Busy Brizzy
Brisbane is the perfect mini-city to escape to for a few days to get a change in scenery from the many lush Aussie beaches along the Eastern coast. Arriving in the city you quickly notice the little bunch of skyscrapers in the city central along with the river that separates it from “South Bank,” an area I would describe as family-friendly by day and bar-hop fun by night. However, South Bank didn’t seem like a party-goer type area like “The Village” in Brisbane, but rather a classier area for getting together in bars for a few drinks and appetizers or dinner.
Arriving at Chill Backpackers, the reception led me to my room and told me about the facilities in the hostel. On the third floor there was a fully equipped kitchen, a movie room playing three popular movies a day, and a BYO rooftop terrace with pool table. On the fourth and top floor, there was a sundeck and picnic benches perfect for enjoying the magnificent views of the riverside city.
Leaving the hostel to explore the city I found a self-rental bike lot right across the street from the hostel. It took two minutes online to sign up and then I was able to rent a bike for the day for $6. The bike website even told travelers they could return their bike before 30 minutes was up to another bike rack in the city and then take another bike out so that they wouldn’t have to pay at all while using the bike throughout the day — a helpful tip for travelers on a tight budget.
I rode along the river on the pathway in South Bank, the 17-hectare parkland with towering ficus trees and colourful gardens. Along the way I saw a lot of family friendly activities including the Wheel of Brisbane (a ferris wheel next to the river) and Streets Beach — Australia’s only beach in the middle of a city, overlooking Brisbane river and central business district. The city itself has over 1200km of dedicated paths for pedestrians and cyclists, but I found myself heading along the river past the National Maritime Museum (where you can openly view many of the ships) and across a bridge to the Botanical Gardens. I biked past the bamboo grove and ornamental ponds on my way out to the other side where I biked through the city centre before discovering the Riverwalk. This is an 870m long pathway for pedestrians and cyclists to get from the Brisbane CBD to a neighbourhood called New Farm. As the sun had nearly completely set, I caught an amazing view of a bridge glowing with purple lights reflecting off the water and the CBD of Brisbane in the background. Since it was also cooler at that time, I’d definitely recommend doing the Riverwalk later in the evening.
I returned to the hostel and quickly settled in on the rooftop with some new friends before heading to the hostel-recommended bar a quick 5-minute walk away. As the bar was in another hostel, it was easy to gather more people before heading out to the popular nightlife hotspot of The Valley, a 10-minute cab away. We all decided to head to Brisbane’s superclub “Met,” owned by the notorious Revelry Entertainment Company. This was one of the most fun clubs I have been in Australia as it had big DJs in each room with completely different music. In the basement, Cocoon room was playing deep house, the main room on the ground floor was playing trap music, and the top floor had R&B and hip hop — something to suit nearly everybody’s needs.
After a crazier night out than I had expected, I looked into the other activities in the morning. Other top-rated activities in Brisbane are the Australian Zoo - one of the top 10 zoos in the world; Suncorp Stadium for rugby and Aussie rules football games; rock climbing or abseiling with Riverlife; cuddling koalas at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary; and the XXXX Brewery Tour. I definitely underestimated Brisbane as I had already been to other major cities such as Melbourne and Sydney and didn’t think Brisbane would be able to offer much more — clearly I was wrong. Whether you’re a sports enthusiast, love to shop, or enjoy the outdoors, Brisbane is definitely a nice change from all the beaches you will see along the coast so make sure to not miss out!
