CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

March 21, 2023 — I got a bit of a later start on this Tuesday morning but did manage to propel myself out of bed, get dressed, and eat some breakfast. After that, I walked down to the Queen Street Mall and got Starbucks for only the second time since I’ve been in Australia. (I call that a win!)

I brought my book with me so I sat down on one of the benches scattered about the mall and sipped away at my drink (iced caramel macchiato, if you were wondering). When I’d finished, I went searching for a white outfit. My sailing trip that I have booked in the Whitsundays has a “White Night” party on the second night on the boat. Hence, the need for a white outfit. I didn’t have any luck on this day but I was starting to get some more workable ideas, which was a good thing.

With no luck on the outfit front, I decided to just take a walk and wander around the city, enjoy the views and the feeling. I walked around South Bank for a while while listening to my Hannah Elise’s Digital Diary podcast. After about an hour, I found myself close to a transit station, which sold Go cards, and the South Bank terminal for the CityCat cruises, which traverse the city from the North End to the South End provided you have a valid Go card.

I’m sure you can guess what happened next: I purchased a Go card and went to wait at the South Bank terminal for the next CityCat transport to float up. I timed it right, because I really didn’t have to wait long. The entire trip takes about two hours if you go all the way down the river and then back up. I rode from South End to North End and then back to the Riverside stop. I highly recommend doing this if you’re in Brisbane and wanting to book some kind of a river cruise or tour via water. It’s an incredibly cheap option and although you don’t get commentary, you do get some incredible views and you can really get a sense of the different neighbourhoods. It also feels much easier than trying to see the city on foot or via ground transport.

I got off at Riverside instead of waiting until South Bank, then walked down the Howard Smith Wharves. This is a beautiful little area, with a bunch of restaurants and venues. The wharves were originally built with the Story Bridge in the 1930s. As you’ll remember, the Story Bridge was built as a way to prop up the population during the Great Depression. The wharves were built for much the same purpose. The shipping company, Howard Smith Co., operated from these wharves until the 1960s. In 2018, the revitalization took place and transformed the area into a place to mingle, mix, and be.

Having walked down a little ways, I tried to scooter back to the hostel but that ended up being an exercise in frustration as initially there were tons of no-go zones around, then every scooter I picked up had too low of a battery to operate, and there were so many people around that I could barely ride anyway.

By the time I made it back to the Queen Street Mall (having dropped the scooter by this point), I was so fed up and just wanted some dinner, so I bought myself McDonalds. (Which isn’t such a bad thing! — it was only my third time having Macca’s in the whole time I’ve been in Australia! And that’s only if you count having Macca’s for breakfast at the airport.)

It turned out to be a really good decision, actually, because the McDonalds at Queen Street Mall is on the upper level of the mall with balcony seating, so I got to enjoy a lot of people watching in between reading bits of my book.

Eventually, I finished eating, reading, and people watching and headed back to the hostel. I showered, did a little blogging, and then slept. Another day for the books.

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to leave a like, comment, and share with your friends and family! If you’re looking for more frequent updates, follow me on Instagram @cait_around_the_world.