Brisbane

They are not on daylight savings time here in Brisbane so the sun rises well before 6:00 am. I managed to sleep until near 7:00 trying to overcome the three hour adjustment but just had to get up. I spent the early morning time renting a car for the next leg of our journey and trying to get our Aussie cell phone SIM card to work. After success at both of those those tasks, we turned our attention to planning the day.

We decided to take a boat trip up the river to the Lone Tree Koala Sanctuary. Checking the departure time, we had to hustle to meet the boat.

We had a nice one hour ride up the Brisbane River which winds its way through Brisbane. There are many beautiful waterfront homes even after the massive floods of 2011.

We arrived at the Lone Pine Sanctuary and had about 2 1/2 hours to enjoy the presentations and have some encounters with the animals. We started off checking out some of the unique birds.

It was then off to the Koalas. There were over a hundred "hanging around".

Chris took the opportunity to hug one! How cute is that....

After the Koalas we had a chance to pet some Dingos....

Then off to see the Kangaroos....

We finished off with a sheep dog and sheep shearing demonstration.

The trip back down the river gave us an opportunity to get a good view of the skyline. The place where we are staying is the largest tower in the middle of the photo. A nice modern building.

After the cruise, we explored the South Bank area, the site of Expo 88. Lots of parks, gardens, cafes, bars and restaurants.

Right beside the river is this huge man made beach for sunbathing and swimming. All chlorinated swimming pool water.

We crossed back over the river and walked through the Botanical Gardens and took in the sights of this vibrant city. It was getting very tiring as the temperature was 31C with 70% humidity.

I figure that most businesses do not have flex hours here because as soon as it was 5:00 pm, you could barely walk down the sidewalks as all of the high rise office buildings emptied.

We had a little rest in the apartment then headed back to the Queen St mall for supper at an outdoor restaurant. A nice summer evening and we were back home by 9:00 pm.