My Brisbane Recap

Where?

Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, and is by the coast in the south east of the state.

When?

I arrived in Brisbane in late April, and stayed until the end of August. Just over four months I was there, the longest I’ve been anywhere for the past nine months!

Accommodation and transport

I spent the first almost two weeks in the Brisbane City YHA. Whilst it had a nice rooftop with a pool and views of the city skyline, it wasn’t particularly social and there was no indoor social area aside from the kitchen and dining area. I found it quite clinical and very expensive, especially for being so basic. 

I next stayed with family friends in Wynnum, which was incredible after four months living in hostels. I felt so well cared for and had a lovely time living with them. I wasn’t there long as soon after I landed my own short term rental, much closer to the city, which was perfect for work. I lived in Spring Hill and had trains and buses on my doorstep.

Before leaving Brisbane, I stayed in two more hostels. Somewhere to Stay in South Brisbane was a gem. The cheapest hostel I found in Brisbane with a lovely view of the city from afar. It felt like a proper backpackers, which is probably helped by their strict rules about who can stay there. I was here for four nights until my sister arrived, and we moved to Selina Brisbane. Selina was a good hostel, the kitchen was clean and the bunks had lights, charging ports, shelves, and curtains, which really make a difference.

Brisbane’s train system is pretty good, and you can use contactless card payments on the network. However, on buses and CityCats (the city’s cross river ferries) you can only use ‘Go Cards’ which you pay $10 for and load money onto. This is frustrating if you’re only in the city for a short amount of time but still want to use public transport to get around, but it was fine for me being there long term. I really liked the CityCat, as rides could be quite scenic! Often, though, they are much slower travel than buses. The buses are fine, but don’t run very late, and sometimes aren’t quite frequent enough.

What did I do?

I headed to Brisbane late April to start working at the Brisbane Comedy Festival, which went on until the last weekend of May. I loved working at this festival, being part of a customer facing box office team, solving problems on the fly, and being part of something. My colleagues were great and I fell in love with the venue.

Returning to Brisbane was also a very emotional experience, as it’s where I grew up. A huge part of my agenda was to catch up with childhood friends. I was so amazed that how, even though eight years have passed since I was last in the city, it didn’t feel like that long since I’d been close to these people. Catching up and seeing who we are now was pretty special.

My favourite place

One of my favourite spots in the city was New Farm Park. An area of greenery with a beautiful view of the city skyline, especially in the peachy orange sunset. There was a market outside the Brisbane Powerhouse on Saturday mornings, and people would finish Parkrun and get coffee, walk their dogs (so many miniature schnauzers – just like mine back home!), and enjoy the sunshine.

I also have to mention Felons – the brewery and central drinking spot. Beneath Story Bridge with beautiful views day and night, with a huge amount of seating options, Felons was the go to spot for all occasions – after work drinks, celebrations, Saturday nights out, midweek pints. We went to their trivia and watched the Fifa World Cup, had ‘just the one’ or bought two cocktails at once. I have such fond memories made with so many friends crowded around tables or sneakily people watching across the way. I took my parents there when they visited, and my sister when she came too – all of them understood why it was such a great location for myself and many others.

My favourite food

Northshore, Hamilton in Brisbane is home to Eat Street, a complex of independent food vendors at brightly lit stalls. I was surprised that out of the range of foods there, there weren’t a huge amount of vegan options. However, that wasn’t too hard to manage when the Mexican stall had such delicious plant-based offerings. The woman who often operated the till began to recognise me as whenever I went to Eat Street I would be getting a bean burrito or mushroom bowl, with guac, of course. The team was so friendly and I always felt safe eating there with my allergy, too. Being able to grab food that suited me whilst others grabbed what they wanted, and then coming together at a table to eat and chat and laugh, with live music and performers made for so many great evenings. 

My favourite memory

Living in Brisbane for over four months means I have a wealth of fantastic memories. Many shared with my parents and sister I have already written about. Some other favourites include drinking bottles of wine in Roma Street Parklands at the Providore in the Park event, and dancing the afternoon away to live music with new friends. With some of the same friends, and others, including my sister, I enjoyed a fantastic night out on my last Saturday night in Brisbane. We started the night at Felons, naturally, and then headed to Fiume, a rooftop bar neighbouring Felons. We found it hilarious when the staff led us to a spot that instead of facing out to the lit up Story Bridge and the city lights on the water, stared directly at cliff face, mere metres away. We picked up drinks at the bar and subtly moved to a more scenic location, seeing there was space. We then went to a couple of other places in the Valley to dance for several hours, expelling all the energy we had gained from our drinks. 

A new experience

A great new experience was the doors-off helicopter flight I took with Mum and Dad during their visit. The whole experience – the sensation of rising above the ground and flying over the city, the view, being there with my parents – was just magic.

Something I’ll take with me

Despite being in Brisbane for over four months, I left having not seen a couple of things I had intended to. When I have a while somewhere, I get complacent and think I have plenty of time to do and see things. And yes, I did, but I needed to prioritise and commit to doing them at some point, as time does still pass, often faster than expected. It was great to refuel and take a break from hostel living, but as I left the city, I realised I wanted to keep the backpacker spirit stronger even when I’m in places for longer and feel more settled.

Where to next?

I’m in Sydney now, having headed to the airport with my sister the night she embarked on her journey back to Heathrow, and taken off too. Stay tuned for upcoming posts about my adventures in New South Wales.