Life Down Under (Part 19): Visiting Koala Friends in Brisbane!

- October 13-14, Thursday to Friday.

- It surprises me to this day that many people are aware of Brisbane's existence, yet don't know exactly what it's known for. To be fair, I didn't know much about Brisbane before, but I knew I had to visit after knowing that it is one of the places where people are legally allowed to carry a koala! (Queensland - where Brisbane is - South Australia, and West Australia are the only states that allow people to hold koalas.) Brisbane, however, is more than just koalas - it is actually a charming city that feels like a smaller and less crowded Sydney.

- I flew in really early of the morning of the 13th, and wasted no time exploring once I took the airport train to the city, and finished checking at YHA Hostel which was conveniently close to Roma Station. By the way, Brisbane is pretty compact, so I usually just walked around the city. Buses, however, are the main mode of transport. Trains can get people to the surburbs and other cities like the Gold Coast. Ferries are also used too. In Queensland, all modes of public transportation can be accessed by using a Go Card.

- I first visited the Brisbane City Hall, which is the only regional capital city in Australia that has a "city hall;" all others are called "town halls." Built in the early 1900s, it used to be the tallest structure in Brisbane, and still functions as a city hall today. Visitors are allowed to go around the town hall for free. 

Brisbane City Hall.

Lobby.

The auditorium.

- Visitors can also learn about the history of Brisbane in the Museum of Brisbane, which is also located inside the city hall. The museum was opened much more recently, in 2003. The Museum of Brisbane also gives access to the city hall's clock tower. However, people can only go up by securing a tour slot online or the museum reception. The clock tower is one of the biggest in Australia, especially at the time it was built. Its design was based on the clock tower of the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. 

Museum of Brisbane.

Dome of the city hall.

Clocktower bells.

Behind the actual clocks. (I wasn't allowed to outside the "fence," would've been nice to have a photo with the clock.)

- I had a brief stroll across Queen Street Mall, the main shopping place in Brisbane, on the way to the MacArthur Chambers, located along Edward Street. MacArthur Chambers used to be the headquarters of the Allied Forces in the South Pacific, headed by General Douglas MacArthur. While the building is now used as a hotel, the 8th level functions as a museum dedicated to World War 2 and the South-Pacific arena. The highlight of the museum is the preserved office of Doughlas Macarthur!

State Law Building, also known as the "Gotham Building" or "Batman Building" as it looks like the buildings in Gotham City. Built in the 1970s.

Albert Street Uniting Church.

Queen Street Mall.

Inside the MacArthur Museum.

Conference table used by MacArthur and his men.

Inside MacArthur's office!! Yes, I was allowed to sit on the chair.

They had Mickey Mouse money from the Philippines during Japanese Occupation.

Japanese Good Luck Flag (Yosegaki Hinomaru), given to Japanese soldiers during World War 2.

MacArthur Chambers.

- After visiting the MacArthur Museum, I walked to the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens. Brisbane was a lot warmer than Melbourne, so walking around the city in the afternoon was a little bit uncomfortable. (And by saying this, it means that I've been in Australia long enough, since I do come from a tropical country where it's hot all year round!) 

St. Stephen's Uniting Church.

Inside the church.

Former Treasury Building, now the Treasury Casino and Hotel.

Queensland Parliament Building.

- Opened in the mid-1800s, the city garden has long been intertwined with Brisbane's history and culture. It is also home not only to a variety of species of plants, but also animals. It was nice to spend some time in the park and see the iguanas walk about.

Iguanas are just like that.

A cheeky one.

Oh like a wild kookaburra!

- I also crossed the Goodwill Bridge, which is a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists only, to reach the South Bank. It was a breezy walk over the Brisbane River. The bridge is located just outside the city gardens and the QUT campus.

Goodwill Bridge.

Brisbane River.

Part of the Maritime Museum, which I didn't visit anymore.

The Maritine Museum, Brisbane River, and buildings of the CBD at the back.

Many, many seagulls.

Goodwill Bridge.

- I waited until sundown to have photos with the fairy trees, found at the CBD side of Goodwill Bridge. The fairy trees are just illuminated trees that can be found in multiple locations across Brisbane. I guess the most accessible ones to most tourist spots would be the two fig trees near Goodwill Bridge that I went to. I understand that these are just trees with fairy lights, but I can't help but think that they look magical, especially with how the fig trees look naturally.

