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Brisbane, capital of
Queensland, Australia
Climate and weather
Getting there, accommodation, and meeting Araucaria Ecotours
Things to do in Brisbane
Getting there, accommodation, and meeting Araucaria Ecotours
Things to do in Brisbane
Brisbane has ‘grown up’ since Expo 88, from what used to feel like an overgrown country town to a far more sophisticated city of ethnic variety and attractive landscaping. It is the state capital, located in the southeast corner of Queensland, approximately a one-hour journey by train or car from the Gold Coast. Its diversity of natural habitats and wildlife (e.g. more koalas and lizards than any other capital) will be well appreciated by browsing the information-packed little book ‘Wildlife of Greater Brisbane’ published by the Queensland Museum and available in most book stores.
Climate and weather
Brisbane has a subtropical climate (the official tropics start halfway up the Queensland coast, at Rockhampton). Summer days can be hot, but not as overwhelmingly or consistently hot as some parts of the tropics, and there are many lovely warm summer evenings to enjoy. Occasional summer nights are uncomfortably hot if you are without fans or air-conditioning, especially if there are storms brewing, but there are cool green mountain forests to escape to within a short drive or bus ride. In winter the days are usually pleasantly warm or mild, and although nights can be cold they are very rarely sub-zero.Rainfall follows the tropical pattern of relatively wet summers and dry winters. This usually means a wealth of sunny days and clear starry skies in winter, interspersed with a few wet days now and then. Rain in summer does not come every day, nor does it usually last all day. If you experience a few rainy days, remember that without them we couldn’t have our wonderful rainforests. At times there will be spectacular electric storms, strong winds and flooding rains, but we don't have the cyclones that sometimes strike the northern coasts.
Weather forecasts can always be checked by dialing 1196.
How to
Get To Brisbane, where to stay, and where to meet Araucaria Ecotours
Getting
there and accommodation, and how to connect with Araucaria Ecotours
Brisbane
has both a domestic and an
international airport. From either of these you can catch an air-train
to the
Brisbane Transit Centre on Roma Street, or a taxi to your
accommodation. You can also take a bus or train from Cairns, Sydney, or other cities and large towns. All long-distance buses and trains arrive at the Brisbane Transit Centre on Roma Street.
There are a number of hotels and hostels close to the Transit Centre, which itself is just a few minutes’ walk to the main shopping area of Brisbane (Queen Street Mall) or across the bridge to Southbank and the Culture Centre (museum, library, art gallery and performing arts).
Some hostels further afield have a courtesy bus which will pick you up from the Transit Centre.
Pickup by Araucaria: Brisbane Transit Centre or your accommodation
At the start of extended tours, Araucaria Ecotours can pick you up from the door of your accommodation in the city or some southside suburbs.
If you are
staying further afield we ask that you meet us at the small
parking bay on Roma Street next to the Holiday Inn (which is in the
same building as the Brisbane Transit Centre), across the road from Tin
Billy
Hostel and Transcontinental Hotel. It is a short walk from many other
hotels (Explorers Inn, Ibis and others) hostels (City YHA, Yellow
Submarine and others and guest-houses (Annies Shanon Inn and others). Day-tour guests
We prefer to pick up everyone from the Brisbane Transit Centre on day-tours so that we can quickly get out of city traffic and into the areas we wish to visit.
However, if you are coming on a day-tour and may have difficulty reaching the pickup point on Roma St let us know and we can often pick you up from your accommodation or elsewhere
Pickup from airport
With prior arrangement, if it does not clash with the interests of other guests, we can pick you up from the airport on the morning of your tour. We now charge an additional $44.00 (which can be shared between guests) on standard tours for this service and it is built into our charges for custom tours. However we generally advise that you arrive at least the day before to get some rest after your journey, as the first day of our extended tours can be tiring if you have not slept well the night before, and other guests for the day may not wish to miss out on seeing kangaroos etc. so that you can arrive early at your tour accommodation. An airport pickup also delays the escape from city traffic to forest. Brisbane has plenty of attractions worth spending some time exploring (see the end of this page).
