We had an early start because we had to check in at Cairns railway station an hour before the Spirit of Queensland scheduled departure of 09:00 to Brisbane. The hotel ordered our taxi and we were in plenty of time. We were surprised just how few people were about. The was one Australian lady there with whom we struck up conversation. She asked where we were from and we replied Oxford. To which she replied I know the area I was the cook at the Six Bells in Kidlington. This pub is about 100 yard from our home. Small World! Whilst waiting I went to go to my man bag only to discover it was missing and it contained money, driving licence and other important documents. It had obviously been left in the taxi. The hotel ordered the taxi so I went back there, they contacted the company who was able to trace the driver. He found my bag so returned to the hotel collected me and took me back to the station where fortunately there was still plenty of time before the train departed. We boarded the train and went to our allocated berths. At this stage they were seats complete with entertainment consoles. It was good travelling through the countryside crossing creeks and rivers. During the course of the evening the staff converted the seats to beds and we settled down for the night and we had a comfortable nights sleep. In the morning the beds were coverted back to seats for the remainder of the journey. We arrived at Roma Street station and got a taxi to the hotel. As it was early we expected to have to dump our bags and wait for our room but fortunately it was ready so we went straight in, showered and freshened up after our long journey. We then set out to explore the city. Our hotel adjacent to ANZAC square which has memorials for five conflicts. We then walked to the picturesque botanical gardens.
Tuesday 31 March.
In the morning our friends Martin & Sandra Sherlock arrived from the Sunshine Coast. They had come done to spend some time with us and show us around the city. First of all they drove us up to Mount Coot Tha which provided us with magnificent views across the city. We then came back to the city and took a trip along the river on the City Cat down river and under the Storey Bridge. Once off the boat we wandered through the university of Queensland campus the caught a bus back to the hotel before going out for a superb meal.
Wednesday 1 April
Together with Sandra and Martin we went to the Queen Street mall for breakfast. They then took us to a jetty where we were catching our tour boat. Here we said our goodbyes and Went our separate ways. Our boat took us up to Lone Pines Koala sanctuary. Here we saw many indigenous animals and Val was able to be be photographed with a koala. We then rejoined our boat back to the city and I was given the opportunity to steer it. Back in Brisbane we did a bit of souvenir shopping then found a post office to send it home.
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