My first full day in Australia I wake up early and have showered,had an expensive coffee and am walking around the city by 6am. It will take a while for my body to adjust to the time difference but I actually don't feel tired at all.
I am amazed at the amount of people around at such an early hour. The city is buzzing with people on their way to work, people jogging by the river and having breakfast in the numerous outdoor eateries. I assume people just start their day earlier over here as the sun rises at 5.30am right now and it is dark by 6pm.
It is a very hot day with the sun shining and a temperature of 34 degrees. I apply lots of sunscreen as I have read and have been warned of how easy it is to burn over here on account of the proximity to the equator and the hole in the ozone layer. It will take a while for my pale Irish skin to adjust.
I decided I would take the city site seeing bus which costs $35 for the day and visits all the sites. The ticket also includes unlimited use of the river Ferry's.
To be honest there wasn't
Really that much to see on the tour that one wouldn't see by walking for a couple of hours. We did drive to an elevated area and botanical gardens where there is a really nice view down over the city.
Brisbane is the third lathers city in Australia and is one of the fastest growing cities. It has a very laid back attitude, an outdoor lifestyle, iconic heritage buildings and a fantastic arts screen. The cities heart and soul is the scenic Brisbane river. It is here I take one of the rivet Ferry's and stay on it for the whole route and back which took about 2 hours. It terminates at the university of Queensland and also goes through the city centre and many suburbs beyond. It was a great way to see places and was very relaxing sitting outside in the sunshine.
I walk around for a few hours and get some lunch at the Farmers Market in town. Brisbane is renowned for numerous markets with the majority of them being on at the weekends.
I retire back to the hostel and have a chicken Caesar in the cafe attached.
I have read and heard that Australian hostels have a great reputation for being very clean and organized. I have to agree with this statement and this hostel is no exception. There is even a pool on the rooftop, a movie room, full kitchen and Internet. The only downside i would suggest would be the lack of electrical sockets in the dorm
Rooms. With everyone having cell phones, computers and
iPods these days when they travel the demand for these sockets usually out ways the supply. I am in bed by 10pm.