Brisbane: Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens

With the promise of sunshine and blue skies, this morning we Ubered to Mt Coot-tha. I think we saw maybe 5 minutes of those conditions. Instead, it was overcast all day … but no rain, so that was a good thing.

As the name indicates, Coot-tha is a mountain … a popular bushland tourist destination. There’s a lot to do here. One can go bush walking on the mountain trails (not on our agenda today); visit the planetarium (overrun by kids attending the World Science Festival); or stroll around the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at the base of the mountain (our destination).

The botanic gardens cover some 56 hectares. There are six different trails within the boundaries. The volunteer we spoke with suggested the Gardens Explorer Trail since this was our first time visiting here. She did not steer us wrong.

Colorful blooms were infrequent. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the meandering stroll that took us from the Cacti & Bromeliad House, to the Arid Region, to the Lagoon, and then up to the Tropical Display Dome and Fern House. The highlight for us was the Japanese Garden and the Bonsai House.Read more