A Kangaroo hop to Brisbane

When a looked carefully at the map I realised that I was still less than half way between Cairns and Brisbane. There was a long way to go and only one week left!
So I booked a cheap flight with Jetstar to Brisbane and missed out a huge chunk of coastal Queensland, including the Sunshine Coast, which will have to wait for next visit. I had six nights to explore Brisbane and three Servas hosts lined up to visit.

Be warned, if you land in Brisbane the evening and plan to catch the train to town, you can’t. Unbelievably, the air trains stop at 8pm. I wasn’t the only one caught out and had to wait ages for a shuttle to take me to town, then caught a train to my destination. Rather defeats the purpose of getting a cheap flight!



My first hosts were Gwen and Owen in Moorooka. I had met them at the Servas Gathering in Portland in April. There lovely home backs onto a forest park, Mt Toombah. They are surrounded by beautiful bush and wildlife and walking tracks. I was woken each morning by the wonderfully raucous kookaburras and butcher birds.
I love the Australian birdlife and Queensland was a real treat. The birds are so loud and lively and many are so colourful. A swooping flock of cockatoos or lorikeets is wonderful to see.



I was lucky to be there the morning Gwen went to her weekly acapella singing group and was able to go with her to the University of Queensland.
That is the good thing about Servas, you get to share their lives with locals and see how they live. The women were very friendly and I enjoyed having a go at singing but mostly I kept quiet and listened. Afterwards she dropped me at the City cat terminal and I was able to see Brisbane from the river. It is a very attractive city with excellent public transport.



Owen can come to my place anytime. He likes nothing better than fixing things and must be a wonderful Servas guest! Gwen had put together an album of their holidays with heaps of photos on Owen, in his element, in his overalls, being helpful.