Australia: Brisbane
What an easy getaway we had no problem checking in our bikes then an effortless trip to Brisbane, the flight time is only three and a half hours so it seems so easy. Quarantine at Brisbane Airport insisted on inspecting our bikes but we had cleaned them well so it was pretty cursory. Our daughter, Jane was there to meet us and we got everything into the station wagon. Our main reason for the stop off here is to catch up with Jane, Mark and their three children so we will pass a very pleasant family oriented weekend before facing up to the long drag from here to Europe.
I love Brisbane with the Brisbane River snaking its tortuous way through the city. Its many loops and double backs always make me rather disoriented and I seldom know which way I am facing. The ferries are a pleasure to travel on and make public transport feel fun. Brisbane seems a biker's paradise, especially at this time of the year (winter) with the temperatures in the low to mid twenties, seemingly endless blue skies and little wind. Bike/pedestrian tracks run along beside much of the river and there are clearly marked cycle lanes along many of the roads. What is just as important the motorists don't seem to suffer from the aggressive, paranoiac attitude towards cyclists that drivers in my home town of Auckland often show.
I have a very important date in Brisbane. It is with Matthew our six year old grandson. Matthew is an accomplished cyclist. Jacob his older brother proudly tells me that Matt is such a good bike rider he will probably make the Olympics, I on the other hand rather hope it will be the Tour De France minus steroids. Matthew himself has great faith in Power aid as a performance enhancing drug! The Walas live in Bulimba. Oxford Street, the main street, is lined with shops and cafes. It goes straight down to the ferry. Matthew and I caught the little cross river ferry to the north side and we set off down the river track. The smile hardly left this face the whole time as we zimmed along amongst the other cyclists, skaters and skate boarders. We ate icecreams and were impressed by the distance we had travelled until back to the ferry and home.
Altogether a very relaxing time here. We leave at 2am on the rather grueling around 24hour trip to Hamburg
I am hatching up a new dream it is to take all six of our grandchildren with us on the Central Otago Rail Trail. The trail in the central South Island of New Zealand follows a disused railway through this beautiful and historic part of the country. It is an area of New Zealand that personally means a lot to Ken and me, it reminds me of wonderful times in St Bathans in our youth. The trail itself is well graded and a relatively easy four day ride. The infrastructure is well developed, bike hire is easy and accommodation good and interesting ranging from Farm Stays to Country Pubs which often have an association with the gold mining era of Central Otago. The transport back to Dunedin is on the Scenic Taerie Gorge Railway through wild road less country.
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