Queensland, Australia

The Queensland Coast from the air

“You haven’t seen Australia unless you see it from the air. The coastline, the colors, the claypans, the forests. It’s just all so beautiful. You’d never see that from the road.” – Nancy Bird Walton

Queensland, the second largest, third most populous state in Australia has so much to offer visitors. I made two stops here, the first in Brisbane and the second in Cairns.

From the air the beautiful coastline with its golden beaches and aquamarine waters grabs your eye, and then of course the ancient rain forests that cover much of the land which a governor at one point wanted to raze to the ground to develop skyscrapers, so glad that was put down.

Bluey is my grandchildren’s favorite TV cartoon. While there was no park as such that advertised itself as Bluey’s world, if one is familiar with the cartoon, one can find themselves wandering in Bluey’s world. I wish I had known more about the sites and locations.

The Brisbane River looks like a giant winding snake and in fact I found from one of my traveling companions as we came in to land that it’s often referred to as the “brown snake”. 

Established as a penal colony at the mouth of the river, the city has grown into a beautiful modern city, full of impressive skyscrapers, beautifully preserved old architecture and a host of bridges that crisscross the city. 

American history also is remembered here in the MacArthur Building which once served as the headquarters for the Pacific Theater of war. 

I don’t think I ever figured out why this bridge was named the storybook bridge, but it reminds me so much of the Howrah Bridge in the city of Kolkata where I grew up. 

I took the ferry which cost me 50cents to ride up and down the Brisbane River enjoying all the sights from the river including the many bridges. I hopped off at one of the quays famous for its many restaurants and enjoyed a meal by the water. 

The Shrine of Remembrance with its eternal flame is a war memorial dedicated to the Australian and New Zealand forces; the Anzacs. The shrine is dedicated to soldiers of all wars including World War I.  In the park below the shrine is a wall with the cities from which these brave men and women hailed written in metallic letters. 

Of course, one can’t come to Brisbane and not visit the famous Gold Coast and Surfer’s Paradise.  The town and the beach have become very crowded and touristy and there are several other spots that are more popular with the locals now, but of course I had to visit Surfer’s Paradise with its stories of the bikini clad meter maids and taps spraying suntan oil.  Many of these things are memories now and inscribed in large photo posters along the beach.

Then it was onto Cairns, my first stop being the reef.  I took a helicopter tour and seeing the immensity of the reef from air is mind boggling.  What I saw definitely beats any photo that I could take. 

The fish are not visible from the air but of course they are visible under the water and through the glass bottom boat and the walking platform that is surrounded by water. 

Next stop an exploration of the rainforest.  I took a few different trips to explore the rainforest. The first took us driving and walking with a boat trip on the Daintree River thrown into to hunt for crocodiles. We never did see any crocodiles and in hindsight I think I could have skipped this day tour. 

My favorite was the Sky Rail (cable car ride) that takes you skimming over the tops of the trees, sometimes inside the forest giving you an incredibly unique experience. 

Cape Tribulation where the Endeavor, Captain James Cook’s ship ran aground on coral. He named it Tribulation because that’s where all his troubles began.  To think that I was standing on the same beach where the famous Captain James Cook and his crew first landed in Australia and annexed it for the queen. 

While we went skimming up via the Sky Rail, we came back down via the scenic Kuranda Railway.  Unbeknownst to me I was booked into Gold Class which kept my wine glass full to the accompaniment of snacks and a gentleman serving us who constantly gave us the heads up to keep our cameras ready for the next incredible photographic opportunity. 

The view from the top of the sky rail looking back. 

Wandering the markets in Kuranda village that had all manner of very interesting hand made goods for sale.  I learned how the first nations people make a digeridoo by allowing termites to hollow out a piece of wood and then a process to treat and preserve it.  I listened to an expert play it.  No, I did not buy one though I was definitely tempted.