Brisbane was the last destination of our long trip in Australia. Little did we know it at the time, but our first full day in this location was to be our last. It was Sunday 22nd March 2020, social distancing was in place due to the Coronavirus pandemic and it was the first time we started to notice the impact hitting Australia as shops, bars and restaurants closed or had limited capacity.
- We had lots of attractions & excursions booked including:
- Brisbane Greeter Tour
- Spirits of the Red Sand (Aboriginal Experience)
- Brewery Tour
- Curry at the Taj Mahal for Mike’s birthday (where the Indian cricket team dine when in town)
- A visit to the Brisbane City Hall Clock Tower (for a bird’s eye view of the city)
- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (for a koala cuddle & river trip)
- However most of them cancelled in the days leading up to our arrival due to Covid-19 restrictions.
We first walked away from the city on the New Farm Riverwalk, this is a walkway over water along the riverbank which is divided into a footpath and cycleway. Then we hired e scooters to return and continue in the other direction. Taking us along the city waterfront past the Botanic Gardens and across Victoria Bridge to finish at the South Bank gardens. It was a gorgeous blue sky day, we enjoyed chilling out at the Stoke Bar Q in the shade watching the river life.
We took advantage of the free Cityhopper ferry service which runs between North Quay, Sydney Street & New Farm with 8 stops, from 6am to midnight.
Our only evening meal out in Brisbane was at George’s Paragon seafood restaurant. We wanted to dine on Moreton Bay bugs and their terrace offered a lovely sunset view. If you like shellfish, you have to try Morton Bay Bugs – they’re amazing!
On Monday morning we realised that Emirates were pulling their flights and our route home was in jeopardy. Our connection on Thursday evening from Brisbane to Dubai had disappeared from our flight schedule, we made the decision to pack and head to the airport to see what could be done.
After a stressful few hours negotiating with the local Emirates office, we were assured of seats on the last flight out of Brisbane to Dubai. It was a nervous wait until check in opened, and then again until boarding, we didn’t actually relax until we were strapped in off stand heading for the runway.
Our plan B was to rent a place in Brisbane for the duration of the lockdown, the airline told us it would be at least 2 months before flights may resume.
That’s a wrap, our first visit to Australia is complete. We’ve enjoyed the journey and only touched a tip of the country despite spending almost a month there. It was good to explore these popular cities, next time though we want to get out on the open road and explore their fabulous coastlines, wineries and outback.
