was packed with people assembled for a pub quiz. This brewery like a lot of the buildings I had seen today had large veranda areas for people to sit and stay cool.
Rather than heading back into town for dinner as my legs were beginning to ache I had a wander round Claxton another suburb nearby. I stumbled on a very depressing Karaoke night in The Claxton pub and made a sharp exit. My final stop of the night was an absolute belter. Now I know I'm supposed to be exploring Australia but this New Orleans styled music venue was too good to miss, Left's Music Hall. Here I grabbed a fried chicken Po'Boy for dinner with an Old Fashioned cocktail followed by a nice single malt. In my booth I chatted to a couple of mature medical students who should have known better to be out on a school night. The music was great as was the bar itself. It had been awarded the Best Bar in Australia by Gourmet Traveller previously and you can see why.
Rather than push my luck & ruin tomorrow I headed home around half ten. Where my phone told me I had covered 11.68 miles that day in 26 degree heat, definitely bedtime!