Brisbane - 5 Feb

We arose at 5am again.  So I’m back on track, but 5am is way too early for Greg.  We had our large coffees while pounding away on our laptops.  Greg was on-line and reading about the flooding; Moree which is about 300kms from here reports competition between poisonous snakes and people for space on rooftops, where 30,000 houses have been swamped, 35 people have perished, and in Townsville, our next destination, accumulation continues with 18cms pouring over that city yesterday.  I think we should take the sun with us when we leave Brisbane.

Strolling along Queen Street Mall, we made our way to Brisbane Square where we came upon a long line up of people with suitcases.  Upon investigation of what we may be missing, we found that it was a community garage sale and the sellers were all registering with the hopes of being assigned a shady spot to protect them from the relentless sun while selling their wares. 

Continuing along, we crossed the Victoria Bridge and strolled past the Performing Arts Centre along the riverside.  There was an incredibly long swimming area called Streets Beach.  The pools are built to look like natural beaches complete with sand, rocks, palm trees and lush greenery and built for all ages and stages.  They were packed! 

Further along on Little Stanley Street, an artisans market offered many unique creations of clothing, household items, books, jewellery, etc.

After a lengthy search for a restaurant to satisfy my craving for dim sum, we came upon the only Chinese restaurant in the area.  It was delicious and the air-conditioning was a welcome relief from the heat and humidity.

We backtracked to our room for a short rest before heading out for our adventure of the day; a twilight climb on Story Bridge.  Construction began in 1935 and as the story goes, a neighbourhood battle to keep the local pub intact emerged successful and is why the base of the bridge curves around the pub.  There were many safety rules to learn and a breathalyzer to pass before admittance to the climb.  Climbers are literally connected to the bridge through a cabled harness system and must shed anything that may fall on the 6 lanes of traffic below, including scrunchies!  The climb, along with the interpreter, gave us a splendid view of the city and a good overview of the city’s history and landmarks.  Once we get the CD photos our adventure, I’ll be sure to update this post.

An engineer on a bridge.

 Here we are on the top of Story Bridge.  Really!  I know the picture looks fake, but it's not.

Here we are in the centre of Story Bridge.  Ironically, the green screen shot they took did not turn out.

The Inner City Ferry ride back to North Bank Parklands was just perfect.  We got a wonderful view of the city all lit up.