Spent Tuesday walking Brisbane - we literally spent 6 hours just walking round the city. Brisbane benefits from having footpaths all along the river side and so we walked from where we were staying in the New Farm area into the city and from there to the Botanic Gardens and round the river bank until we crossed the river to the South Banks Park for lunch where they have created an artificial beach on the river bank. Spent an hour or two looking round the Museum and Art Gallery which were both really interesting. The Museum had an exhibition about the indigenous peoples and the Gallery was showing Pacific Art which were both well worth visiting.

Finally walked further along the river bank watching some rock climbers scale the cliffs and back across the Story Bridge. Managed to get soaked on the way back from the supermarket - really not prepared for rain which was cold and driving (reminiscent of home).

We stayed in a lovely old colonial house in Brisbane which had been renovated and turned into a particularly well equipped hostel. We are adjusting to hostel life, perhaps partly mentally regressing to the students we once were back in the day. Though, as we prepare our meals of cut price -not quite out of date salads and stir-fry, it's difficult not to slip into adopting a parental attitude towards the other guests. For example one young Kiwi lad was living on cut price Weetabix for all his meals, as everything else was so expensive . We had to stop ourselves from giving a lecture on the importance of 5 a day, or even sharing our own roast chook with new potatoes and salad. (We didn't though cos we had walked all day and were famished).

A really interesting young French couple were also staying there with a 2 year old little boy. They were on a world tour and we so admired their nerve to take off on a sabbatical with a baby! Typical French though preparing a meal with garlic, meat and three veg whilst we were coping with microwaving a risotto.

Today we drove from Brisbane to Noosa visiting the Glass House mountains on the way (so called because they reminded Captain Cook of the glass furnaces of home-can't see it myself but perhaps the good captain was blessed with a huge imagination, either that or he had been over indulging in some of the local fungii). They really are odd shaped and the aborigines have a wonderful story about the father mountain cracking a son mountain over the head and making his neck crooked because he ran away instead of protecting his pregnant mother (a rounded mountain). In my opinion a far more vivid and exciting explanation than they looked a bit like a factory in Saint Helens.

Noosa seems lovely - we have planned to spend 3 days here to enjoy the beach, river and national park. It is a funny mix of laid back beach/surf culture and jet set lifestyle with up market shops, hotels and villas with private yachts. Looking forward to exploring in more depth in the morning.