BrisVegas Baby!

City views from ferry
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Brisbane has everything you'd expect in a big city, tall buildings, tons of shops and plenty of bars and restaurants.  Noticably the place is very clean, and it has excellent transport links that are cheap, unlike much else in Australia!  As well as busses and trains, City Cat ferries are a popular form of transport and a great way to see some of Brisbane, while taking a leisurely cruise down the river.

On our day of arrival Nat became another year older so we calmed down the pace and chilled out for her birthday. We took a walk into the centre, had a mooch around, grabbed some food and checked out the Treasury Casino. Here gamblers throw away their money 24hrs a day in a building that was previously the City Treasury.  Craving a bit of indian food, we headed up the West End on the night.  Here there's both a big Indian and Greek population and therefore restaurants are of same influence.  An interesting mix, but it seemed to work.  By 11 o'clock however the place was falling asleep so we got back into the centre and hit Eagle Street. Here you have more of the trendy bars/restaurants, many overlooking the river. We finished the night off sinking a few vodkas and mojitos.

A funny episode that evening was Nat getting hit on by a drunk, raving mad, Lesbian...

More city views from ferry
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Having enjoyed taking things easy, we decided to carry on at the same pace as after a month on the go we were feeling a bit burned out.  After a much needed sleep in next day, we took a stroll down to the river and caught a ferry ride on a City Cat. Following a tip from a couple we spoke to the night before, we then took a bus to The Valley, located on the back of China Town.  This place was like a hybrid of Soho and Camden in London. There's the seedy side with a few strip clubs/peep shows going on and there's the boho crowds hanging around the bars where the tables/chairs veer out onto the street and local live bands play while everyone downs a bottle of Pure Blonde or XXXX.  The vibe was pretty cool round here so we hung out for the rest of day/night.  A funny episode that evening was Nat getting hit on by a drunk, raving mad, Lesbian who wanted to take her to a gay bar!

The "Captain" sets sail
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Next day we went to Brisbane's No1 tourist attraction, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  Here we got to cuddle a cute, little, smelly koala.  The sanctuary breeds koalas and supports their conservation, as apparently Wild Koalas in Australia are now becoming endangered species.  The sanctuary was formed in the 1920's, starting with only 2 koalas, but now has 130.  Another highlight while at the sanctuary was getting up close with and feeding the kangaroos.

City Bridge
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We thought Brisbane's a nice place, but nothing particularly special. We were glad to have seen it, but if we did ever go back, we'd probably travel down to the Gold Coast, which is about 1 to 1.5 hrs away and check that out, rather than spend most of our time in the city.  3 days in BrisVegas was enough for us though and we were ready and looking forward to moving on to Sydney.