General, Brisbane

If you head west out of Brisbane on Musgrave Road, which turns into Waterworks Road, you go through Red Hill, Ashgrove and The Gap before leaving Brisbane proper and heading into Crown Land. This is land which belongs to the government - technically still the Crown - and cannot be developed. 15 minutes' drive from The Gap and you could be parked halfway up Mt Nebo at a lookout with a perfect view of the City. Most of these lookout areas are clearly (if somewhat precipitously) signposted - you can see the sign, but not until you pretty much HAVE to turn. This makes traffic slow, but there isn't much of it and you'll generally be too busy looking at the view to bother about speed!

The Brisbane Forest Park website has more details.

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Wivenhoe Dam is a nice place to visit at any time, especially if you wish to make a day of it. Plenty of picnic areas and room for games, a great family destination.

Another time to visit, is when the Brisbane area has had a huge amount of rainfall and the Dam is full. The Dam's floodgates are open, usually a few at a time, but if necessary, the whole five are opened at once.

We, along with hundred's of others, went along for the look. There are several view points, and what a sight it was. The roar and force of the water, the water heading towards Brisbane down the Brisbane River, was one big, frothy, white mass!
If you didn't have a raincoat on, then you were quite wet from the spray.
We found the best area to view the sight was from upstairs, it wasn't until we went up, that other people realized there was another section for viewing.

If you can, try to go on a weekday, it still was busy, but was regulated well. We queued for a while, and as a car left, another was allowed in. I noticed the sign said to expect a 30min delay, this would be on weekends.

So, if you are here when this happens, go for a look as it doesn't happen very often at all.

The Dam is located 80kms from Brisbane, heading towards Ipswich and then to Esk. It is easy to find, just follow the Brown Tourist signs.

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Cleveland Markets, and I have been here many times over the past 20 years.

They used to be extremely busy, now are quieter, but still enjoyable to take a wander around. Nowdays, it includes a "Farmer's market" which is great, I bought a lot of very cheap fruit and vegetables, all nice and fresh!
Each time I go, I find something new in the handmade products, there is allsorts, including crochet items, clothing, knitwear, confectionary, pottery, artwork, re-cycled clothing,
bric-a-brac along with massage and tarot readers, buskers and food stalls.
They are located in Bloomfield street, which is nice and shady for those summer days. Plenty of outdoor Cafe's too, and a children's play area.

Cleveland is located in Redland Bay, Brisbane. A train from Brisbane runs a regular service to here.
LOCATION.......Bloomfield street, Cleveland
HELD.............. Every Sunday, 7am - 2pm.

I hope that you have a car so that you can spend a lovely day in the countryside near Brisbane.
This full day tour I have done many times and every time I enjoy its beauty.

Departing from Brisbane, we head on the Ipswich Motorway [2] which then goes into A2. Follow the road that says to Toowoomba, we don't want to go to Ipswich today!

Just past Blacksoil, we see the sign for the Brisbane Valley Highway [A3], so this is where we turn right.
The 1st town you come across is Fernvale, maybe stop at the good Information Centre, or get a Pie or Pastry from the award winning bakery in the main Street. A stretch of the legs, and there are Free Toilets located in the park. Just the other side of town, every Sunday morning there is a big Market held in the School Grounds, well worth stopping at, just to get some nice fresh fruit or other bargains.

Next stop, is Wivenhoe Dam, plenty of picnic areas and great views. Continuing on, we come to pretty little Esk, another good Bakery and interesting shops. Past Esk, we watch for the sign to Somerset Dam and follow this road, there is an old heritage building that is often open, so stop and have a look.

Somerset dam, and more nice picnic areas, great views as the road twists and turns mainly along the edge to the town of Kilcoy, home of the "Yowie."
From Kilcoy, we pass through nice farm land, hills, Pineapple plantations on the D'Aguilar Highway until we join the Bruce Highway at Caboolture and head back to Brisbane after having a very enjoyable day's outing.

For more details, check out my ESK pages

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Toowong cemetery is Queenslands largest cemetery. It is located on the slopes of Mount Coot-tha, near the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens and the Brisbane Forest Park.

This cemetery is historic and has quite a few interesting & important people buried here. They do have signs with details infront of these graves, unfortunately, they have faded badly, and were very hard for me to read, some I could not even decipher!

Opening in 1875, some burials took place from 1871, the most notable being Queensland's second governor, Colonel Samuel Blackall.

There are quite a few different walks that you can do. We drove our car in, you can drive around the whole cemetery, it is huge. This is the best way to go, then just stop when you see something of interest. The most important sites, are high on the hill, and the road will take you to them, something I found out after climbing an extremely steep hill!!!

Check out the website if interested in more details.

LOCATION....Cnr Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong

I haven't done this, but there are ghost tours available....
$55.00 pp (includes book); $35.00 pp (adults);

When: 7.30pm - every Saturday evening
Meeting Place : Main Gates Toowong Cemetery, Toowong
Duration: 2 hours
Tour Type: Walking Tour

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The little "suburb" of Nudgee Beach is located adjacent to Moreton Bay, and is Brisbane's nearest beach. In saying this, do not expect a fantastic beach, as Brisbane itself is not known for good Beaches, more mud flats than anything, but there is Beach here, and it looked to be pretty popular.

People were walking their dogs, and there were Horses on the beach, and one Horse was having a swim. From here, there were good views across to the Glasshouse mountains.
Right here is the Boondall wetlands (previous tip) canoeing & bike riding.

There is plenty of lawned area, picnic tables & seats, BBQ's, fish cleaning table & Toilets. A proper fish platform has been built for the keen fishermen & women, and I noticed an Icecream Van there, with quite a few customer's!

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These Wetlands are Brisbane’s largest remaining wetlands, and they are located only 15km from the centre of the Brisbane.
The Wetlands have been protected by the Council as it is crucial to Moreton Bay’s fishing industry.

The Reserve includes tidal sandflats, mangroves, salt marshes and freshwater wetlands - vital habitats for birds, fish and other animal plant life.

The area is roughly bounded by the Gateway Arterial Road, Nudgee Road, Moreton Bay and Cabbage Tree Creek.
Access to the area is by 3 locations:-

* The Boondall Wetlands Information Centre - located just off the Gateway Arterial Road (Stanworth Rd intersection),
* The bike track starting just North of the Nudgee Waste Transfer Station (Nudgee Road) Nudgee,
* The mangrove boardwalk and bird hide at the end of O’Quinn St, Nudgee Beach. This is the Boardwalk that I did. As it happened, the tide was out, so you could easily see all the crab holes. The walk is quite pleasant, even though the day was hot, as the Mangroves give shade, and there are plenty of seats along the way to stop for a rest!

There are Bikeways, and you can also go canoeing along Kedron Brook, Nudgee Creek, Nundah Creek and Cabbage Tree Creek.
There looked to be plenty of water in the creek even at low tide.

Scattered around the suburbs of Brisbane, there are various markets that are held on a Saturday or Sunday.

These sell everything, from secondhand goods, to brand new.
Arts and Crafts of many types, make it a good place to find a cheap, unique gift to take home with you.
There are fresh fruit & vegetable stalls, Flowers, Plants, Clothing (new & secondhand), & more....
If you are hungry or thirsty, then you are catered for as well.

To find out their locations, check out this website.....