First couple of days in Brissy

It has been a couple of days since our last post and I am sure that all 12 or so of our loyal fans are just bustling for an update. However, once you hear all that we have done since the last post you will surely understand why we didn't have time to write. So without further delay, let us begin...

Last you all heard we had just finished a jog by the river, when we returned we had to move into the room next door which was a bit smaller but still had a nice little balcony. We had heard about the West End Market from our friend from the plane and decided to go check it out. By the time we got there things were starting to wrap up for the day but we did manage to pick up some delicious pork chops (and potential job leads from the guy selling them to us), the biggest bunch of green onions we have ever seen and some other produce to make a great salad. It was a great place and hopefully if we are back in town another Saturday we can go earlier and do some more shopping. On the way home we came across a huge block party/ festival happening near the hostel, with some very interesting characters having the time of their lives. Loads of live music, beer and food vendors, belly dancers, and "the parade of pixies and fairies" (I would try to explain but I am not sure I could adequately describe them. You would have to see it to believe it). The festival as a whole was a very unique, a mixture of Tam Tams in Montreal and The Hillside Festival in Guelph, but with a distinct urban flair.

Sunset from the Botanical Gardens

After the market we went for a walk across the river to downtown, ending up in the Botanical Gardens on the southern tip of the "Brisbane CBD". The gardens are a huge park filled with gorgeous vegetation, open spaces, wildlife and small lakes. It attracted a wide range of locals; Wedding parties taking photos, kids playing rugby (in the background of the photos), and a several groups slack lining between huge palm trees. The river makes a hairpin turn around the park with walking paths and benches overlooking the water all around the perimeter. We grabbed some local beers (XXXX bitter) on the way home and enjoyed them with our pork chops and salad for dinner.

Our first shark experience in Australia, Survived!

That evening we got out our bottle of duty free tequila from Fiji and sat down in the hostel court yard. We had planned to head back to the festival but met some fellow Canadians as well as some others from America and France and never made it out for the night. Unfortunately that tequila bottle also did not make it through the night which we quickly regretted the next morning (ruined our early morning jogging plans for sure). We had a great time learning about their travels and experiences, picking up pointers and advice for future adventures.

Urban rain forest down by the river

The next morning (once our hangover had faded), we headed to the Queensland Cultural Museum, and learned about local animal life (poisonous and not), as well as some of the history of the area (right back to the dinosaurs!) Shortly after we walked along the South Bank of the river where we found sub-tropical rain forests filled with colorful flowers all along the bank, leading to a man made beach over looking the Brisbane skyline. We spent some time in the middle of the city, yet at the beach, which was a very cool and refreshing experience on a hot spring day.

Streets Beach on the south bank, Toronto needs a place like this!

After catching some rays, we took a local bus to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary! We had been very excited to come here, as we got to see some of Australia's wildlife (but safely from behind cages). We were able to see a Platypus, Tasmanian Devils, Wallabies, Kookaburras, Dingos (didn't eat any babies),  Crocodiles, many dangerous Snakes, and a lot of funky looking birds. Our highlights of the day were definitely being able to hug a Koala Bear (Tinkerbell), and feeding the Kangaroos! Both were very soft, and the Kangaroos were so calm and not bothered by your company at all. Overall it was a fantastic experience, and we have lots of pictures to capture the memories. We finished our day with a bottle of Australia red wine and got to bed early for a great nights sleep.

Kangaroo with a joey in the pouch

Today is our last day in Brisbane, and it has been a great one so far! We decided to switch hostels to stay in a different area of the city, so we moved to a place in Fortitude Valley, closer to downtown. We were shocked upon our arrival to find that we had been upgraded from a 4 person bunk bed dorm, to a swanky loft suite! It has our own kitchen and washroom, as well as a second floor with our bedroom and balcony with a great view of the city. It is a great way to end our time in Brisbane. After our check in, we went for a swim in the pool and decided to walk down through Chinatown, where we found a delicious "Vietnamese Restaurant" (that is actually the name! Very innovative). We each got a couple of delicious spring rolls, as well as a seafood noodle soup, and a curry chicken noodle soup. Next time we are in Brisbane we will have to make another trip there to try a duck dish, which they are apparently well known for.

Our ballin apartment, bedroom upstairs

Our ballin view from the balcony

After lunch we met up Dave's elementary school friend (Miriam here is your shout out, 82B represent!) and went for a walk through the Roma Street Parkland (apparently the largest urban, tropical garden in the world!). We went through the Fern Gully (Which brought back fond childhood memories for Becki, no bats were seen trying to save the rainforest though!), and then through some gardens with beautiful tropical flowers. We then returned to the hostel and are enjoying some vodka red bull and watching the sunset from the balcony before our free dinner provided by the hostel. After our free taco and chips, and a couple of $10 jugs of beer we watched some standup comedy at the hostel. This included a couple of hilarious acts and some others which were just getting their careers started. We even got free pints for volunteering to sit in the front row!

Today we head down to Surfers Paradise on the train or bus, where we have a hostel booked for the next two nights. We will be staying in a 4 person dorm style room (unless we get miraculously upgraded again), and hope to spend our time lazing on the beach and searching for jobs so we can soon get an apartment. We have heard good things about finding employment there for both our our skill sets, and so are hopeful that things will progress quickly. Look forward to updating you all from a new location either tomorrow or the day after. Miss you all and hope to hear from you soon!!

Dave and Becki