We took off from Tullamarine Airport on Tuesday around midday to spend some time with friends up in the warmer climate of Brisbane Queensland. Ostensibly the purpose of the trip was an invitation to witness the Riverfire Festival on the Brisbane River on the Saturday but we tried to cram as much into the 5 day break as possible.
Arrival and Car Pick Up
We had booked a rental car with SIXT online. The idea was to pick up at the airport when we landed and drop off in the Brisbane CBD the next day. Impressed with an all up cost of less than $100 for an all electric vehicle. After landing slightly ahead of the scheduled time we found the car pick up point easily and within 10 minutes were driving away in a new BYD small SUV. Very smart to look at and plenty of space for our 2 carry on bags.
The Drive
After taking a small loop around the airport as we got used to the navigation system we were soon on the Highway on our way North to visit our friends David and Eugen. They have been busily restoring a tudor style house and land about an hour north of the airport. The drive was very smooth and the lack of engine and road noise made for a very pleasant trip albeit some roadworks and breakdowns meant the hour drive was more like 90 minutes.
The Views
The views were absolutely spectacular and a beautiful setting for our friends to entertain their children and grandchildren who are regular visitors to their home.
Next Stop Brisbane
After a lovely leisurly lunch at a French tea house that specialised in crepes we drove back to Brisbane and dropped the car back with the team from SIXT in Fortitude Valley. We then caught up with Juan and Rob for dinner at The Golden Pig Restaurant. The dinner was superb and as we are lovers of Asian cuisine, the fusion menu provided a fantastic number of very tasty dishes. A mix of a number of the small bites was a great way to share some plates amongst the four of us.
From the restaurant back to our friends Caz and Stubbsy’s apartment on the Brisbane River in the Riparion Building was a short walk and a great place to base ourselves for the next few days.
Golf and Long Lunch
We played 18 holes at Virginia Golf Course in the morning and followed that up with a very long lunch at Mr Percival’s Restaurant overlooking the river. What a great afternoon, that was then followed up by a trip to the newly opened Star Casino. Not losing too much and the ferry ride down the river wer clear highlights.
Girls Night Out
The girls had planned a night out for dinner followed by a show. The Jean Paul Gautier Brisbane Festival show from all accounts was amazing, erotic, exotic and lots of fun. The boys decided on a somewhat quieter evening at the Zero Fox. Korean and Japanese dishes with craft beers a very nice venue and enjoyable evening.
Cousin Dave and the Festival
The next day we were able to get some exercise in before a nice lunch with Cousin Dave who had driven 2 hours down from Coolum to say hello. We dined at a lovely little restaurant in Tenneriffe called Ruby My Dear and enjoyed again a number of small bites that were very appealing Japanese flavour.
From there back on the river via Ferry to the apartment to see the highlight of the weekend – the Riverfire Festival fly over and fireworks. The flyover at just after 5 pm was amazing with the F-18 fighter jet flying down the river at what seemed like touching distance from the apartment being a truly amazing experience. The 30 minutes of fireworks that followed later in the evening were seriously the best I have ever seen. Great fun and great friends to share a fantastic few days of sun and warm weather!