Self-drives
If you have a hire vehicle or your own car, we may be able to arrange to leave your car parked in the area we normally leave our tour vehicle (in the southern inner city suburb of Yeronga) if you can meet us there on the morning of your tour.
Places very convenient for Araucaria Ecotours to pick up from include:
- West End Apartments – close to a row of ethnic restaurants (Vietnamese, Lebanese, Thai, Greek, Mexican ….) 5 minutes walk to Queensland Museum, 10 minutes walk to Southbank., 20 minutes walk (across bridge) to city. Easy to pick you up from the door.
- Sapphire Resort – a little further up the road from West End Apartments, good value, and has its own Asian restaurant and cafe. Easy to pick you up from the door.
- Brisbane Backpackers - or Somewhere-to-Stay – hostels in West End
- Holiday Inn (adjacent to the Transit Centre, in same building) - we can pick you up at the door, and it is an easy walk to main shopping district. A good choice if you are catching the air train to or from the airport, as it leaves from the same building – also if you are catching a train to Australia Zoo or the Gold Coast or ore distant locations such as Cairns or Sydney.
- Tin Billy Hostel – very handy to public transport and easy walk to main shopping district ( we ask you to cross the road to meet us, as this is opposite the Transit Centre).
- Explorer’s Inn – probably the best value-for-money hotel in Brisbane if not wanting ‘frills’, very central and with its own restaurant. Rooms are a bit small and we can’t legally park outside, but if you don’t have loads of heavy luggage you can meet us under the bridge just down the road or at our usual pickup point by Holiday Inn (5 minute walk)
- Brisbane Hilton – in the heart of Brisbane’s main shopping area
- Sofitel – adjacent to Central Station and a short walk to Brisbane’s main shopping area
- Robertson Gardens Comfort Inn Motel – a bit isolated from shops etc. (it has its own restaurant, mid-range prices), in the suburbs but across the (rather busy) road from Toohey Forest which surrounds two Griffith University campuses, so you can take a stroll before breakfast looking for birds
We can also pick up from most other places in the city and southside – some are just a bit more awkward than others when traffic is heavy, and a few have nowhere to park, meaning we have to meet you a little way down the road.
If you wish, we can recommend or book you into a hostel, hotel or guesthouse (B&B) for the nights just before and after your tour.
Dropping our guests off at their accommodation is never a problem unless they are staying some distance out of the city, in which case we can take you to a taxi stand or public transport – we will not leave you stranded in the dark at the end of a tour (we’ve had that happen to us more than once after tours).
Things
to Do in Brisbane
- Botanic Gardens – there are two Gardens: one in the city just a few blocks from Queen Street Mall and another – after a bus-ride from Adelaide St – at Mt Cootha.
- Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium (at Mt Cootha Botanic Gardens) – ask what special shows are screening.
- Southbank Parklands – just across the river from the city centre (an easy walk) and close to the city’s main museum, library and art gallery. Swimming, markets, restaurants, gardens.
- Queensland Museum – close to Southbank, and an easy walk from the city centre. Marine and terrestrial wildlife, fossils, history, physics.
- Lone Pine Sanctuary – ride a ferry down Brisbane River past a large fruitbat colony to this wildlife sanctuary with many koalas, a platypus, friendly kangaroos and other wildlife.
- City Cat - riding this ferry down the river is one way of exploring, hopping on and off at various points or just relaxing and enjoying the ride (especially at night, with reflections of a variety of lights in the water).
- Walking
and
cycling tours with Urban
Adventures
- an eco-friendly way of
seeing the sights
- Rock-climbing or kayaking with RiverLife at Kangaroo Point, or climb the Story Bridge across the Brisbane River.
- Fortitude Valley and Chinatown – many Asian restaurants and shops, weekend markets.
- Many good restaurants are scattered throughout Brisbane – Mediterranean, Asian, seafood, vegetarian, and more. We especially like the cluster of ethnic restaurants around West End, southside.