Australian Escapade – Brilliant in Brisbane Part 1

Welcome to my story style travel blog, featuring my time spent in Brisbane, Australia in the spring of 2025. Normally, I do group tours when I travel but I have an opportunity to use a flight pass from my friend who works as a flight attendant. I first visited Australia in 2009 when I was touring New Zealand and decided to fly over to Sydney for a week. I figured it’s been awhile, and Brisbane is a route my friend usually flies… so we plan to meet up there! I also have many friends who live in and around Brisbane, having met them as a result of my travels over the years. So here we go!!!

When one flies on a “buddy pass” the only option is stand-by. Which can be a stressful situation, because there are no guarantees of getting on the flight. I am prepared for either scenario, but of course I want to get on the flight tonight!!

The processs – check in for the flight(when I did the night before, I was assigned a seat, which we figured was a good sign). At the airport, I check my bag and go through security. Then I must wait at the gate; they will start to call the standby passengers when they know they have room to take everyone. Even though there are many seats open, this doesn’t account for any cargo weight the plane is carrying. So we end up in a back and forth as to if they can take the 8 of us “cons” waiting to board. Yes, then no. Then yes to a sleected few….and one of them is ME! Phew!! I find out later they eneded up taking all of the standby passengers on this flight. We are lucky today!

It’s a fairly smooth 15 hour flight to Brisbane, which has me arriving around 7am. Since I can’t check into the hotel for another few hours, I decide to kill some time here at the airport, catching up on messages. I take an UBER to my hotel, which is located in the South Bank area of the city. It is called Morgan Suites, and it is condo apartments. Super handy for a 9 night stay.

https://www.sungrass.com.au/morgan-suites/

They allow me to check in early, but then give me a ground floor suite with limited windows/natural light. I know this isn’t going to work for this longer stay, so I wait a bit for a better suite up on the 9^th floor with plenty of windows.

It’s a good size, and I have all the amenities I need for the week. There is also an outdoor pool, but I end up not using it!

I’m pretty hungry, so I wander over to an area called Fish Lane – there are lots of restaurants and pubs around here and some really cool murals.

I am tired and am having a hard time making a decision so I opt for takeout from Pepper Jack Sandwiches.

https://www.pepperjacksandwiches.com/#AU5YMQUTJVH3WE7XK5ARCO65

I have the West Coast Reuben…a fantastic choice! I take it back to the apartment and then unpack and have a 4 hour afternoon nap. I wake up around 6pm, and now I need dinner and I feel like having a bit of an explore!

In South Bank, I’m a short walk from one of the bridges that leads to what’s referred to as the city or Central Business District. The Brisbane River flows through the city but there are many bridges for connections. On this side of the river, I can check out the Brisbane sign, lit up in pretty colors for the evening.

Just a bit further is The Wheel of Brisbane, but I won’t be going for a ride this time.

The weather tonight is perfect for a stroll; it’s still a bit warm from earlier with a nice breeze. I walk around part of the CBD to get a feel for where everything is(I have a day tour booked for tomorrow so I want to have an idea where the meet up point is!).

I pick up some beer, wine and groceries and head back to the apartment for a relaxing early night.

Brisbane is Australia’s third largest city, located in Queensland, a short distance away from the east coast.

It is said to have over 280 days of sunshine a year! Brisbane offers vibrant urban energy with a relaxed charm. Part cosmopolitan and part outdoorsy, you’ll find modern architecture mixed with subtropical gardens and rooftop bars that overlook the winding waterway of the Brisbane river. And the people here are so welcoming and friendly. Also known as Brisvegas, the city has a really cool nightlife and a flashy entertainment scene.

This morning I have booked a day trip to see some nature outside of the city. I have to leave my place by 7am – OMG- haha I only do early mornings when I travel.  I use Get Your Guide; they have links to local tour companies.

