BrisVegas? More Like BrisBarnsley

So Brisbane has earned the nickname Brisvegas, but why? With a nod to one of the World’s gambling Meccas in the city’s nickname we Cassons were still wondering how Brisbane had earned it.

So our last few days in Brisbane were planned out thus: Wednesday whale watching, Thursday The Gold Coast / Surfer’s Paradise. Exciting times. Now, fortunately for Brisbane the whale watching cruise actually departed from a suburb of Brisbane so this fine activity can be claimed / labelled as something to do when in Brisbane (even though it takes you away from Brisbane). Living in Victoria we’re blessed with being able to whale watch regularly as they scoot along the Victorian coastline on their way to to warmer waters. However, watching them from a boat on a turquoise sea under a bright blue sky was an opportunity not to be missed.

Our catamaran left the Port of Brisbane around 10AM bound to an island resort that went by the name of Tangalooma (which ironically used to house a whaling station that was responsible for decimating whale stocks to near extinction). Here we disembarked only to re-embark a few minutes later to start the whale watching aspect of our time on the catamaran. The sea was calm, the sky and sea were blue and it wasn’t long before we came across two adult females humpbacks and a calf, and they’re were up for a bit of a show. Fins slapped, tails splashed, bodies surged and eyes spied. It was a display akin to watching a nature documentary on TV.Over the course of ninety minutes these water based giants entertained in a way that has to be experienced to be truly appreciated.

   

After nearly two hours of being David Attenborough whale watching was over and our stomachs were gearing up for pizza night back at our hotel. So with a sunburnt face (complete with panda eyes), sunburnt arms and desire to eat anything that moved the catamaran sped us back to Brisbane’s skyline.

Thursday started like all the other days in Brizzy: bright, warm and sun filled. Boy, so much sunshine. Lovely. Once breakfast was out of the way we were on our way to The Gold Coast, an iconic part of Queensland’s coast line known for its sublime beaches, fantastic surfing (shark!) and theme parks (who doesn’t love queuing?). Thankfully we weren’t doing any of this, we were there to catch up with friends and soak up the atmosphere.

We weren’t quite sure what to expect from this place. Would it be cheap, tacky, dirty, loud, busy, full of drunks and bogans? Would it offer far less than its hype? Happily, it did live up to the hype. It was busy but not overcrowded (probably because the beach goes on for miles and miles and miles). It was clean, bright, modern, chic and well maintained and, dare I say it, was everything I thought Brisbane was going to be. Ahhhhhhhhh! Bec was right. We should have come here instead of Brisbane. Ladies are so clever. Anyway, there are a lot more holidays to come so The Gold Coast will have the pleasure of our company again in the not too distant future. Although our time here was on the meagre side we did manage to walk along the beautiful beach, check out some of the shopping, enjoy a slow lunch with friends and laze in the sunshine.

 

Going back to Brisbane seemed a tad disappointing after Surfer’s Paradise on The Gold Coast. We’d seen a place that I thought Brisbane was going to be and was even hinted at in its nickname: BrisVegas. Alas it wasn’t to be. Brisbane had none of the glitz and glamour of Vegas or Surfer’s Paradise. Brisbane, from what we saw, was ordinary; which is very unusual for Australian Cities. However, it might not be my cup of tea but it is someone’s cup of tea. Probably Yorkshire Tea too. I wonder if Brisbane is twinned with Barnsley?