Life Down Under (Part 21): Brisbane's Mt. Coot-tha and South Bank Parklands

- October 16-17, 2022, Sunday to Monday.

- Brisbane appears to be a city close to nature. It is surrounded by mountains and the river, which leads to Moreton Bay and Coral Sea. Brisbane is small enough for people to feel both the presence of the mountains and the waters. Maybe that's why many people like staying in Brisbane.

- I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning to head towards Mt. Coot-tha, just beside the city. While people would normally take Bus 471 to Mt. Coot-tha, I decided to take an Uber to the mountain. Bus 471 to Mt. Coot-tha starts operations fairly late in the morning, and I wanted to maximize my time. Bus 471 has two stations at Mt. Coot-tha: the summit lookout, and the Brisbane Botanic Gardens (note: this is different from Brisbane CITY Botanic Gardens, which is located within the city.)

- I took pictures of the view from the lookout, and had breakfast at the cafe there. The lookout has been around since the late 1800s, and some of its structures were built in the early 1900s. 

Brisbane CBD from the summit.

- I took the late morning bus from the summit to the Botanic Gardens. The Botanic Gardens was made in the 1970s. Compared to the City Botanic Gardens, this one in Mt. Coot-tha is larger. The gardens boast many distinct areas, such as the Tropical Display Dome and the Japanese Garden.

Jacaranda in bloom, as well as lavenders.

Inside the Tropical Display Dome.

Japanese Garden.

It was hard to take photos at the Japanese Garden because there was some kind of painting event?

- Apart from all the plants and flowers, the gardens also house the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium. Also built in the 1970s, this small planetarium has an exhibit on things like the planets, the early astronomers, and other space discoveries. Its main highlight is its theater that regularly has shows about space and the planets. The latter portion of the show has the planetarium staff showing the constellations that can be seen above Brisbane. As a bonus, the staff also told us of a total lunar eclipse that would happen several weeks later!

Space suit!

Planetarium.

Diagrams made by early astronomers.

This one is Babylonian!

- I rode the bus all the way back to the city and had a walk around before going back to my hostel. I had Gnocchi Brothers for dinner. Gnocchi Brothers seems to be a popular restaurant in Brisbane. Since I was too tired to go to the restaurant, I just had food delivered to my hostel. (Thank you, UberEats.)

Brisbane at night, from my hostel's roof deck.

Gnocchi Brothers.

- On my last day in Brisbane, I explored the South Bank Parklands. It was just a short walk from my hostel and other parts of downtown Brisbane. The Parklands is home to many of Brisbane's iconic landmarks, such as the Brisbane Sign, the Nepalese Peace Pagoda built in the 1980s, and the Brisbane Eye. One can also see Brisbane's "Streets Beach," which is a man-made beach built in the middle of the city in the 1990s, and the kilometer-long Grand Arbour walkway.

Brisbane sign.

ABC Brisbane. (See the reflection of the Brisbane Eye?)

Nepalese Peace Pagoda.

It makes me miss Nepal so so much!

It is normal to have erotic carvings in the temple.

Nepalese Peace Pagoda and the Brisbane Eye.

The Grand Arbour.

I realized how Brisbane seemed to love the color violet that much.

Hehe.

Streets Beach!

This is along Earnest Street, near Streets Beach. This area has many restaurants.

Don't worry, that's not a real person.

Another part of the Grand Arbour.

A random piano in the middle of Brisbane. I couldn't resist, I just had to play.

- The Parklands is also home to several of Brisbane's museums. I first went to Queensland Museum, with a general exhibit. I later found out that Queensland Museum appears small is because the museum has other branches across Queensland with specialized exhibits. When I visited the Queensland Museum, they had a temporary exhibit on Disney animation, in celebration of 100 years of Disney - of course I had to go!

Preserved shark.

Giant squid.

As usual, Australian animals.

At the Disney exhibit. People were encouraged to draw.

Early sketches.

More early sketches.

I super enjoyed this exhibit.

Travel notes for Moana.

Not a real T-Rex.

Tank.

- Queensland Museum is connected to other museums by walkway, making it easy for visitors to hop from one museum to another. The other museums are the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG), and the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). They're collectively referred to as "QAGOMA".

Indigenous art with modern materials.

One of my favorite works. Yes, the jacaranda petals are part of the exhibit.

Gallery of Modern Art.

This gallery had an exhibit about nature and recycling.

More art.

I really thought they were just fixing the lights. It's art after all.

- I had lunch at the State Library's cafe, which is right beside the art galleries, before walking towards my hostel and heading to the airport later that day. Brisbane does live up to its reputation of being a chill urban city and I think it's worth a short visit. Brisbane is a bit warmer than Melbourne, so if you're like me who's not a fan of the heat, best to go during the colder months like July or August. Brisbane is is an amazing destination, especially if you want to touch koalas! 

