We arrive in Brisbane at 7:00 am. Our flight to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, is the next morning so we have decided to spend the day in downtown Brisbane. The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and the Gallery of Modern Art are first on our list. The QAG is a maze, so we go left and go left again, and left some more until we wander through the myriad of exhibit halls. Lots of Australian and Aboriginal artists. A handful of masters, like Degas, Pissarro and Picasso. There are a number of huge floor to ceiling, entire wall installations that are wondrous.
Across the courtyard from the QAG is the Gallery of Modern Art. There is an exhibit on now called the Asia Pacific Triennial. Art from over 30 countries in the area is on display and gives one an insight of art from New Zealand, China, Timor-Leste and many island nations.
By now it is lunchtime so we walk to Queen Street Mall. We have lunch at Jimmy’s, an outdoor bar/coffeehouse/restaurant in the middle of the mall. Murray and I share Pad Thai, which is just enough lunch, and people watch.
After our rest, we decide to see if we can get on the City Cat, the water bus that plies the Brisbane River that runs through the city. For 50 cents we ride the water bus, first upstream and then downstream. It went a lot farther than we thought so we were on the boat for about 2 hours! We really like seeing cities from the water as it gives a whole different prespective. As the high rise office buildings and condos gave way to residential areas, we are amazed that there are still many single family residences right on the river. Some of the older houses look to be original “plantation” estates.
It’s time to head back to the airport hotel and a half hour train ride has us back there. Supper, check in for our flight to Port Moresby the next day and then we try to stay awake. I pass out at 8:00pm, Murray by 8:30.
