Brisbane: KittyCat Cruise

There are a variety of vessels that ply the Brisbane River. Some are ferries. Some are tour boats. Even cruise ships come up the river … up to a point. At least they used to. (In 2017, Insignia docked at Port Side Wharf in Hamilton … just 5 miles from the Brisbane CBD.)

When we called on Brisbane in 2017, we took the touring vessel Miramar II from the Lone Pine Koala Center back to the CBD … enjoying a cruise along the northern section of the river.

Today, we took the KittyCat … operated by the Brisbane City Council. Along with the larger CityCat vessels, these catamarans service a network of 21 cross river terminals that cover the area from the University of Queensland St Lucia to Northshore Hamilton.

Our KittyCat was flagged as a CityHopper today. Meaning that it was a free inner-city ferry … running the seven stops between North Quay and Sydney Street.

Technically, we just needed to go from the South Bank to North Quay … to save our weary feet from having to retrace our steps across one of the bridges to get back to the Meriton. Instead, we hopped on the KittyCat headed in the opposite direction and got a free cruise of the Brisbane River. From what I could tell, most of the people on the catamaran with us were also on a joyride.

A fun and relaxing way to do a bit of exploring before calling it a day.Read more