Summary

The article is a personal reflection on Brisbane, detailing its climate, attractions, and the author's experiences living there.

Abstract

Brisbane, the capital of Queensland and third-largest city in Australia, is presented as a warm, subtropical city with a range of attractions suitable for both locals and tourists. The author, a long-time resident, shares a deep familiarity with the city, having lived in various suburbs and visited many schools in the region. Highlighting Brisbane's heat and occasional flooding, the article also recommends local spots such as Mt Coot-tha, the Botanical Gardens, and Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. The author expresses a preference for the city's lookouts, parks, and the opportunity to interact with native wildlife, while also acknowledging the appeal of nearby beaches and the Moreton Bay Islands. Despite the humidity and occasional extreme weather, Brisbane is portrayed as a city with a comfortable climate and a laid-back lifestyle.

Opinions

The author has a strong connection to Brisbane, having lived there most of their life and raising a family in the area.
Brisbane's climate is considered ideal for those who prefer warmth over cold, with the added challenge of humidity during summers.
The city's frequent flooding is noted, despite the presence of Wivenhoe Dam, which was expected to prevent such occurrences.
Mt Coot-tha and Mt Gravatt are favored for their lookouts and cafés, offering panoramic views of Brisbane.
The Botanical Gardens and New Farm Park are recommended as picnic spots to escape the heat.
Southbank is seen as touristy and expensive, with a wide variety of restaurants but costly parking.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary stands out as a preferred tourist destination for the author, providing opportunities to engage with kangaroos and koalas.
The City Hopper and City Cats are suggested as affordable and scenic ways to experience Brisbane from the river.
The beaches close to Brisbane are deemed less suitable for swimming due to mudflats at low tide, but world-class beaches are within an hour's drive.
North Stradbroke Island and Coochiemudlo are personal favorites among the Moreton Bay Islands, while Tangalooma Resort is considered too touristy.
The author enjoys Brisbane's winters, finding them mild enough to negate the need for heavy coats.

Brisbane — My Hometown

If you like the heat and hate the cold, this is the city for you.

I was born here and have lived here off and on most of my life. I’ve lived in Gladstone, Ipswich, Townsville, Mackay and Caloundra all in Queensland, and Port Macquarie in New South Wales. And in the last few years, I’ve travelled. I have three daughters and one son living here, my eldest son lives in Townsville, and my youngest son currently lives in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Brisbane is a long way from everywhere! Sign at Lone Pine Sanctuary Photo by author

I believe I’m one of the few people who has lived both southside and northside. Most Brisbanites are either Southsiders or Northsiders and don’t change from one to the other. Since I moved back here in 1981, I’ve lived in 9 different suburbs and 12 different houses. The last full-time job that I had for 13 years was visiting primary schools all over South-East Queensland so I know Brisbane pretty well. I currently live in a small suburb on the northern outskirts of Brisbane.

What can I tell you about Brisbane?

It’s the capital of Queensland and the third-largest city in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne. It’s named after Sir Thomas Brisbane who was the Governor of New South Wales when the city was founded in 1825. It has the third-largest seaport (Fisherman Island) and Australia’s biggest airport. (I didn’t know that!)

It’s built on the Brisbane River which has flooded more frequently in recent years. The first major flood was January 1974. I was living in Townsville at that time. That was before Wivenhoe Dam was built and we were promised no more floods! But sometimes we get so much rain they have to open the spillways and that’s when Brisbane floods.I live on a hill but we get “flooded in” because the roads around us go underwater. Most of the rain usually occurs in our summer months but we’ve had rain nonstop for the past 8 days. The weather here has gone crazy!

My favourite places

Overlooking Brisbane from the summit of Mt Coot-tha Photo by author

The places I like to visit are Mt Coot-tha and Mt Gravatt. Both have lookouts and cafés overlooking the whole city. The Botanical Gardens in the city are a lovely spot for a picnic on a hot day as are Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens (there’s a Japanese garden there which I especially love) and New Farm Park.

The Japanese Garden at Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens Photo by author

Southbank is popular with tourists but I rarely visit. There’s every type of restaurant there you can imagine, but they’re not cheap. Neither is parking!

My go-to favourite tourist spot is Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. I’ll tolerate the tourists to feed the kangaroos, and hold a koala, and walk around the beautifully landscaped area right on the river at Fig Tree Pocket.

The kangaroos at Lone Pine Sanctuary Photo by author

Brisbane as seen from the river

One of the best and cheapest ways to see a different aspect of Brisbane is from the river. You can catch a City Hopper for free and travel up and down the river to your heart’s content. The City Cats are much more modern and faster and cost a few dollars. These are used mostly by commuters to the city. If you want to spend big bucks, take an afternoon high tea aboard the paddle wheeler The Kookaburra Queen or maybe a night cruise aboard the Lady Brisbane.

The city at night from the Lady Brisbane Photo by author

The Story Bridge from the Kookaburra Queen Photo by author

The beaches

Brisbane’s beaches are pleasant places for a walk along the shoreline but not great places to swim. at low tide, the mud stretches out for a kilometre or more. Not to worry — we have some of the best beaches in the whole world less than an hour’s drive north and south of the city — the Sunshine Coast (which we call the Sunny Coast) and the Gold Coast (which we call the Goldie). Did you know Aussies try to shorten everything? We call Brisbane Brissie.

Our favourite beach on Bribie Island Photo by author

Moreton Bay Islands

There’s a few to choose from. North Stradbroke Island and Coochiemudlo are my favourites. Tangalooma Resort is situated on Moreton Island where you can swim with dolphins but I’ve never been there — very touristy with prices to match.

We often drive up to Bribie Island which has a beautiful beach that not too many people know about. It’s Phoenix’s favourite beach and ours too as it’s quite often completely deserted. You know how I hate crowds.

North Stradbroke Island Photo by starts at 60

Temperature

If you like the heat and hate the cold, this is the place for you. Brisbane has a humid subtropical climate with hot, wet summers and dry, warm winters. It rarely gets above 30C in summer but it’s the humidity that kills me. I have a pool where I spend most of my summer days unless I head to the northern hemisphere for some cooler weather. The temperature rarely drops below 10C in winter — not even cold enough to wear a coat. I love our winters.

This is Southbank. Photo by ROMAIN TERPREAU on Unsplash