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imageNow I'm sure many people are going to seriously disagree with me over this one but that's fine, I'm just sharing my experiences of this city. We arrived after a few hours on the bus and were already feeling blue after leaving the Surfers gang behind, hungover after last night's drunken antics and exhausted from travelling. We arrived at the hostel - we were staying at Bunk - and were surprised to see how huge it was after staying in such a small place in Surfers. To be honest - I much prefer the smaller hostels, they're so much more personal and welcoming, the bigger ones always seem to remind me of a slobby version of a Travelodge - functional and impersonal. I was pretty unimpressed when the girl on the counter said our room was ready but we couldn't check in until 2pm - it was 9am. I know the hostels have their rules but considering the room was ready and clean it seemed a bit rubbish we couldn't be allowed up there for a shower and some sleep. Instead we had to wander round the city waiting to be allowed to check in.imageimageNow we only had three days in the city, which I know doesn't give you much of a chance to get a first impression - particularly as I've found most who love Brisbane are the ones who have ended up living and working there. But I was pretty disappointed, it was such an unattractive city after the likes of Melbourne and Sydney, it seemed so unexciting after the previous places we had been. On our first full day there, we decided to go for a long walk around the city, through the harbour and botanical gardens, around the city and beyond. We spent hours exploring the city and by the end of it we felt no different about Brisbane - we found no hidden gems, we found no really stunning views across the city and we met no one exciting along the way. It was such a shame and I so wanted to find more in this city, to find something I loved, but it just wasn't for me. It seemed strange, although we made the best of it, I couldn't find anything I loved about Brisbane like I did about Sydney and Melbourne. That night we went out for drinks at a great bar down the road which had a live band on, that was probably the best part of our time in the city, but it was quickly followed by the worst.imageYou may have already read about what happened that night in this previous post - about how we met this young lad who was staying in our room, how he was pilled up to the eyeballs, and how he ended up pissing all over our dorm while we slept. How we woke up to find puddles of piss everywhere. Not impressed was a serious understatement. Luckily that day we had already planned to vacate the hostel early and head to Australia Zoo for the day - thank goodness as it gave the cleaners chance to work their magic. Australia Zoo is a fantastic day out - I don't normally agree with zoos but this one is great as it really looks after the animals better than many. We caught the train first thing from a station round the corner and after about an hour and a half of napping we arrived and climbed on to a bus to reach the park. I had bought us discount tickets using the Groupon App and would really recommend it as they were about half price! It was so easy and quick to get there, and we must have spent about a good six hours walking around, watching shows and visiting the animals. We could have easily stayed longer but the skies were starting to look stormy.imageimageIn the end we treated Brisbane like our recovery time between Surfers and our next destination, Noosa. I think the city would have made more of an impression if I went there to work, or if we weren't so exhausted, but we'll have to leave that for another time as we were already packed and ready for our Greyhound and ready to get the hell out of there. Excited for the next few days in Noosa before we were due to head on our Fraser Island tour!image

 

What did you think of Brisbane? Did you stay for a short or long time? What did you love or hate about the city? 

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