It is hard to believe that we still find new surprises around this beautiful city. Today the suburb of Springhill sprung some surprises on us. The summer heat is still upon us so we met early at Roma Street and enjoyed a walk through the parkland in the cool of the morning. As always, the gardens were in pristine appearance. We decided to try out some new poses . . . After all this walking it was time for a hearty breakfast at The Treasury Kitchen and the special of the month did not disappoint. The eggs Benedict were delicious. Afterwards some of us viewed the "Into the Woods" fairytale themed art display at G.O.M.A. before heading home. The exhibition brings together contemporary art, breathtaking costumes, immersive installations and stunning cinema from visual storytellers around the world to untangle themes of bravery and justice, loyalty and humility, cunning and aspiration. This was a varied and very pleasant morning easily notching up 10 kilometres.
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This week we followed a purple path, enjoying the gorgeous, blooming jacaranda trees around the streets and parks of Brisbane. Dressed in shades of purple to blend in, we started mid-afternoon at Goodna and moved on to Chelma, then Tarragindi. The trees took so much of our attention that one of our hikers tripped and fell on a steep street. A resulting broken arm meant she missed our sumptuous dinner to conclude the day at "The Prawnster" on the Brisbane River. The highs and lows of hiking are many.
The garden city is at its prettiest in spring and we were delighted to be heading there on such a sunny, clear day. Toowoomba was in full bloom, bursting with colour and cheer as it celebrated the annual Carnival of Flowers. Since its inception in 1949, the annual 10 day event has flourished and is now an iconic Queensland event. We began with a wander through Queens Park, sucking in the glorious scents of the flowers, as well as feasting on the colourful designs woven into the flower beds.. Our spirits were high on such colour, but a morning tea picnic of coffee and homemade brownies proved that our spirits could be lifted even further. With appetites sated, we continued on to Laurel Bank Park, another great showcase of floral displays during the Carnival of Flowers. Our next stop was at Highfield Falls Bushland to do some hiking, after all, we are a hiking group. There are several walking circuits in this park - all named after birds that live in the area. Each of the walks is relatively short but very pleasant with lovely scenery. We felt we had now earned lunch, and had to admit our choice of homemade cottage burgers from the Chocolate Cottage was unbeatable. The sun shone. The sky was blue. The setting was in a little village green. The food was grand and the wine was cold. The Hungry Hikers were very happy. Leaving the mountains, we made a final stop at the beautiful Spring Bluff Railway Station. It never disappoints. Hopefully we never underestimate the joy of stopping to smell the flowers.
The day didn't look too promising to start, but the drizzle had stopped by the time we met at Downey Park and we were able to spend the day walking without any further rain. We began walking along Enoggera Creek with a side trip for coffee at the Willow & Spoon on Newmarket Road. This proved to be a worthwhile decision as the banana bread and rhubarb crumble were delicious. After morning tea we made our way back to the Ennogera Creek path, and walked as far as the Commercial Hockey Club. We crossed the river here and threaded our way through the leafy streets to reach Victoria Park Golf Course. The Victoria Park Golf Course is now officially closed and the Brisbane City Council is converting it into new 64-hectare park. We included the area on our walk to take a look at what progress has been made. Not much yet, it seems, but if you click here you can read more about the project. We stopped for a glass of wine at the Victoria Park Bar & Grill for old time's sake. It was here, five years ago, that we decided on our name, 'The Hungry Hikers". We had been hiking together for a few years leading up to this, but it seemed like a good time to choose a name that captured our twin loves. What do we love nearly as much as wine? Ice-cream of course! We completed our 10 kilometre circuit with an EKKA strawberry ice-cream at the pop-up ice-cream stall at the exhibition grounds. This was a perfect ending to another day out exploring our great city.
This week we did a winter favourite hike of ours. With lovely sunshine and pleasant temperatures we hiked beside the Beautiful Brisbane River. We met at the Brisbane Wheel, and after enjoying a coffee by the water, we walked through the Southbank, then followed the river under the Kangaroo Point cliffs, under the Story Bridge, past Dockside Marina and caught a ferry from Mowbray Park across to Teneriffe on the other side. This gave a chance for our tired feet to rest before following the river back to the city. Thirteen kilometres later we were famished and ready to enjoy refuelling at the Jade Buddha Restaurant overlooking the water. We were a little disappointed they no longer serve the $10 lunch specials, but we happily settled for a pork belly burger that proved to be quite delicious. After lunch we took the city cat back to Southbank and caught a train home, our hiking and hunger urges greatly satisfied.
