Tropical Expo 1988 Hosts

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Geo: -27.4676, 153.028

Our last stop in Australia before heading to the islands was Brisbane, the 3rd largest city at 2.5M. The City was named after the Brisbane River, which in turn was named after the Governor of New South Wales before splitting off as part of Queensland.

The evening prior to arriving in Brisbane, we had dinner in the Compass Rose Restaurant on board. I selected the Canyon Ranch meal in an attempt to stem the probability of me becoming the average cruise passenger and gaining between .5 and 1.5 pounds per day! The main course was Kangaroo, so I asked the waiter if he had ever had it and what it was like. His response was classic - "Well, it is a lot like ostrich!" My reaction was thanks that helps me a lot - LOL!

I should add the coach driver mentioned that day that on a trip north of 1,200km he hit something like 30 kangaroo and could have hit another 50 easily, as they have no predators and are everywhere!

The cruise into and out of Brisbane is a long one, as it is well down the river. We took a bus tour in the morning, allowing us to explore the City on our during the afternoon. We learned from the tour guide that AU was the first country to introduce seatbelt laws and add signals to automobiles - who knew?

The city faced major floods in 1974 and 2011. Many of the original buildings were built in wood and had to be rebuilt over time. The oldest remaining residence was built in 1946.

The City hosted the World Exposition in 1988, two years after Vancouver. We crossed the Victoria bridge and explored the Southbank Parklands, the site of the Expo. This area now hosts many public facilities including the Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland Museum and Science Centre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Queensland Conservatorium and the Queensland Maritime Museum.

The park and water features, including spray parks, man made beaches and wading pools are all owned now by Southbank Properties, which acquired the land from the City and maintain the park facilities through the lease fees they charge the many restaurants and bars in the area. The facilities were immaculate, buzzing with people and the walkway connecting the entire area was sheltered by a metal structure with beautiful flowering vines.

We grabbed a quick lunch and a few pints at The Plough Inn. We sampled numerous pints before settling on Victoria Bitter and chilled crab, which ended up being al lot of work!! It had to be quick, as we had to catch a cab, as we didn't want to risk missing the ship. If you are on you own or a private tour and miss the boarding time, the ship leaves without you.

After leaving Brisbane we had two sea days before arriving in Vanuatu, but fortunately had a supply of NZ wine and Aussie beer to help us along on our way!

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