Australian Adventure, Week 4: August 14-20

We have been in Australia for one month! The weather is warming up, we are getting into a routine, and we are counting down the days until our first vacation in just two weeks!

On Sunday, we did a neighbourhood tour in Fortitude Valley. This tour was run by the Brisbane Greeters, this is our third tour with the free service offered by the city. Fortitude Valley used to be the city centre but when public transport stopped running to the area, it lost a lot of its businesses and home owners. Now, the city is trying to revive the area with unique street art, live music, unique laneways and fun restaurants. We enjoyed walking around, spotting the cool art, and making notes of places we want to return to in the next few weeks.

On Monday, we went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. As the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary, Lone Pine is a leader in animal welfare, research and expertise. We had a great day exploring the exhibits, watching a bird show, watching a sheep herding show, visiting with baby koalas, and holding a koala. It was a great experience and we were happy to support the hundreds of koalas they have at the sanctuary.

On Tuesday, we ventured into the city centre for “Brisbane’s Best Croissant”. We tried a local french bakery last week and were told about Lune Croissant by some locals. We tried three croissants over the course of a few days: a ham & gruyere, a lemon curd cruffin (cupcake + muffin), and a Snickers cruffin. Lune Croissant was definitely the better of the two bakeries!

Later in the day, we went on a hike at Upper Mount Gravatt Park. We climbed a large hill, between trees, looking for wild koalas. On our way up, we had no luck spotting any but we had a great view from the lookout. On our way down, we managed to spot one, sleeping up in a tree 100m away. Koalas have no natural predators, but are endangered because they need to leave their trees to find water. On their search for water, they cross roads and are injured or killed by cars. In parks, they are often attacked by off-leash dogs. The park we were hiking in has various water stations up in the trees to keep koalas off the ground and away from predators if possible.

On Wednesday, I had a busy day at school and Web went to physio. Between classes I went to the Business School Social where I painted reusable bags with some friends and had a sausage sizzle.

On Thursday, we had another busy day with classes and work. We finished planning our Winter road trip, here in Australia. We are travelling along the East coast for four months with stops in Sydney, Melboune, and Tasmania.

On Friday, we went for brunch at Ninebar Kitchen. We always drive by this spot and see tons of people enjoying brunch. We both had eggs benedict and fancy coffee to start the weekend right!

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon at South Bank. South Bank is a public space along the river with shops, restaurants, and parklands. It was a beautiful day, so it was very busy.

Later in the day, we met a Canadian, and his New Zealand girlfriend for drinks at Felons Brewing company along the river. It was a great spot, outside, underneath the Story Bridge. We made plans to meet up again this week.

Later in the evening, we went for Korean Fried Chicken. We were recommended a local spot called Korean Cheese Smile - it was great! We shared boneless wings and a chicken sandwich.

This week we have plans to visit our first Australian National Park to for a hike, go on another city walking tour, and of course head back to the beach for some relaxation. Thanks for following along with our adventures!