Brisbane things to do: Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge, Springbrook National Park, Qld

Determined not to let overcast rain filled skies deter us, we set off on a trip to Natural Bridge, set in Springbrook National Park, Qld. A beautiful spot, about 90km (55m) South of Brisbane, in the Gold Coast Hinterland and not to be missed! Lucky for us, we had barely left the city when the sun came out! Oh Goody, another sunshine packed hot and humid day in beautiful Queensland Australia! Love it! All this while the Northern hemisphere: US and UK, shivers in mountains of snow. Well I guess we can't all be so lucky!

Hinze Dam spillway

En-route we stopped at Hinze Dam, somewhere we had visited before, but didn't even remotely recognise after its major rebuild and reopening in December 2011.

Built across the Nerang River and located in the Gold Coast Hinterland, the dam provides fresh waster for the Gold Coast's growing population of 600,000 residents and their many year-round visitors.

There are not many stopping places for food in the area so if you didn't BYO, take a stop in the Hinze Dam View Cafe, surprisingly good with offerings of homemade fresh delicious scones and cakes, or for the hungry, they can even

cook up a bacon and egg brekkie!

Also good for a toilet break unless you don't mind offering your butt to the open air and mosquito's or, possibly worse, the eco-friendly 'compost toilets' commonly found in many out of the way places. One of those rare times when the thought of being male has a certain attraction!

Take a walk around the grounds or across the dam wall but don't forget to slip-slop-slap! (Slip on a shirt, slop on the sunscreen (30+!), slap on a hat!) - it is hot out there!

A few kilometres further on brought us to the Natural Bridge area, so pretty!

The circuit walk around the bridge is only about a kilometre and lots of stairs down, don't let the stairs put you off, there didn't seem so many back up, perhaps because of the distraction of things to look at.

I'll let the pictures do the talking, OH! ... and when you're done visiting, think about a pie-stop a the Yatala Pie Shop on the ride home!

More photo's on Flickr ...

Brisbane things to do: Lamington National Park

Recently, we spent a delightful day feeding the parrots and wandering the walkways of Lamington National Park, home to O'Reilly's mountain retreat and nestled in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Winding road from Canungra to O'Reillys

From Canungra, about 80k (50 miles) south of Brisbane and only 30k from the Gold Coast, the 36 kilometres, 22 miles of winding road twists and turns, climbing steeply through shady rainforest. If you are peckish call in for brunch in the village before you embark on the climb, try a pie from the pie shop perhaps? Although, think twice, locally we prefer to save ourselves for a pie stop on the way home - Yatala Pies, yum! Famous for a reason!

As we climbed, and braved each of the many hairpin bends we were forced into the sunny clearings to suffer the spectacular views over the beautiful Scenic Rim. Stunning! The heat of the day soon cooled as we gained altitude and an abundance of butterflies did what butterflies do best and fluttered by. For the avoidance of doubt, when I say "we climbed", it was more a case of our super-duper little Mini did the climbing, we kind of just went along for the ride! As the passenger, there was more than a moment where, eyes tight shut, I gripped onto the door tightly and tensed my toes! I've had better toe-tensing moments, I'll be honest!

Scenic Rim viewed from O'Reilly's

If you didn't stop at the bottom, not to worry (good choice!), the mountain cafe has a good selection of snacks, from home made soup to pies that are unlikely to challenge the fayre at base camp but tasty enough. The food was definitely a notch up from the usual tourist offerings, the service was good and with the outdoor tables overlooking the Scenic Rim is relaxing and usually an opportunity to say hello to a couple of visiting parrots or even an Australian brushturkey, not the most attractive of the flora and fauna, but common enough around Brisbane.

Ready to feed the parrots?

Be sure to take a hat and avoid bare arms and shoulders! Trust me, the parrots are not shy and dare I say, there is no manicure/pedicure salon nearby to trim their sharp little claws!

Call into the gift shop to collect a feeding tray - $4 for the seed and $10 deposit for the feed tray. As you make your way to the bird feed area, stay alert, the parrots are on to you! They recognise a feed tray when they see one and have no regard for the signs saying "do not feed the parrots in this area". They will dive bomb and land expertly on your tray, using their beaks to push aside the flimsy cover rather pathetically trying to hide the seed from sharp little parrot eyes and beaks!

Feeding the parrots is fun! These are wild birds, there is no cage, it is entirely their choice to dine with us.

They scrap and fight with each other although there is plenty of food for all.

Such trust, both theirs and mine!

Once we were all fed and suitably watered, it was time for a short walk through the rainforest to the tree top walk and on to the botanical gardens. It really is a delightful spot and one I would recommend to anybody visiting South-East Queensland.

Before you go, why not check out the gift shop, lots of useful little collectibles you cannot live without and a lot less junky than the typical tourist paraphernalia.

On our return journey, back down the mountain and equally toe curling, we were fortunate to see a couple of kangaroos bouncing around, I wasn't quick enough on the camera though so sorry, no pickies!

Enjoy!

