Travel Delays; Rainy Brisbane

[Wed 11/30 - Thu 12/1]

We had planned it would take us about 7 hours to get from our hotel on Hamilton Island to our hotel in Brisbane. It ended up taking nearly 14 hours thanks to a delayed flight caused by heavy rains. We checked out around 9:15am, caught a shuttle to the harbor, caught a boat back to Airlie Beach, then another shuttle to Whitsunday Coast Airport, arriving at 2 for our 3pm flight to Brisbane. Just as we got in line to check our bags, it started to pour outside. After several announced departure delays, we finally learned that the inbound flight from Brisbane had circled over us a few times before heading back to Brisbane. So we sat in the tiny (3 gates total) airport and waited. Fortunately, they had a restaurant with decent food - and a bar - so we made the most of the time, relaxing, reading and/or watching a show or movie. The plane eventually made it through (with a new crew) and we boarded around 8:30 for the 90-minute flight to Brisbane, where it was also raining heavily. We got to our hotel around 11, grabbed a light meal from the restaurant next door, and went to bed. A long day, but if that is the worst of our travel woes, we'll consider ourselves very lucky.

We woke Thursday to more rain and wind, with a forecast for it to continue all day. We had reservations for a boat cruise on the Brisbane River with a stop at a koala sanctuary - and a little rain wasn't going to stop us Seattleites. We bundled up and caught an Uber to South Bank, where we boarded a Miramar Cruises tour boat for a 10am departure. We cruised west/south along the winding river with a surprisingly good recorded commentary describing various points of interest. Turned out to be a great way to see (a portion of) the city on a rainy day.

Pedestrian bridge over the Brisbane River

A couple of the riverfront mansions (the one on the right is available for A$44 million!)

Around 11:15am, the boat dropped us at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where we had until 2:15pm to explore the grounds. It was really fun. In addition to koala's they house lots of other mammals, birds and reptiles. We saw dozens of koalas up close, plus: kangaroos, dingos, platypuses, tasmanian devils, owls, eagles, bats, crocodiles, lizards, snakes and more.

Koalas

Curious kangaroo

Feeding a young kangaroo

Feeding a mama with a 'joey' in her pouch

Dingos

Freshwater crocs

The boat ride back was nice - despite the continued rain and wind. They dropped us around 3:30 and we decided to walk along the riverfront, in the direction of our hotel. Stopped for a couple beers and appetizers at Sea Legs Brewery - a cool spot near Kangaroo Point. Afterwards, we walked another mile or so toward the hotel, then Karri and Victoria hopped an Uber while I decided to walk the last 2 miles or so back.

Arbour on the riverfront walkway

Central Brisbane on a rainy day

Lots of waterfront art

Trying to decipher the game of cricket at Sea Legs Brewery

We met back at the hotel around 7 and decided our appetizers were going to be enough to hold us over for the night - and that a warm shower and staying in might be nice. Karri and Victoria are watching a movie while I write this. Tomorrow morning we catch a flight back to Sydney where we'll pick up a car and drive west to the Blue Mountains for a couple nights.