@merrelyn I meant to reply to you immediately - and then got side- tracked. :) I was going to suggest that if you got down to the Gold Coast at any stage we may be able to get together for a coffee and a wander with our cameras, if you would like to. We tend to be there about half the time depending on what is happening there and at Stanthorpe. It should be a nice time of the year for your visit, assuming the weather behaves normally. Cheers Rob
@robz It would be lovely to catch up Rob. We’re hoping to hire a for a couple days and do some day trips. We have a travel voucher from a Covid cancelled trip that needed to be used and managed to find in a week in June (in on 17th out on 24th) when we could get away. It was only booked a week ago so I haven’t planned anything yet. Any suggestions on things to do in and the city would be greatly appreciated.💕
@merrelyn I just looked at our calendar and unfortunately we may be away in our caravan from the 4th June for a few weeks. If it's too cold we'll be back earlier though!! We can keep in touch as it gets closer.
We had a bit of a thought about things to do or see and came up with a bit of a varied list of stuff that we always enjoy:
1. A ride up and down the river on a Citycat or cross river on the free Kitty Cat - I think most of them are still not working but may be back in action by June.
2.Catch an Uber into Howard Smith Wharves in the afternoon - have a drink at one of the bars or cafes and then follow the river walkway towards the city - through the Botanic Gardens - over the pedestrian bridge and onwards to the South Bank Precinct. The later parts are lovely when they're lit up at night and quite safe to walk through.
3. If you go to the Museum or GOMA ( Modern Art Museum) through the day they are at the far end of the South Bank Precinct and also next to the West End area which has lots of interesting cafes, bars and boutique shops.
4. Mt Cootha is a short car drive from the city and has a good lookout point, lots of bush walks and another Botanical Garden which focuses on native plants.
5. If you drink beer there are lots of great craft breweries (Errol is a big fan) - Newstead Brewery, Green Beacon and Mrs Browns are all near each other in trendy Newstead. There is also a super antiques centre called New Farm Antique Centre, which is within walking distance from the Newstead and Green Beacon Breweries, in case one of you is not so interested in beer. :) Brewdog is great for fun food and craft beer.- and just near the Gateway Bridge if you find yourselves out that way.
6. The Australia Zoo is about an hour away - in the hinterland behind the Sunshine Coast. I don't usually like zoos - but this one is really well managed, very natural in its settings and very interesting with a wide range of interesting species.
7.A trip to the hinterland of the Gold Coast is well worth a visit. Probably a bit over an hour and a half from the city. Our favourite walk is the Twin Falls walk at Springbrook. It's about 4 kms and is a level 3 walk - intermediate difficulty. If you do it make sure to start from the Canyon Lookout and do the walk in the anti-clockwise direction. It takes about 2 hours.
8. I guess the Gold Coast is worth a look if you haven't been there before. It still has some beautiful areas and beaches but it is highly commercialized. Lunch in one of the Surf Clubs is usually a safe bet - they nearly all have nice beach views and reasonable food and drinks and poker machines if you're so inclined. Our favourites would be Southport ( which is at Main Beach?!), Kurrawa ( which is at Broadbeach), Burleigh, Currumbin and Rainbow Bay. Some have better food than others and some just have magic positions (eg Currumbin and Rainbow Bay) You should probably ring and book a table at any of them..
9. Maybe climb up The Story Bridge - we haven't done that yet :)
Hope this gives you some ideas.. Cheers Rob
@robz Thanks Rob, that quite a list. We’re sandwiching this trip between caravan trips - a short one with my camera club in early June and then heading north with friends in July.
We had a bit of a thought about things to do or see and came up with a bit of a varied list of stuff that we always enjoy:
1. A ride up and down the river on a Citycat or cross river on the free Kitty Cat - I think most of them are still not working but may be back in action by June.
2.Catch an Uber into Howard Smith Wharves in the afternoon - have a drink at one of the bars or cafes and then follow the river walkway towards the city - through the Botanic Gardens - over the pedestrian bridge and onwards to the South Bank Precinct. The later parts are lovely when they're lit up at night and quite safe to walk through.
3. If you go to the Museum or GOMA ( Modern Art Museum) through the day they are at the far end of the South Bank Precinct and also next to the West End area which has lots of interesting cafes, bars and boutique shops.
4. Mt Cootha is a short car drive from the city and has a good lookout point, lots of bush walks and another Botanical Garden which focuses on native plants.
5. If you drink beer there are lots of great craft breweries (Errol is a big fan) - Newstead Brewery, Green Beacon and Mrs Browns are all near each other in trendy Newstead. There is also a super antiques centre called New Farm Antique Centre, which is within walking distance from the Newstead and Green Beacon Breweries, in case one of you is not so interested in beer. :) Brewdog is great for fun food and craft beer.- and just near the Gateway Bridge if you find yourselves out that way.
6. The Australia Zoo is about an hour away - in the hinterland behind the Sunshine Coast. I don't usually like zoos - but this one is really well managed, very natural in its settings and very interesting with a wide range of interesting species.
7.A trip to the hinterland of the Gold Coast is well worth a visit. Probably a bit over an hour and a half from the city. Our favourite walk is the Twin Falls walk at Springbrook. It's about 4 kms and is a level 3 walk - intermediate difficulty. If you do it make sure to start from the Canyon Lookout and do the walk in the anti-clockwise direction. It takes about 2 hours.
8. I guess the Gold Coast is worth a look if you haven't been there before. It still has some beautiful areas and beaches but it is highly commercialized. Lunch in one of the Surf Clubs is usually a safe bet - they nearly all have nice beach views and reasonable food and drinks and poker machines if you're so inclined. Our favourites would be Southport ( which is at Main Beach?!), Kurrawa ( which is at Broadbeach), Burleigh, Currumbin and Rainbow Bay. Some have better food than others and some just have magic positions (eg Currumbin and Rainbow Bay) You should probably ring and book a table at any of them..
9. Maybe climb up The Story Bridge - we haven't done that yet :)
Hope this gives you some ideas.. Cheers Rob