Tourists for a week….

We have enjoyed living alongside the river in Brisbane for the last 8 months, with access to the paths that follow the river on both sides. We have relished spending time with Glenda’s mother and taken pleasure in catching up with family, colleagues and friends. With the new year upon us and surrounded by others that have visited Queensland on holiday, we decided to make the most of being in the sunshine state and do some of the things the tourists do.
An evening at the tennis ….
2020 brought with it a new tennis tournament for men, namely the ATP Cup. https://www.atpcup.com/ Sixteen of the top 20 men in the world amongst the 24 teams competing for their country, a team event unlike any other. With the opening rounds being played in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney, we were keen to get a taste of the action in our backyard. Having secured some extremely well-priced tickets, we set off to the tennis centre on the train after lunch one hot sunny afternoon.

We were scheduled to watch the tie between South Africa and France that evening, but with the Brisbane International – now a women’s only event – occurring on an outside court at the same venue, we were able to take advantage of our tickets and take in some singles and doubles before the main event.
The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, with a crowd comprising supporters of both nations. There’s something about competing for one’s country, together with having a team on court at all times, that seems to drive players harder than ever. The matches we saw live were exceptional, just as most of them were through the 10 days of play. Our seats were fantastic, with no one between us and the player and right on top of the South African team box. We clapped, yelled and wowed our way through 2 long singles matches. Although the teams were tied at the end, having won a match each, we knew that soon the trains from the local station would be closing for the night, so we left the stadium a little after 11pm before the doubles decider.
Evening preparation National Anthems Team France Team South Africa Close & personal with Gilles Simon Kevin Anderson celebrates his win
Off to Bribie Island….
Almost 24 years ago, on our first visit to Brisbane from Sydney, we went on a 4WD tour that took us north of the city. At that time, we knew little of Bribie Island, about an hour out of the CBD, but did enjoy our drive along the beach. For some unknown reason, we’d never ventured back, always bypassing the turnoff on our numerous drives up to Noosa and the Sunshine Coast.
Long white beaches Clear water Vietnam Memorial Park
Despite it being school holidays, a time when most beach-side locations seem to be swarming with people and cars, the island was a pleasant little sanctuary. Parking was plentiful and the little cafes and restaurants were buzzing but relaxed. It was a little warm to do too much walking, but we did amble on the waterside path before getting in the car to explore the other parts of the island, including the relatively new golf and canal developments. Opposite the local RSL was a well-maintained park dedicated to those that served in the Vietnam War. We finished off the morning with a late lunch on the water before making our way home. The traffic on the return trip was by far the most stressful part of the day – less than an hour of freeway driving for a day of pristine water and long white beaches was worth every second!