Bye Bye Brisbane

It’s time for me to say goodbye to Brisbane! Ouch Ouch, you expect the worst, I promise I’ll try to be objective! Maybe after seeing some koalas, I’ll be more positive ^^.

My experience in Brisbane

Yes, I grant you, I got off on the wrong foot with Brisbane: rain, first uncool hostel, confinement for 3 days, mask for 10 days, and aborted job search… My last article wasn’t the most positive!

Finally I spent a month in Brisbane, like time flies!

I crossed Brisbane a lot! From the middle to the North, to the South, then from West to East, I went up some hills, and I went down some too, not without risk… I think I had a nice panorama of the city…

Ouch, and this is the moment when I’m going to be honest… I’m not transported… It’s like this…

But I take some positive points out of it, all the same !

The happiness of being alone at times

During this month, I enjoyed for more than 3 weeks an Airbnb, from my own room! It was a real pleasure to be able to put my stuff in a cupboard, to get away from the world for a few minutes or a few hours. I have never slept so well, no noise, a large bed. Sometimes paradise is a small thing.

I really don’t regret having made that choice. Yes, sometimes I felt lonely and isolated, but most of the time I liked the solitude.

Fortunately, I had found Eddie again, and he had introduced me to his friends before. So for me it was the perfect balance. Joining Eddie, Mara, Katie, Cassie, Romie… and all the others when I had the time and the desire, and enjoying my cocoon the rest of the time.

A too ambitious to-do list!

During my days in the Airbnb, I had made a huge to-do list! Tons of checklists to check off!

I wanted to write at least eight episodes of Riverside Gardens, I would have written two… (The others are coming soon, I promise!).

I’ve done a lot of freelance work, all the same…

I wanted to finish three books, I would have finished only one…

I’m almost done with my VISA application… Oh yes, I’ve created my SIRET number to continue my freelance job in France, and I’ve taken some steps to apply for unemployment when I get back… I’m really happy about that (ironic tone)!

But then what did I do with all my time? I wrote on other subjects, I slept a lot (I made up for 11 months of bad sleep…) and I had a comeback from the good old procrastination!

And then… well, I pedaled a lot! I had a lot of drinks during the last week… In short, I couldn’t fight against my sociable nature…

Brisbane, an almost objective view!

What makes a city is above all how we feel there, our desires of the moment, our expectations and our surroundings.

I was a bit severe with Brisbane, because I wanted the sea, and Brisbane has only a swimming pool to offer…

My entourage made me see Brisbane a little differently, but the call of the water was too strong and I left. Still, I had a great time and found a good little group of friends. I hope to see them passing by on Noosa.

So Brisbane, as you will have understood, is a modern Australian city, with little soul in my opinion…

But Brisbane is an extremely dynamic city. If you’re not attached to old stones and the sound of the waves, it’s a great place to live. People are warmer there than in Perth, and really warmer than in Paris ^^.

Jazz concert in Southbank (not far from their lagoon-pool, pedestrian esplanade near the river, with lawn, cafes etc.), small market on Saturday (I ate my first French croissant from Australia…), dance and yoga classes, running club, you can arrive perfectly alone and do a lot of free activities to meet new people !

There are more neighborhoods to go out in, Fortitude Valley for big parties, slightly younger population, and West End, more chill, more hippie, more live music and comedy show.

So my summary of Brisbane is bigger than Perth and more lively. Lots of things to do, but not so many things to see (again, it’s the Parisian girl talking) … After around Brisbane, there’s a lot to do : waterfalls, natural parks, Stradbroke Island, Sunshine Coast (I’m there) or Gold Coast.

My favorite one : Lone Pine Koalas Sanctuary

ACTIVITY OF THE LAST SATURDAY…

My Stradbroke Island escapade having fallen in the water, I looked for a nice little activity around Brisbane including animals… I was dreaming of seeing a koala! And I hope to see many more of them.

I could have gone to the Brisbane Zoo in the city center, but I spotted this Koalas sanctuary, accessible by bus. So Hop, with Katie and her buddy Rudy, we went there.

Welcome to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, we start with the birds and the bats, it’s a bit heart-breaking. The cages are small. Damn, for a sanctuary, I thought they would have more room.

Then we go to see the platypus, very very strange as animal… Half duck, half beaver, with almost flippers… I am surprised that they still survive…

THE KOALAS

And then we see our first koalas. Wow! They are so cute, so cute. Moreover, we arrive at the time of the meal, then they are active. We’ll even see one with a nice hard-on, haha, now I can say that I saw a koala penis!

I was expecting a few koala in an enclosure, but there are everywhere, tens, a good hundred koala, babies, dads, females, males, a little everywhere in the park, in semi-enclosed spaces.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

You can watch them for hours, they all take such funny positions to sleep. Some taste the eucalyptus leaves with an expression of delight on their faces. Others sleep with their heads between their legs. Still others shout to attract the females.

Yes, I’m having a good time with Katie watching them. It’s a peaceful half day, yet horribly hot and stifling.

Other animals

The other animals, on the other hand, have little interest, the enclosures are small. I still saw two wombats (it’s massive those sleeping hairballs), a Tasmanian devil (well asleep) and a strange bird whose name I can’t remember.

The other nice part is the kangaroo enclosure, you can feed them, approach them, if they don’t run away, and pet them.

It’s great, big kangaroos are easier to approach than small ones, and they are much softer than they look!

The rest of the animals are in rather small cages, the dingoes are so close to the dog… that I’m not fascinated … In short, the stars here are the koalas !

The photo, the activities, the practical details…

I cracked, I wanted a photo with a koala. In fact, I mostly wanted to hold and caress one. There were not many people around, and it was the occasion… So here it is, I spent 25 dollars… Yes it’s expensive the picture… Especially when you see the ugliness of the picture, finally my ugliness on the picture !

The park costs $42, and $37 if you book online beforehand. It can be reached by car from Brisbane, about 20 minutes from the city center, or by bus on 445, which is about 40 minutes from the city center.

So you know everything!

Brisbane the balance sheet

Loss: a denim shirt, a flip-flop, a pair of sunglasses, and probably something else.

Broken: a broken keyboard, the computer’s keyboard out of order a few days later (otherwise, it’s not funny, obviously I had already bought the new keyboard!), bluetooth headphones out of order, hair remover.

Luggage: reduced by at least 8 kilos, it’s easier to sort when you can unpack everything.

Shopping : new pair of flip-flops, earphones, computer, no clothes ! (clap clap).

Key activities :

• Laser Tag for my birthday
• Koalas Shrine
• Roof Top party
• and…. the worst concert of the century… Finally the weirdest, for my birthday….

We arrive a little late to this free concert during the week, at first, we only see old people! Then, we are in the room which precedes the concert hall. The doors of the concert hall are open, and chairs are placed outside. Strange, a lot of old people are sitting on these chairs outside. And on the side, other chairs are facing the profile of the spectators…

This is the weirdest concert of my life for my birthday… No image, just the sound, through speakers, watching old people tapping their feet… The concert itself, good instrumental, good voice, but the singer was singing in French… Strange songs….

Emotional balance: full of joy with new and old friends, new friendships, tears, moments when I felt lonely, moments when I felt lost…

Big joy: I finally saw opposums, and koalas ^^