I had no real intention of seeing Brisbane again, and although there was another 3pm train to take me straight out of town two hours after arriving, I decided to stay the night, for the sole purpose of seeing Jon and Em one more time.
Of course, I wasn't about to waste my afternoon here either! I read in my Lonely planet of a great lookout atop the nearby Mt. Coot-tha. IN fact, my Lonely Planet had many easily accessed Brisbane attractions that my other guide failed to mention. Once again, do not buy the BUG guide. There was one bus that goes to the summit and back every hour or so until 4PM.
I was chatting with my mother on the bus when it hit a loop atop and hill and turned around to head back down. Confusing this for the summit, I hit the stop button and got off. Wrong stop. It was apparently the stop for a hilltop, all-girl catholic school, right at dismissal time. I stood there, a 25-year-old man, hanging out a bus stop, decked out in my baggy Johan Santana t-shirt and aviator sunglasses, surrounded by a hundred young catholic school girls between the ages of eleven and seventeen. I was probably the only tourist to have ever visited this particular part of Brisbane. After 45 minutes of silent discomfort, shared by 101 people, the next bus to the summit arrived, but sadly, it was the last.
Mt. Coot-that has miles of hiking trails, botanical gardens, copious wildlife, and numerous cliffside waterfalls, all overlooking the vast city of Brisbane and the sunshine coast. I had exactly 4 minutes to enjoy it all. After a few quick photos, I boarded the bus and headed back to the city to meet up with Jon and Em.
We had a quiet take-out Indian meal at their apartment and chatted over an incredibly lopsided rugby league game between the Australia and the Kiwis. We only chilled for a couple of hours, but it was good to see another of the good friends I've made in Australia before heading home. Another goodbye.
Of course, I wasn't about to waste my afternoon here either! I read in my Lonely planet of a great lookout atop the nearby Mt. Coot-tha. IN fact, my Lonely Planet had many easily accessed Brisbane attractions that my other guide failed to mention. Once again, do not buy the BUG guide. There was one bus that goes to the summit and back every hour or so until 4PM.
I was chatting with my mother on the bus when it hit a loop atop and hill and turned around to head back down. Confusing this for the summit, I hit the stop button and got off. Wrong stop. It was apparently the stop for a hilltop, all-girl catholic school, right at dismissal time. I stood there, a 25-year-old man, hanging out a bus stop, decked out in my baggy Johan Santana t-shirt and aviator sunglasses, surrounded by a hundred young catholic school girls between the ages of eleven and seventeen. I was probably the only tourist to have ever visited this particular part of Brisbane. After 45 minutes of silent discomfort, shared by 101 people, the next bus to the summit arrived, but sadly, it was the last.
Mt. Coot-that has miles of hiking trails, botanical gardens, copious wildlife, and numerous cliffside waterfalls, all overlooking the vast city of Brisbane and the sunshine coast. I had exactly 4 minutes to enjoy it all. After a few quick photos, I boarded the bus and headed back to the city to meet up with Jon and Em.
We had a quiet take-out Indian meal at their apartment and chatted over an incredibly lopsided rugby league game between the Australia and the Kiwis. We only chilled for a couple of hours, but it was good to see another of the good friends I've made in Australia before heading home. Another goodbye.
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