Fairy tree.

I like how they light up at night.

Trying a magical look.

Saw these kangaroos on the way home. I think this is creative!

- After my session at the fairy trees I went home and prepared for my next day, which was one of the highlights of my Brisbane trip. As mentioned at the beginning of this post, Queensland is one of the three states that allow people to hold and carry koala bears. In Brisbane, the best place to do that is Lone Pine Sanctuary. Though a bit far from the city, it can easily be reached by Bus 430 or 445. From Roma Station, where I was closest, I took bus 430 as it passes by the station. 

- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was built in 1927 and is the world's first koala sanctuary. Today it boasts not only protecting many species of koalas, but also other Australian animals. Although people are al to have various close animal encounters, the most popular is still the koala-hold encounter. Since it is much sought after, it is best to reserve slots in advance through their website (see here). The entrance ticket also includes a free entrance to the kangaroo reserve. The kangaroo reserve is filled with hundred of free-roaming kangaroos and wallabies. 

I'm hereeee!!

This is the nth koala I've seen in Australia and I can't get enough how cute they are!

They're almost cartoon-like.

- I did not expect to take so many photos of the free-roaming kangaroos! They were so tame, and very used to people. There were also free-roaming emus and I'm still afraid to go near them because they might chase or peck me.

The first kangaroo I fed. It was so used to people AND cameras.

This was a totally accidental photo but I love it so much!! Looks like a stock photo.

We're ready for our magazine shoot.

Vogue whuuutt??

There is actually a third kangaroo behind me, and that would make us 4 kangaroos total.

Hopping behind emus.

Trying to recreate the Australian emblem.

The reason why I am scared to approach elder male kangaroos - see those muscles?!?! He seemed gentle towards me. He kept approaching me for food. I had to give him because I didn't want to be punched.

A wallaby!

- Finally, I had my chance to hold a koala! The session was brief, mostly for the handler to put the koala on a person, take photos, and that's it. A koala feels like a soft and dense hotel carpet. Koalas don't do much too so they kind of just stare at you.

Which is which.

So yes, you're not allowed to just scoop a koala.

The koala is probably confused.

Of course the best souvenir of them all.

- After my koala encounter I took some time to go around the sanctuary to see all the other Australian animals there. I know I have seen them before in the past few months, but it's always nice to see them again since I won't get to see them again back in the Philippines.

Just some animals running around.

Dingo!

These koalas are sleeping like they're in a renaissance painting.

Tasmanian devil.

A fat kookaburra.

- I later hopped on a bus back to the city, specifically at the City Hall. I then walked to the Commissariat Store Museum, which told the story of convict arrival in Queensland in the early 1800s to the early 1900s. It is also the second oldest building in Queensland.

View from William Street.

Now this is actually what it looks like! (View from Queens Wharf Road.)

Inside the museum, plenty of convict memorabila.

Punishment.

They say that there is a finger in the bottle.

An old luggage, used when moving from Europe to the other side of the world.

- Finally, I visited the Old Government House, located inside the Queensland University of Technology. It is accessible to the public, and is located quite close to the fairy trees. The Old Government House was the home of the first few governors of Queensland. It is also said that the lamington was invented in the Government House, during Lord Lamington's time.

Old Government House.

Interior.

Looking at this view made me think of....

....the Halliwell Manor in Charmed (the original one in the 90s, not the reboot). It doesn't look exactly like this, but it sort of does. (The real Halliwell manor used in the film is in Los Angeles.) 

The Old Government Building is also used as an art gallery.

- Brisbane has so far been warm to me - in all senses of the word. The people are nice and chill, and the places are historical yet quirky. Brisbane is definitely worth to visit - pay a visit at least, for the koalas!

Life Down Under (Part 18): Celebrating Festivals with Flowers and Dances!

- October 5-12, Wednesday to Wednesday.

- There is always something to celebrate in Melbourne, no matter which day of the year. Despite being swamped with work after my legendary trip to Uluru, I was able to attend two different festivals to add color to my week.

