Brisbane, Australia 2/13/18

This is Jonas who made me laugh tonight at dinner,.  Jonas asked   "How was your Sex on the Beach?"  I said, "It was perfect Jonas because of you."  Jonas had served my drink at the Solo Get-Together during "Happy Hour".  The supervisor who was seating us burst out laughing during this exchange even though he was trying very hard to be professional.  It really was too funny, but maybe you had to be there.    

All these animals at the Koala Sanctuary are used to people wandering around.  Yes, this may have been the hottest day in Brisbane's history.  

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary  - This is the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary and is set in a natural environment. Koalas and other Australian wildlife can be seen close up. One hundred thirty koalas and other exotic Australian wildlife are found here.  Koalas sleep 20 hours per day.   In an effort to care for the koalas , they can only be held for pictures for thirty minutes every three days.    Kangaroos live in the sanctuary as well and are used to humans wandering around. We saw emus, wombats, platypus, cuckaboros, and other birds that can only be seen in Australia. If you ever go there and you want to hold a koala, rush to the gift shop to schedule getting your picture taken with a koala.  We did not do that and we were too late.  Our bus went touring around first, other buses went straight to the sanctuary.  There are good guides, bad guides and terrible guides.  I get a few too many bad guides in my opinion... 

Platypus

Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat  Wombats are marsupials.  The young joey will leave the pouch for good at ten months old.  There are three types of wombats and the Southern is the smallest.  It is recognizable due to its silken grey brown fur and large square nose covered with fine hair. Wombats have study bodies, powerful limbs and shovel-like feet.  Their burrows have extensive maze of tunnels with up to twenty entrances.  They can crush and intruder against the ceiling of their burrow with their backside.   

 I went to the "Windmill" built by Penal Colony convicts.  It was located up the hill in a nearby park  from City Hall.  The convicts built the windmill of sandstone.  It did not have metal workings and it never really worked right.  The wind never caught the sails enough.  The convicts that needed punishment were made to walk on the treadmill that turned one of the stones.  As the prisoner population decreased the Old Windmill became a lookout of the port and sharing information about ships by raising flags.  It was also used as a watch tower for fires in the city.  .  

Historic buildings are intermingled with skyscrapers.  

Brisbane City Hall.  It is the second largest building in Australia, as the Sydney Opera House is the largest building.  I visited the Brisbane Museum on the third floor which offered information about the history of Brisbane from penal colony to modern times.  It is the seat of the Brisbane City Council.  Built between 1920 and 1930.  The building was built on swampy land and has required some massive renovations.  It is Italian Renaissance style which is symmetrical and formal.  The clock tower is seventy meters tall and rises 91 meters above the ground level.  Each clock face is 4.9 meters in diameter.    

This was a  Russian Orthodox Church which we passed on our way 45 minute ride from Brisbane to where the Viking  Sun was docked in another Industrial Port. 

Emu at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  

Kangaroo are very friendly at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary 

ANZAC Park = Australian and New Zealand Army Corps 

Brisbane Skyline & Brisbane River

View from Mt Coot-tha Summit 

Albert Street Uniting Church

City Tabernacle Baptist Church

Treasury Building

Bronze sculpture downtown 

Wood chips in the Industrial Port where we are docked on the Viking Sun near Brisbane, Australia.  It was a 45 minute ride from our docking area to the downtown area.  These wood chips will be sent to China to make paper.  

The ferris wheel offers great views of the city and the cars are air conditioned.  

Petrie Tableau This bronze work is based on the life of a pioneering Brisbane family.  The tableau shows the father, Andrew, leaving on an inland exploration.  Young Tom is playing with two Aboriginal friends.  Another son, John is holding the impatient horse.  John went on to become Brisbane's first mayor.  

 Kurilpa Bridge over the Brisbane River.  It is for cyclists and pedestrians only and cost $63 million.  It is a hybrid tensegrity bridge.  It is 470 meters long and has an all-weather canopy.  The name is based on an Australian Aboriginal word that means "place for water rats", Kurilpa was the winner of the naming contest.    

Queenslander House

Brisbane

Map of Koala Sanctuary

Central Station

Grand Central Hotel

FACEBOOK  Brisbane, Australia - is the capital of Queensland and is located on the Brisbane River. The first European settlers were secondary offenders from the Sydney penal colony. Quaint Queenslander homes sit next to skyscrapers.

This may have been the hottest day in Brisbane's history.  The day started at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  This is the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary and is set in a natural environment.  Koalas and other Australian wildlife can be seen close up. One hundred thirty koalas and other exotic Australian wildlife are found here.  Koalas sleep twenty hours per day.   In an effort to care for the koalas , they can only be held for pictures for thirty minutes every three days.    Kangaroos live in the sanctuary as well and are used to humans wandering around. We saw emus, wombats, platypus, cuckaboros, and other birds that can only be seen in Australia.

Brisbane City Hall is the second largest building in Australia, as the Sydney Opera House is the largest building.  I visited the Brisbane Museum on the third floor which offered information about the history of Brisbane from penal colony to modern times.  It is the seat of the Brisbane City Council and was built between 1920 and 1930.  The building was built on swampy land and has required some massive renovations.  It is Italian Renaissance style which is symmetrical and formal.  The clock tower is seventy meters tall and rises 91 meters above the ground level.  Each clock face is 4.9 meters in diameter.    

I went to the "Windmill" built by Penal Colony convicts.  It was located up the hill from City Hall in a nearby park.  The convicts built the windmill of sandstone.  It did not have metal workings and it never really worked right.  The wind never caught the sails enough.  The convicts that needed punishment were made to walk on the treadmill that turned one of the stones.  As the prisoner population decreased the Old Windmill became a lookout tower of the port, sharing information about ships by raising flags.  It was also used as a watch tower for fires in the city.    

Kurilpa Bridge is one of fifteen bridges over the Brisbane River.  It is for cyclists and pedestrians only and cost $63 million.  It is a hybrid tensegrity bridge meaning each pillar is held up by the tension in the cables between pillars.  It is 470 meters long and has an all-weather canopy.  Completely solar powered by 84 panels and is lighted with LED lighting.  The name is based on an Australian Aboriginal word that means "place for water rats", Kurilpa was the winner of a naming contest. The bridge was chosen as the World Transport Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival in 2011.  

I had a hard time choosing a picture, but I figure you've seen koalas and windmills.  So I chose the Kurilpa Bridge.  You can always see more pictures on my blog -worldaltem.blogspot.com