Brisbane

We opted not to have breakfast at the room and instead the Byron Corner Store in town gave us a great breakfast of egg and bacon roll with freshly squeezed juice. We had to spend some time packing afterwards as we were giving the car back today and getting the train to Brisbane so we needed to be a bit more mobile.

The coastal roads took us almost as far as Tweeds Head (shopping briefly at Pottsville to claim our $15 Lotto win!) where we crossed into Queensland and picked up the Gold Coast Highway. Most of the drive today was on the Gold Coast which is not at all to our taste, but especially compared to where we've been. For almost the entire coast from Tweeds Head to Surfers Paradise is built up and busy, full of highrises and traffic. The draw is the warmer weather on the coast but to be honest, it's rarely been cold where we've been and the beaches have been empty.

With the car handed back (with over 5000km racked up), we hopped on the G-Link and Air Train to Brisbane Central. An easy but surprisingly slow journey, and thankfully our hotel was just 300m from the station.

We snacked on sushi before wandering through the shops in the city centre. At 16 Antlers rooftop bar we had a swift beer with views over City Hall and the city, before crossing to the Southbank to go to the Night Noodle Market. With none of the food especially grabbing Ben's fancy, we went instead to the Charming Squire, a huge warehouse brewery of James Squire beers. It was fortuitously happy hour so two pints (pints rather than schoolers!) were $16. Around the corner at a beer cafe, we had a 'Dawg and Drink' for dinner before wandering home (via some more sushi!)Read more