Our plan this week was to take in some art in the city. We began at the Art Gallery on the Southbank and enjoyed an exhibition of William Yang’s work. Yang is a Queensland-born, Sydney-based photographer who integrates a photographic practice with writing, video and performance. The exhibition traces his career from documentary photography through to explorations of cultural and sexual identities and his depictions of landscape. As we left the Southbank and crossed the bridge to the city the sky turned dark with storm clouds. The heavens opened before we reached the City Gardens where we planned to see Botanica - Contemporary Art Outside. We retreated to sit out the storm over dinner and a drink. The rain left, and so had the crowds, chased home by the wet. We were fortunate to have the whole Botanica display mostly to ourselves. And the timing was perfect as the lights were full on against the dark night. Botanica is a free event and part of Brisbane Art Design 2021. The City Botanic Gardens come to life with large-scale projections, installations and interactive artworks. With few people around, we were able to enjoy the interactive installations hassle-free. One way to beat the summer heat in Brisbane is to start early. So, we started early - very, very early - so early that we made the top of Mt Coot-tha just as the stars began to fade and the sky began to lighten. By the time the sun was breaking the horizon and burning through a familiar haze of smoke and dust from our brutal summer bushfire season, we had set up a breakfast table and poured champagne to greet the day. One thing for certain is that the Hungry Hikers know how to do it in style. While there was still a coolness in the air, we packed away our breakfast things and headed off on a brisk hike down the mountain to the Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens and on to the nearby Toowong Cemetery. Toowong Cemetery officially opened in 1875 and features a number of cultural areas, historical trails and memorials. A couple of us had distant relatives buried here, but we were unable to locate them. We were too early for the help of the office, so we just enjoyed meandering through and admiring the weird, the wonderful, and the often sad headstones and memorials.
We had eagerly been anticipating 'Fire Gardens' by the Brisbane River, but our bushfire season has started badly. and the event was cancelled due to a total statewide fire ban. We decided not to waste the evening and did a late afternoon river walk ending at Southbank to catch the light and laser show, another Brisbane Festival event. We met at Mowbray Park and followed the river under the Story Bridge, under the cliffs at Kangaroo Point until we reached Southbank, where we decided we needed a little sustenance before proceeding on. Night was falling as we continued along the river to choose a spot in front of the Brisbane Eye to watch the laser show. The use of water fountains and light and lasers and story telling told of the history of this part of the river. A delicious Thai meal, followed by a ferry ride back to Mowbray Park added to our appreciation of this beautiful city. Love ya Brisbane!
.Perfect winter weather here in Queensland called us to the river this week. We have been eagerly waiting for the new section of the Kingsford Smith Drive River Walk alongside the Brisbane River to open! The pathway between Portside Wharf and Brisbane CBD provides lovely river views, and though the new section is open, workmen were still adding finishing touches of beautification. We began by taking a city cat to Brett's Wharf and enjoying coffee and muffins in the sunshine of a sidewalk cafe before heading off.
An unexpected discovery along the way was to find the fabulous Gloria has a new mate. Gloria, the stainless steel Wool Store ewe, is larger than life and has always been a favourite of ours. Now she has a mate gazing with binoculars over the river. We don't know when he appeared or who he is as we can't find any reference to him, so please fill us in if you know anything about him.
All in all, another great day hiking, but we wouldn't recommend this one in the heat of summer. A warm winter's day is the perfect time. A few of us have been away on different adventures lately, so it was great to have all the Hungry Hikers together again on a brilliant Brisbane autumn morning. We made an early start as today we had plans to feed mind, body and soul.
Some more walking and talking via the riverside, through the Botanic Gardens, and a quick visit to the QUT Cube had us at Old Government House in time for a talk on the importance of letters providing valuable insight into not only the people who wrote them, but also the place and period of time they were written. We particularly enjoyed Dr Katie McConnell's presentation on Lady Lamington's letters to her husband. Lord Lamington was governor of Queensland from 1886 to 1901. Then we were in for another culinary treat on the verandah of O.G.H. where a delicious spread was served after the talk. I thought it was fitting there was a lamington cake included. Despite all our eating and education time, we still managed to clock up 9 kilometres and top up our Vitamin D levels in the glorious sunshine. We concluded the day by registering to receive Old Government House newsletters, for they run some excellent free concerts, talks and exhibitions.
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