A Trip to Brisbane

I was 10 years old when the family moved from Melbourne, Victoria to Brisbane, Queensland.

I did my three final years of primary school, four years of high school and a failed year of University before moving to Sydney with my first job.

I used to visit my parents and school friends a little until the former passed away.

My oldest friends with whom I maintained contact were a married couple who had met at our primary school.

We caught up down here and up there a few times for special occasions eg. significant birthdays etc, over the decades.

Unfortunately the husband died six years ago.

We decided another trip north was in order to catch up, face to face.

We flew with Virgin Australia from Sydney, a four hour drive to the airport. The flights out of Canberra, only a two hour drive, were very expensive in comparison which is always the case when the national parliament is sitting.

Brisbane has sure ‘grown up’ since I left. No longer is it a big country town.

We were busy for all the time we were there thanks to our ‘tour guide’.

On the first day we took the River Cat ferry up to South Bank.

The area lies on the Brisbane River across from the CBD (downtown) and is Brisbane’s lively cultural hub. Parks, galleries, restaurants, cafes and even a man-made beach bring this precinct to life.
It was originally almost entirely industrial then was redeveloped as the site for World Expo 88
We walked through the tropical gardens and visited the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, fitting in a morning coffee and an excellent midday lunch.
The weather wasn’t the best, cool and windy, but thankfully the rain held off.
The city skyline is impressive.

YouTube video here.

Next morning we did a tour of my old suburb, stopping to see the old family home.
The new owners had built another storey on top. It looked quite out of proportion as a result.
Then we caught up with an old school friend at a local cafe for brunch before heading into New Farm and its beautiful park. The jacaranda trees were in full bloom.
That evening we ventured to one of our mutual old haunts, the Breakfast Creek Hotel (the Brekky Creek)  and the Spanish Garden steak house.

It hadn’t changed a bit apart from a retractable roof. No more getting wet while eating during a tropical downpour. Those big beach umbrellas over the tables never seemed to work.
The steaks were as good as ever. 

And it’s still popular. 100% full on a Monday evening by 7pm.
Next morning we were up early for our flight home.
Brisbane airport was very busy. Forty minutes in the bag drop line. 

Full flight to Sydney on time. Bags quickly available.
Then the four hour drive home.

Early to bed, exhausted.
A great few days.
Thanks Pammy.

Hibbertia scandens / An Acceptable Weed

The native snake vine (Hibbertia scandens) grows all over our property.
It is a vigorous climber with stems reaching up to five metres in length as well as a ground cover.
It is found mainly in coastal areas in NSW, extending into the northern tablelands and a little into the central tablelands. It grows along the entire NSW Coast and most of the Queensland coast as far north as Cape York.
It also grows in the far north-east of Victoria.
Its habitats are coastal dune forest, wet sclerophyll woodlands and forests and well as coastal scrub and heathlands growing on sandy soils.
The plant produce fruit as follicles. In this species, they are about 2 cm long, ripening to red-brown.

Hibbertia is named after George Hibbert (1757-1837), an English merchant, politician, slave-owner and amateur botanist who took a keen interest in botanical discoveries and gardening, while scandens is Latin for  “climbing”.
In our local plant nursery it’s commonly known as the Guinea Flower.

This name refers to the resemblance of the flower shape and colour to the ancient Golden Guinea coin. 

It can cost up to $13/pot for the home gardener.

We have a few thousand dollars growing around here in that case.

It does take over some pasture so might meet the definition of a weed ie. any plant growing where it is not wanted, but the pretty foliage and flowers in season make it an acceptable addition to our resident native plants.