Ipswich Things to Do

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Are you a Train buff? or just interested in having a look through a Rail Museum.

This one, has exhibits on everything to do with the Railways in Queensland.

You will see old Trains, photos, Model Railways, the old Timekeeper's building, and even a Nipper's railway for the children to have fun.
You can do a behind the scenes tour of the " working workshops" that leave regularly during the day. If you are going to do this, remember to wear ENCLOSED FOOTWEAR.

They hold different exhibitions throughout the year, and if you check the website, you can find out when they do STEAM TRAIN RIDES.
SOME OF THESE ARRIVE & DEPART FROM ROMA STREET, BRISBANE, and others are from the Ipswich workshop.
The 1 hour trip on a steam train through Brisbane, in 2012 cost $20 for adults.

What was disappointing was when I took a VT friend to see the Museum. It was in school holiday time, and every train had a Thomas the Tank engine face on its engine. OK for children, but not for adults who wants to see the Train.
This is something to remember for when you visit

I really think it is quite expensive for what is on display in comparison with other rail museums I have been to.

OPEN.....9.30am to 5.00pm Daily, CLOSED Good Friday, ANZAC Day and Christmas Day.

GETTING HERE BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT......
Take the Ipswich Train from Brisbane, then on a ....
Monday to Saturday - transfer to Westside Bus Company route 504 at Ipswich station from Bay B in Bell Street (near McDonalds) to the Museum.
Sunday - transfer to Westside Bus Company route 515 at Ipswich station from Bay E in Bell Street to the Museum.

ADMISSION in 2012....Adult $20.00
Child (ages 3 to 16) $11.50 Child (under 3 years of age) FREE
Family (2 Adults and up to 4 Children) $55.00

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Want to see Australian Animals for FREE, then come to Ipswich and the very well set out Nature park.

In this Park, you will see different species of Australian Kangaroos and Wallabies, Birds, Reptiles, a Wombat (often quite hard to spot as they sleep in a burrow), Dingo, and of course, the endangered Bilby (see my other tip)

When we were there, the Male Emu was sitting on the nest, something you are not likely to see in the wild.

Very well set out and maintained, this park is a credit to the Ipswich city council.
The area is not large, but has a good selection of Australian animals, and a large walk in aviary. I did not see a Koala here.
There is a children's section also where the usual calf, piglets, chickens, ducks, etc are.

There is a DONATION BOX as you walk out, and I was more than happy to give a donation to keep this park going, excellent.

It is located in Queen's Park, next door to the lovely Nerima Japanese Gardens.

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On your visit to Ipswich and to the beautiful Queen's Park, make sure you take the short stroll around Nerima Japanese Gardens.
These are well maintained, pretty gardens, and at the moment, they are working on installing more water attractions, so, it will be extra pretty in the nearby future.
It still is very nice, even though the Azalea's were not quite in bloom!
If you want to see WATER DRAGON'S, there are plenty here, lazying around in the sun!

Throughout the year gardens are closed on Mondays for maintenance. However, they will be open on Monday if it is a Public Holiday or during the Queensland School HolidaysSummer Hours

OPENING HOURS ARE.......Tuesday to Friday - 9:30am to 3:45pm
Saturday & Sunday - 9:30am to 5:45pm
Winter Hours.....Tuesday to Sunday - 9:30am to 3:45pm

ADMISSION IS FREE

Please check out the Nerima Gardens travelogue for more photos of this garden, visited in September, 2009.

This is what they call a WILD RIDE!

What happens, is you are a passenger in a car driven by one of the professional Stunt drivers currently work in the film industry, both in Australia and overseas.
They have worked on movies such as Mad Max, Mission Impossible 2, Ghost Rider, Superman, etc., so they know what they are doing!
So......If you want a "wild ride" in Brisbane, then you may enjoy this!

A "Wild Ride" includes..... 90 and 180 degree turns... Barrel turns ... Reverse and forward 180 degree spins ....Reverse and forward 360 degree spins

http://www.stuntdrivingxperience.com.au/

PHONE.....07 3287 1551
Tollfree: 1300 559 170

PRICE IN 2009 is $110 ( Booking essential)

Time 2pm

Location
Willow Bank NEAR Ipswich

Located in Queen's Park, Ipswich, is an Animal and Bird (Ipswich Nature Centre) enclosure that you can visit for FREE.

In July, 2009, a new addition, the silky, grey furred BILBY was added.

Known for their silky grey fur, and they are so cute!!..... four endangered Bilbies have been given a new chance at life in the custom-built habitat.
The bilby is a nocturnal marsupial that has large ears, a silky light grey and white coat and a long black and white tail. They have a long snout and well-developed sense of smell to aid in finding food.

The bilby is a bandicoot, has large, hairless ears, which are extremely useful for listening for predators.
The bilby does most of its foraging at night. One of the bilby's favourite plant foods is the bush onion or yalka that grows in desert sand plains after fires.
The bilby can burrow down two metres.

The enclosure contains a computer controlled environment which tricks the animals into believing night is day and day is night.
There were two on display, one was 2years old, and the other, Huge for a Bilby, was 4 years old. The Keeper told us, that they don't usually grow as big as the 4yo.

YOU ARE PRETTY LUCKY IF YOU SEE A BILBY, AS THEY ARE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, AND NOT ON SHOW IN A LOT OF PLACES.

You can now see the nocturnal creatures at the Ipswich Nature Centre from Tuesday to Sunday between 9.30am and 4pm.

TRANSPORT.....Regular trains run to Ipswich from Brisbane, the trip takes about 50 minutes from Central Station.

LOCATION......Queens Park, Milford Street, Ipswich

FREE!

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Ipswich is QUEENSLAND'S OLDEST PROVINCIAL CITY and dates from the state’s earliest colonial days.
Established in 1827 as a convict out-station for the quarrying of limestone and farming, Ipswich soon became a busy port on the Bremer River and later grew in importance with the development of its coal mines and railways.

Ipswich has many imposing public buildings, fine mansions, historic homes and cottages and several of the oldest churches in Queensland.

A drive around the streets, and you will find many, old historical, Queensland homes.
Painted nicely, they are a reminder of the of the past, and obviously, cherished by their owners.
There are many different styles, shapes and sizes, one day, I will get the time to have a real extra long look, I love these old heritage buildings!

You can pick up Heritage Trail brochure which have an easy-to-follow map with lots of interesting historic facts and descriptions. The Inner-city Heritage Trail can be explored on foot while those further out are ideal for short drives.

You can get your FREE COPIES FROM THE VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE,
OPEN...Monday to Friday: 9:00am to 5:00pm
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays: 9:00am to 4:00pm
It is a new building, located in Queens Park, Ispwich,
a must visit in its own right......see other tips............

Ispwich is easily reached by regular train from Brisbane, takes about 45mins. www.translink.com.au
Daily bus connections are available from the Brisbane Transit Centre in Brisbane,
Phone (+61 7) 3236 2020.