Going local

Brisbane has been a great adventure for me, as the entire year has been. I thought that immersing myself in the local sights of Brissy was the best way to wrap things up. It's like taking myself back home, wherever that is in my heart of hearts.

The day before we left Brisbane, we went to the North Pine Dam just for some down time and some quality chit chat amongst friends. We were pretty lucky cos it was deserted that day, and it was sunny and bright.

Caloy the talented, trigger happy boy enjoying the lush greenery

The dam. Wonder if you can go for a swim here lol

Of course my blog wouldn't be complete without an old tree

We spent hours on end there, until we got hungry and got some Cold Rock ice cream at Chermside (our first choice was a Mexican fiesta at Montezuma's but it was closed, so, sad face). Then, we waited for Tippy to finish TAFE at 9 in the evening. We drove straight to Mt Coot-tha, which is Brisbane's best lookout! Going up there at night was mesmerising - we saw the entire city lit up.

Tippy took this beautiful photo :-)

Before she got all melancholic and dramatic. Jokes

After that, we randomly thought of going to Shorncliffe one last time. As I may have mentioned before, this is where some scenes in the movie Aquamarine were shot. :-) The first time I went to Shorncliffe was in Autumn 2008 at night time. Then we went on the first night of our Brisbane visit this year. We saw a shooting star then. It was magical and enchanting. Then for our last night, we hung out here again. It just brings everything together beautifully. I say Shorncliffe is some piece of magical land.

There's no better way to leave Brisbane than being at Shorncliffe.

The ebb & flow of the water, the orange lights and the cool breeze just leaves you clear-minded and ready for another adventure.

(edit: I know this has been already posted as a 2010 entry, but I meant for it as a year ender one. Sorry for the timezone change, I'm in the Philippines and it's only 11:30 here and I still have an hour 'til 2010. LOL)

Glass House Mountains

This is all about Queensland's Glass House Mountains.

Okay, maybe I'll throw in something a little bit more interesting (hint: pubs and alcy?), for those who're growing tired of my nature natured (haha) posts.

I came to Queensland with too little knowledge about Brisbane's outdoors. All I knew was that in Queensland you'll find the Gold Coast and The Great Barrier Reef (which I've yet to visit). Other than that, I pretty much have no idea what there is to see. After our city visit, I realised that there's much more to QLD than just boys washboard abs and girls head-turning curves.

Tippy decided that we should go up to visit the Glass House Mountains. I reckon this is QLD's version of NSW's Blue Mountains. It was named so by Capt. James Cook because the mountains reminded him of glass furnaces. Just like the 3 Sisters, the Glass House Mountains have their own story. They are supposedly, a family of 6 children plus a pair of twins.

Glass House Mountains information at the lookout

Mt Beerburrum?

The lookout that we went up to was Mt Tibrogargan (the "Father" in the legend) and it is 364m tall. Seeing this side of Queensland has made me realise that Australia is full of surprises. I really like the story behind the Glass House Mountains and thought it was way cooler than the Blue Mountains. :-P We went on a little walk down towards the foot of the mountains, but didn't end up at the finish line which is another lookout as we had little kids along with us as well as their nan.

A fallen tree along the Mt Tibrogargan walk

Our hiking buddies for the day!

Mt Coonorwin, my favourite one!

I really enjoyed the drive to the Glass House Mountains because it was a perfectly sunny day and of course we had our own little mishaps, such as that of making a wrong turn and ending up at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. I reckon it would be a brilliant idea to go visit the zoo in the morning then go up to the Glass House Mountains in the afternoon as the sun sets. Too bad we didn't have enough time.

Steve Irwin Way!

We drove into the zoo's parking lot and had a photo by the zoo's shuttle bus to make missing the turn worthwhile. Haha

Queensland sunsets are very pretty.

The view from the drive. Trees make my heart very happy :-)

After absorbing the beauty of the scenery, we drove back to Tippy's but made a pit stop at Ettamogah Pub. Beside it are quaint little shops where you can buy local stuff, which reminded me much of Tasmania and Dubbo. We had a little bite to eat as well as a few beers at the pub, which was of course, enjoyable. The interior is definitely a must-see, with framed cartoon pieces that tells you about the pub's history as well as lots of wooden furniture that really takes you back to the country.

Me being touristy and foolish

Classic country style

Favourite part of all the signage in Ettamogah

Outside the pub just before leaving

The tiring but well spent day trip to the Glass House Mountains called for a big dinner and a few drinks with a couple of Tippy's mates. It was really fun, but I wish we could've explored more of the mountains. Maybe next year I'll do it again.

Last but not least... have a Barefoot Radler! It is :3

PS

I realised I've gone past a thousand views, and wow thanks everyone!!! I never thought I would even go past a hundred in a year (sure went by quick didn't it?). It's all so overwhelming, haha, really. Thank you!!! :-) That said, I want YOUR input for next year's mishaps... I'm really looking for new places to see outside of Australia (hint: youngest country in the world). It would really mean a lot to me if you message me stuff that you want to read about, or places that may be interesting to the rest! :-) Leave a comment and I'll make sure to take note. Thanks very much for sticking it out with me & my lameness and for making my year! :-) xoxoxoxo