Brisbane was mainly a time of visa renewal some times during the years and catching up on a bit of sightseeing and shopping, while a Perth trip one time, and which we had not been to, was to see whether we liked the city or not. It was one option we were looking at, whether to move there or not once we finished in Chennai, and I must say that we liked it a great deal. It was a good trip overall, but we missed seeing a few good friends around the place through one reason or another, but managed to catch up and stay with Fred and Brenda who were our neighbours at Tooth Ave. We spent most of our time on their house decking with the lorikeets, cockatoos and wood pigeons that came around each day, along with the possums and the not so welcome crows. It is all quite pleasant living in Australia with a great abundance of greenery and animal life in the various parks and gardens that are all around, even in the heart of each city. In a concrete jungle like Chennai, you sometimes forget that there are clean, green and well-organized cities out there and Australia certainly has a few good ones!

Brisbane, or ‘Brissy’ as the locals call it, is Queensland’s capital city and where Marg and I lived for  seven and a half years. (See The Paddington House) The Paddington House. It is also now the third largest city in the country and very similar in many way to Perth, both being river cities. Sandwiched between the regions of the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, we always enjoyed Brisbane and in getting out to both these areas. We did enjoy the Sunshine Coast more, with its quieter beaches, less tourists and natural beauty. It is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef running north from there, which is one of the natural wonders of the world. We took a trip down the coast following the Great Barrier in 1983 and it is a truly amazing experience. We flew to Cairns, then drove up to Port Douglas before driving down to Brisbane over a two week period. This gave us time to stop where we liked, sail a bit, snorkel a bit and have a great sightseeing trip. The reef is great for divers with an abundance of colourful marine life and it was the feelings for the reef from this trip that gave me the incentive to gain my divers ticket later in Bali. The weather itself is a huge bonus for visitors to Brisbane. The sub-tropical climate is nearly always pleasant with only a few weeks of nippy weather in winter. We still needed to have a small gas heater going on the coldest of winter days! Nevertheless, the temperatures mean that outdoor dining is very common and outdoor concerts and sports are hugely popular.

Southbank Parklands is an amazing example of modern building with the addition of a large man-made beach, complete with sand of course, which overlooks the river and city. This area was developed for the Expo of 1987 and we were not around to see it when it was first being made, having already sold up and left for Germany. It certainly looks great now though and quite a show piece for Brisbane. There is also the new transit system for the buses that means they run in dedicated roads and tunnels, traversing the city very quickly and bypassing all the traffic areas. The city looks very green with a lot of parks and walkways all around and we saw a lot of wildlife all through the city, even in the middle of the high rises. The Koala sanctuary is located on the edge of the city and it was here that Marg and I cuddled the furry bears, plus there are boat cruises down the river, the botanical garden that are a joy and many other attractions to see. This is a part from the pedestrian malls and the shopping that we found so easy to do in Queens Street, once our stamping ground and it was a great feeling walking around and visiting all our old haunts. At one stage Marg and I knew the city very well, and it is still not that difficult to become familiar with the different roads and suburbs once more!