Blanket with your coffee?

My favourite place to sit and have a coffee is on the Goodwill Bridge. Great staff, lovely coffee and a picture-postcard view. (No, I'm not being paid to write that.) This was taken a couple of weeks ago from a moving CityCat so apologies for the blurriness. As you can see, it was warm enough to take your shirt off while canoeing down the river. It's chilled down to about 20 degrees celcius (68f) which means winter woolies for many Brisbane folks. I know. I used to laugh... but you get acclimatised after a few years. And if you're having coffee on the bridge at this time of year they even provide blankets. Toasty!

Rummage!

Brisbane's regular Suitcase Rummage at Reddacliffe Place went on location for the Home Festival. You could pick up some real bargains! 

 

Take Me Home...

Last Saturday I ventured out to Kangaroo Point for a free festival called the Home Festival. It was a great day out with loads to do and see. Here's a few shots...

 

 

 

 

How he hated that Monday morning commute

I found this one in the archives from back in May. One of the great things about the river around the city and Kangaroo Point is how well it's utilised. This section gets Citycats, ferries, paddle steamers, pleasure boats, the world's largest solar-powered boat, HMAS Endeavour (if you look closely you can see it in this snap)... and then you get kayakers, rowers and I've even seen someone on a paddle board!

Just as an aside, I was talking to a friend who mentioned that he often went for a paddle in the river if it was a nice day. Being English, I took that to mean that he took his shoes and socks off, rolled his trousers up and waded in to about mid-calf. I looked at him like he was bonkers. While the river is good to float on, you wouldn't want to go swimming about in it! Yuk! All sorts of nasty stuff went through it during the flood and I think it's probably still a health hazard... and the swirling under-currents can be deadly....  Anyway he meant paddle-boarding. Duhhhh.

Climbing The Cliffs at Kangaroo Point

 Brisbane has some beautiful cliffs right in the heart of the city rising from the river to the streets of Kangaroo Point. According to a post in the very excellent and informative blog Your Brisbane Past and Present, they are over 220 million years old! Aside from their natural beauty which changes in the light, they are also good for climbing - if you're that way inclined.

Give me a set of steps any day.

Morning Clouds Over the CBD - Skywatch Friday

Today's offering was taken from Kangaroo Point a couple of weeks ago just before 7am.

See others from around the world via the Skywatch Friday portal.

Walking The Dog

Walking the dog on the walkable side of the river at this point. This photo shows parts of the Riverwalk on the opposite side. During the floods in January, a large chunk of it (length of a football field) broke off and floated for 5kms down the river, heading for the Gateway Bridge. Luckily the bridge was saved by the heroics of a tugboat driver. No mean feat. There's some footage of it here.

It used to look like this.

Under The Bridge

Story Time

It's been a while since I've photographed the Story Bridge. This is a new angle for me. I've never been to the little park under the bridge on Kangaroo Point before as it's a dead end and I don't know anyone who lives around there. There's even a beach! (sort of) 

Perfect Autumn Morning

This morning's sunrise was an absolute belter. I sacrificed my public-holiday sleep in so I could get out there and show you. I hope you like it!

Geography Lessons

Down at South Bank, there is a section called Aquativity with all sorts of water activities for kids of all ages - including a big map of Brisbane. The city's tall buildings are represented by grids of fountains which shoot up when you are least expecting it and you can follow the Brisbane river in your bare feet as it winds its way from one side of the city to the other. The Story Bridge is represented by an arc of water (above).

Checking out the cliffs at Kangaroo Point from the CityCat

 I love these beautiful cliffs that define Kangaroo Point. You can climb them, abseil them, picnic in the park along the top, cycle or walk along the bottom or ride by them on a boat. They are so wild looking - like they don't belong in the middle of a city.

Kangaroo Point Jacarandas

I make no apology for milking the Jacarandas In Bloom thing. There will be more purple on this page before the season's out if I have anything to do with it.

And Now For The Weather...

I have my friend Jake to thank for these photos. He took them while setting up a live TV link for a weather report from the rotunda at Kangaroo Point cliffs. It was a pretty grim day yesterday in Brisbane with lots of low lying cloud over the city and plenty of rain overnight.

Couch and movie weather, definitely!

Panorama of Brisbane, 1880

More information on this painting later... in the meantime, can you spot anything familiar or where the artist was standing when he painted it? Click on it for a closer view.


(Edit) The artist was J.A. Clark and he was standing on Bowen terrace (at what is now the Wilson Outlook Reserve) looking at the section of the river which now boasts the story bridge so well done to Jake, 'me', anonymous and no doubt tff for spotting it correctly!  Spring Hill stands out with the windmill on the left and the newly erected "old" Parliament House on the right. It's a gigantic painting - I think 5 or 6 feet long - and it hangs in the Queensland Art Gallery. Definitely worth a visit!

Talking of visits, thanks for visiting this blog today! Lovely.