Life Down Under (Part 12): Canberra's Flora and History

- September 17-19, 2022, Saturday to Monday.

- Canberra might be tamer than other major cities in Australia, but I was glad that I went to Canberra at the perfect time! I found out that after a two-year hiatus, the city would once again be holding the annual Floriade. The Floriade is a spring festival celebration that mixes amusement park rides, shopping, food, live shows, and of course, endless flowers (particularly tulips.)

Welcome to this year's Floriade!

Kangaroo statues pretending to drink water from the lake.

So many flowers.

- The Floriade began in 1988 as a celebration of Canberra's 75th founding anniversary. It is held in Commonwealth Parks. The Floriade's concept was based on the Keukenhof in the Netherlands. That's the popular garden with rows and rows of different colorful tulips. I wasn't able to visit during my trip to the Netherlands as it is only open for a specific time during the year (but not when I went), so I guess this was a good alternative to the Keukenhof. 

SO. MANY. TULIPS.

I'm so glad my shirt matches the whole Floriade.

Again, more tulips.

There was a Filipino stall at the Floriade; 'bout time I had a proper longganisa meal!

I also miss playing the piano. I've been too too busy.

- Also within the vicinity of Commonwealth Parks is the National Capital Exhibition. Opened in 2018, this small museum narrates the story of Canberra. It also has a stunning view of Lake Burley Griffin and the Captain Cook Memorial water jet.

National Capital Exhibition, at the Regatta.

It was a rather small place.

A very detailed model of Canberra.

There was a special exhibit about Queen Elizabeth II, because of her passing.

The water jet from the museum.

So many Queen Elizabeths.

- I spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall since it was too late to go anywhere else. I had a good rest that night too.

- The following day, I rode an Uber to the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG). While it was conceptualized in the 1930s, it was only completed in 1970. Like many botanical gardens across Australia, the ANBG is separated into distinct ecological sections. My favorite section was the Red Centre Garden as it shows the distinct desert landscape of Australia.

Colorful bird.

Note: that's not a real lizard. I am also not a lizard.

"I hate this part right here." - Pussycat Dolls. (If you know how the video looks like, you get the reference.)

Now with the Telstra Tower at the back.

Hidden in plain sight. (These are long blades of grass commonly found in deserts.)

More colorful birds!!

- I late rode an Uber to the National Museum of Australia, which was established in 1980 but only had its permanent building in 2001. It was supposed to have a big collection of many artifacts and memorabilia, but for some reason I did not feel that it was "big." Perhaps I was just used to national museums that had endless halls with a wide(r) variety of things to see. However, it was still nice to learn more about Australia through the museum.

National Museum.

Lobby.

The car Queen Elizabeth II used during her visit to Australia during her first royal tour to Australia in 1954.

Giant windmill (but this isn't even the whole windmill, just the top part!) This was used to help provide water to the city.

Aboriginal art.

Breast plates, used by Australians to label law-abiding aborigines, aboriginal chiefs, or other people worthy of some honor.

Manchurian-Chinese attire, from some of the early migrants to Australia.

The sunshine harvester - the most advanced grain harvester of the early 1900s.

- From the museum, I rode yet another Uber to the Blundells Cottage. The Blundells Cottage was actually built in the 1850s and was originally resided by the Ginn family before the house was rented to the Blundell family. The Blundell family lived in the farm house for around 60 years. After the Blundell patriarch, George Blundell, passed away, the house was rented to the Oldfield family until 1958. Instead of demolishing the house, the house was instead turned into the house-museum that it is today.

Blundells Cottage.

Old instruments.

Mid-century.

Probably from the early 1900s.

- I had lunch after my visit to the museum, before visiting the Saint John's Anglican Church and the Saint John's Schoolhouse Museum. Both were built in the 1840s. More significant than the church, at least for me, is the schoolhouse. It was Canberra's first school. The house attached to the school was the residence of the headmaster (and all-around teacher) and his family.

Saint John's Anglican Church.

View of the church organ.

Church facade.

Schoolhouse.

Ready for face to face classes!!

I laughed when I saw the "dunce" cap.

Headmaster/teacher.

I was told that needlework was taught by the women of the community, although they were not always compensated for their lessons.

House part of the schoolhouse.

- Canberra might not be everyone's cup of coffee, but I definitely had an interesting visit. It might be a bit quieter than other bustling Australian cities, but visiting Canberra can be a good learning experience!

Bonus 1: By the way, I saw this plane inside the airport on the way back to Melbourne!

It was a nice goodbye surprise by Canberra!

Bonus 2: Upon arriving in Melbourne, this was my welcome-back surprise at the tram!

See the grandma and her larger than life hair!