We drove to Brisbane after leaving O’Reilly’s and were mightily impressed by this compact little ’boutique’ city. It’s easy to get around, full of parks and even sports an artificial beach on the South Bank so you can swim in clean waters whilst looking at the glittering city centre.
If Sydney is a bit rough around the edges due to over use Brisbane is polished like a new penny, the rivers are charming and the city life spills perfectly over to the laid back leisure culture.
Sooner than I wanted we had to set off again and head south to meet some friends that lived near surfers paradise in a place called Robina.
Surfers paradise didn’t impress me much being Australia’s answer to the South of Spain, but the view from the public gallery of the Q1 building, the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere, was worth a look. From there you could see the canals that snake their way behind the beaches where many people live.
We enjoyed some incredible seafood with piles of ‘Balmain Bugs’, a kind of slipper lobster, scallops and large prawns.