The Road to Brisbane

Our first day out of Sydney took us to yet another wine region. Fortunately, it was a Sunday and we were able to navigate out of Sydney without too much difficulty for our three hour drive north to The Hunter Valley. As we are regular consumers of Lindeman wines back home, it was to be our vineyard of choice for lunch and a few tastings. Unfortunately we were disappointed with the winery and its luncheon offerings, so we moved on to sample a few more of the over 150 wineries in the region. The boutique wineries are fun to visit and are very personable and liberal with their samples. Then some of the larger ones put on a first class show with the wooden caskets and stainless steel vats with the olfactory nerves sensitized by the tannins and mash smells, swirling throughout the air.

The next couple of days were fairly uneventful as the drive north was long and contrary to travelling the Gold Coast where we thought we would be following the coast line, the only time we saw any real sign of beaches was as we neared the town of Coolangata which was about 100 km south of Brisbane. Now we can see what the fuss is all about!! Miles and miles of beaches and boardwalks stretch to the horizon in both directions. This is a paradise for walkers, runners and surfers alike. The sand is white and clean, the water is very warm (25 Celsius) and the surf is gentle for the hundreds of surfers who flock to this region. I’ve never heard of this town before but the local barber, who gave me a trim, likened it to Miami and it reminded me of Punta del Este in Uruguay. There is no evidence of crime here and poverty is virtually nonexistent as far as I can tell. I could see this as a snow bird destination if the distances to get here weren’t so great. Each beach has a beginning and an end and the biggest decision was to decide whether your starting point was the beginning or the end.

Ahhhh….Brisbane. What a treat! One of the most, if not the prettiest cities we have ever visited. Clean and classy, with its old Victorian buildings and new towering skyscrapers, this capital of Queensland’s motto is “I’ll take Brisbane any day”. The botanical gardens were so calming with glorious fountains, numerous species of birds and did I mention the trees? The free River Hopper with the hop on hop off version of the ferry gave us a first class view of the city skyline from the Brisbane River. Restaurants and bars with lots of atmosphere, in keeping with the Australian and British themes were abundant. My only regret was, having to leave, as we could have well spent another couple of days soaking up the sophisticated and youthful atmosphere.