The company is called Queensland Day Tours, and today I am doing the one called “Rainforests and Glow Worm Cave”. The meetup point is in the CBD, and it looks like we have a small group today – just myself, a couple with their daughter from England, and Curie from Texas. Our guide for the day is James, and let me tell you, he’s a legend and so dedicated and knowledgeable so we are very lucky!  Once in the van, he starts giving us some history and facts about Brisbane and the surrounding areas. He’s also on the lookout for any wildlife…how he manages to do this while driving is a feat in itself. First spotting – wallabies in the bush! They are like a miniature kangaroo, usually 1- 3 feet tall. It is too hard to get a good picture so you’ll just have to take my word for it!

We arrive at Tamborine National Park, and begin our nature walk over to the waterfall.

The original name for this area was Jambreen(Aboriginal for wild lime), but evolved to Tamborine due to mishearings. James is on the lookout, and I love his enthusiasm and his amazing eyesight. Haha.

We spot a few birds, including the Crimson Rosella.

And a pademelon…now I’ve never heard of these and I had to research what they are and where the heck this name came from…it’s a word from an Aboriginal language of course!! They are even smaller than the wallabies, and really cute. This one is hiding in the forest but we manage to snap a pic.

The ground is a bit wet, and we see a few people coming back from the waterfall telling us to be careful , and one girl tells us she fell in the water. After making it to the waterfall, I decide that these people must be super clumsy because I can’t figure out how they could possibly fall. Anyways, the waterfall is cool.

And then we trek back to the van and head over to the Rotary Lookout. A beautiful vantage point that offers panoramic views of the Scenic Rim and Great Dividing Range.

And after this, we end up at one of the highlights of this tour…the glow worm caves. There is a little room with some snakes and frogs for us to admire before heading in.

We get a pep talk about the guidelines for the cave from this hottie, and then enter the small cave area.

It’s obviously really dark so we need to be careful(we wear glow sticks so we can see each other). There are thousands of glowworms, and they glitter in the dark – we can even see their tiny food traps glistening in the special light shone by our cave guide.

For lunch, we stop at Tamborine Mountain town, at the Gallery Walk… so many cool restaurants and shops with local crafts and treats. We only have an hour, which is not much time. Curie and I go to the Fortitude Brewing Co., and share a flight of beer.

https://fortitudebrewing.com.au/

We decide not to have lunch here, and split up for a bit to wander. I stop at a place called Franquette, which offers yummy authentic French baguettes that will soak up all that beer quite nicely!

Now it’s back in the van to drive to the next rainforest walk. On the way, James spots a koala!!!

It’s pretty special to see one in the wild; this one is not sleeping and just chilling up in the tree. And looking down curiously at us! This next park is called Springbrook, and these paths are much less wet and easier to navigate.

We make our way to another waterfall, and we can view it from a couple of different heights.

There is a beautiful rainbow in the water cave, and many bats flying around inside.

Despite James and his eagle eyes, we do not find any wildlife except a skink. Which is still cool I guess.

And then it’s time to hit the road again, and on this drive, James spots a kookaburra sitting up on a wire.

He asks if we know the song about the kookaburra, and I proceed to sing it for him. The last stop of the day is the Hinze Dam, which runs across the Nerang River. Its main purpose is for potable water supply for the Gold Coast region.

The dam is almost always full, even in dry spells!. The serene surroundings of the Advancetown Lake in contrast of the gushing flow of water makes for a cool experience.

On the drive back, we somehow get to talking about movies and I ask James if he’s seen The Castle. Oh not only has he seen it, he can quote so many lines from the movie. It’s an Australian classic from the 1990’s and I have a trick for you to try. Next time you meet an Australian guy, ask them about this movie. James talked about it for 20 minutes straight. Haha. I had just rewatched it recently, and fun fact – it was Eric Bana’s first movie. Another fun fact…James says he went to school with Hugh Jackman.

James drops us off downtown and I make my way back to the apartment…except I have a craving for gelato. Luckily there is a place close by called Messina…I almost walk by it because it looks more like a nightclub/lounge than a gelato shop. Dark lights, loud music. I get a macadamia crunch, and it is perfect.

https://gelatomessina.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoobh6-p_B_Yt7xdqYVX4eZDC8B7eg3OMCwB1Gt1Wy5Ozugcl221

I’m pretty tired from this long day, so I make a microwave dinner and sip on my Australian wine and rest up for tomorrow….