Those missed days... Brisbane days 3-6

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To follow my new rule of not blogging in retrospect, I will not cover these days in great detail.

However I will make a wee note on Walking tours.

If you have ever been skeptical of walking tours, so was I. But let me convince you of their worth...

On my second day in Brisbane I decided to do the walking tour of Brisbane detailed in the 2009 Australia Lonely Planet guidebook. It took me eight hours all up, and that was without spending time at the Queensland Museum or Gallery of Modern Art. Even on a grey and rainy day, it was a great way to see the city.

Walking tours allow you to take a back seat and mosey your way through a city. Take your time, talk to people along the way, and get a feel for the soul of the place. On a walking tour you are able to examine the life of a city, seeing things most people wouldn't on their busy day to day life.

Plus- they are free and healthy! I took my own sandwiches, and then spent small amounts of money grazing on small local specialty foods. You could buy a Macaroon from the Jan Power farmers market, or get a fresh apple there, or even visit the much-loved "I love mushrooms" stall.

Without further ado, I will load some photos. I hope you enjoy.

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Photos

Beware!
You can ride bikes in the botanical gardens... but doing tricep dips in the park- forget it!

First stop: Springbrook national parl
This park has all the wonders of nature, tamed by the Victorian colonists, and used for pleasantries. Pretty and easy walks in the Gold Coast Hinterlands.

Stop 2: Burliegh Heads
This is a small knoll off the edge of Burleigh Heads beach. I can see why Aboriginal people resided here in past times... it would have provided fishing off the rocks, spaces to shelter from the wind, and plently of bush turkey. A nice walk too.
My last bit of Sun for the holiday was here. I managed to sneak in a swim and a peanut butter sammy at the surf beach before the storm clouds rolled in...

Kangaroo Point Cliffs, Brisbane
Not many kangeroos (well, none actually, being inner city Brisbane), but here are the famous cliffs. They offer some easy grade climbing... pity it was wet and slippery when I was there.

Church?!
Hmmm... marble, statues, and gates.... I wonder how many hot dinners for community members the marble alone could buy? I wonder how warm it would be at night if we made it into a family centre of some sort...?

Some shopping highlights
...queens arcade in Queen St Mall.

Jan Powell's Farmers Market
The hustle. The bustle. The wild mushroom stand. The Macaroons. A definate highlight.

St Stephen's Chapel
A small church, with a big sense of God. Built in 1874. Designed by Augustus Pugin, who also designed the London Parliment houses.

Nepalese temple
At the very end of my 8 hour lonely planet walking tour...

Brisbane at night
...and this too... I think the lonely planet saved the best until last. These were the icing on the cake after an 8 hour exploration of the city, including 3 hours milking my $5.40 ticket on the 'river cat' crusing up and down the Brisbane river...