- The first festival I attended was called the Tesselaar Tulip Festival. Like Canberra's Floriade (see here), the Tesselaar Tulip Festival happens every spring, around September to October. I was actually not interested to go at first because I already attended the Floriade in Canberra, but a friend who had gone prior convinced me to go. Boy, was I glad I decided to go! It was the final weekend and had I stalled, I wouldn't have had the chance to see it anyone this year!

- I first had to buy tickets online (click here for the festival's official website), best to buy in advance as daily tickets easily get sold out. To get to the festival, one would need to ride a suburban train to Lilydale or Belgrave (Lilydale line or Belgrave line, both are terminal stops), then ride bus 633 to the festival.

- It was raining hard on the day I went, but I had no choice because tickets are date specific. I still had fun because I was really surprised by what I saw! The festival was definitely bigger than the Floriade, since this one had actual fields with tulips. The festival itself was generally Dutch-themed, as it is also based on the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in the Netherlands like the Floriade. This event began in 1954, and was held annually except in 2020 due tot he pandemic.

Entrance.

- The tulip festival also had weekly cultural themes, mostly cultures connected to either tulips or anything floral and magical. That last weekend was dedicated to Irish culture (which leans more on the floral and magical side.) It was quite confusing because the motif of the festival is Dutch, but the music and activities were Irish that weekend. I still liked it though.

I found this orange chair with a nice Dutch-inspired backdrop. Somehow, the giant (fake) tulips at the back and the colors made me feel like I was in Alice in Wonderland's world.

With giant tulips.

There are proper places where people can take photos with the tulips. The event discourages people from going through the strips of land between each row of tulips as it would be easier to ruin the flowers.

- I enjoyed going through the tulip fields and seeing the booths painted like famous Dutch buildings - some of which I have visited before. I also enjoyed meeting costumed characters walking around the event to greet people. Since it was an Irish weekend, I met real leprechauns and a fairy.

Tulipd field.

Met some leprechauns today!

They gave me a gold (chocolate) coin!

Can't stop taking photos with these colorful tulips!

This is a mechanical organ and it makes the most interesting music!

Not sure if real mushrooms or fake mushrooms.

Saw this Winx fairy walking around. She better head back to Alfea soon! (Please tell me you got that reference.)

My family. (Yes, these are all me.)

another look at the fields.

See the blue mountain range at the back? That's the Dandenong Ranges.

Again, they're both me.

A semi-floating giant Rubik's Cube.

- Before going back home, I had ate a late lunch while listening to the live traditional Irish music on stage. I love Irish music because the music is usually jumpy and playful, while the lyrics say otherwise. It was still a good visit despite the rain!

- Skipping to Tuesday night, I attended the "Indian Festival" which was a night of Indian performances with artists sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). One of the dancers is Guru Pavitra Krishna Bhat, a young but lauded Bharatanatyam dancer that I have been in touch with during the pandemic through social media. I have always been mesmerized by his performances (albeit via video only), and because it's usually not that common to see male Indian classical dancers. Little did I know that I'd have a chance to meet him in Melbourne of all places!

With Guru Pavitra Bhat.

He is accompanied by his Bharatanatyam students.

Inside Thornbury Theatre.

The Indian flag; performance by another group.

Ghoomar.

- The event was held at The Thornbury Theatre. The festival was organized by the Indian consulate in Melbourne, and attended by members of various diplomatic representatives (including the Philippine consul-general!), and some members of the Indian community. All the performers excellently showed the beauty of India through dance. The Bharatanatyam performance though was dear to me mostly because they presented an excerpt of the Ramayana. I was part of a Ramayana production in theater many years back, during high school.

Bharatanatyam.

With Philippine Consul-General Maria Lourdes Salcedo.

Gujarati dandiya.

A tribute to India.

With Indian Consul-General Dr. Sushil Kumar. 

Thornbury Theatre.

- Endless applauses thundered through the halls after the remarkable performances. I was not surprised, since the performers were delegates sent by the ICCR. I left shortly after the performances and saying goodbye to my friend Pavitra.   

- The cherry on the icing of my week was meeting my Vietnamese friend Kha for the first time in Melbourne. He is an amazing scientist who has been in Melbourne for a long time now!

Hi Kha! Nice to see you finally!

- Despite a rainy week, and Melbourne getting warmer as days went by, I was glad that I had some pleasant encounters to keep my mind off the weather (and work!) These nice experiences were good fuels for my next major adventure in Australia!