Tree Top Walk, O'Reilly's Mountain retreat, Lamington National Park

More photos available via Flickr

Brisbane things to do: Fort Lytton

Today was hot! I mean hot, 35C (95F)! Heat rash heaven and much too hot to go walkabout but that didn't dent the plan! Besides, my Fitbit has been overly lazy this week so a little exercise was in order!

We decided to take the car for a short run out to Fort Lytton, just 14k outside of town, close to Port of Brisbane.

If you are looking for something to do one Sunday morning (and I say Sunday because it is only open from 10am to 4pm on Sundays) then it might be worth the trip!

Don't get too excited! It's pleasant, not exactly a thrill seekers paradise but pleasant, especially if you have kids. It is educational, wo'manned by volunteers, mostly members of the Fort Lytton Historical Association, who give their time simply because they enjoy it. The ladies man the 'canteen' where you can pick up a cold bottle of water for just a $1.50, unlike most other tourist spots where the same bottle will cost you $3.50 or more these days! If you are feeling peckish, the ladies also operate a sausage sizzle although even the aromas of sizzling sausage and onions failed to tempt me on this beautiful sunny day!

On arrival, we were given a photocopied "map" of the lay of the land, it's all free and you can wander as you will but if you prefer, there are guided tours at intervals throughout the day. If you have ankle biters with you, I would encourage you to join a guided tour and hear stories of history spanning 150 years!

We arrived in time to hear and see the cannons fired, 2 six pounders ...

... and a thirty pounder ... most impressive was the smoke ring blown by our sixty-four pounder!!

Not an everyday occurrence but one we can thank the weather conditions for!

A highlight of the day for me was question time, the "commander" invited questions from the crowd and as usual silence prevailed until a young chap, not more than six or seven years of age piped up:

"can we shoot a plane?"

... the innocence of youth, the influence of TV and the movie era, computer games or simply a sign of the times? As we were on the flight path into Brisbane airport, it was somewhat of a relief when our host simply smiled and declared, "no son, we cannot!"

In the mid day sun, we wandered the 'self guided trail', checking out the artillery on show, especially the #1 disappearing gun ... clever for its time!!! All in all, a pleasant morning wander!

Brisbane things to do: City Hall

Brisbane City Hall

Last week, inspired by Australia Day 2015, we figured that after 16 years, it was time for a long overdue visit to iconic Brisbane City Hall, officially opened in 1930, subject of a 3 year restoration from 2010, reopened in 2013 and home to the Brisbane Lord Mayor.

On entry I was amazed and impressed, in this era of fear, by how freely we were able to wander the halls and corridors. Hot from the Brisbane summer, we dissolved into the Red Cross operated Shingle Inn to be tempted by their delicious array of cakes and lunches. Yummy! Too delicious! Delightfully refreshed, we popped up to the Museum of Brisbane to book our free tickets for a tour of the Clock Tower. Be warned, although these trips run every 15 minutes, the wait time can be longer than expected so consider getting your tickets as soon as you arrive.

City Hall - Entry Foyer

We had over 2 hours to wait for our clock tower visit so opted for a free 45 minute guided tour of City Hall. If I am honest, the tour won't change your life but did include some fascinating non-public areas of the building. In particular, the urinal wall, dating back to WWII and only rediscovered during building works in 2008. 

This captivating feature, originally positioned above the men's urinals (hmmm!!) back in the 1940's contains messages, signatures and numbers of over 150 servicemen from that era. Wonderful to see this little piece of engaging history preserved for future generations.

Of course, as always our tour guide came complete with a collection of historical anecdotes, including an amusing tale about Billy Connolly's appearance in the 1970's and how he shocked the locals who, allegedly, weren't too keen on his offending the ears of the ladies at the time! How times have changed!

Clock Tower Lift

The lift to the Clock Tower was a piece of history in its own right. Manually operated by our tour guide, it soon climbed past the huge clock faces to arrive at the top of the tower where, as we took in the 360 degree views of the city, we could almost see the huge bells that chime every 15 minutes. Fascinating!

Definitely a highlight and something every Brisbane resident must do at least once!

Another highlight is the magnificent auditorium, accessible without the tour, if not in use.  Circular in design and modelled on the pantheon of Rome, covered by a huge 31 metre copper dome, the largest in the Southern hemisphere. The auditorium is used for music recitals, citizenship ceremonies and other community events.

The auditorium is home to Father Henry Willis Organ, built in Liverpool (UK) in 1891 and constructed of around 4,500 pipes.

In a word, 'impressive'!

The incredible ceiling above the auditorium flashes with hundreds of LED lights, hated by some, admired by others and an addition made as part of the 3 year $215M restoration and definitely adding a contemporary feel to this beautiful building.

Do you love it or hate it? 

Add a comment below and tell us your thoughts!

We were fortunate to also see an exhibition of Costumes from the Golden Age of Hollywood, from a private collection. Some petite and beautiful, others heavy and coarse, not suited to the modern era of digital high definition for sure. This free exhibition is only on until May 2015 so be quick!

I was in awe of just how tiny were the outfits for those darlings of Hollywood, Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor! Very beautiful and so enviously slim.

Joan Collins dress designed by Bill Thomas

Elizabeth Taylor dress designed by Helen Rose

Brisbane City Hall lit for the G20, November 2014