For Brisbane’s thousands of international visitors from the northern hemisphere (and our interstate friends from Melbourne!) life can feel a little bit upside down in our sub-tropical climate.
We tend to be “trapped inside” in air conditioning through the long summer months to avoid the humidity – just as our northern cousins are trapped inside by the cold in winter. Our autumn is a bit like spring, in that we emerge from the indoors as the days lose their heat and there is a feeling in the air… it’s crisper, the birds sing louder and people are more active outdoors. We even start to walk a bit faster as we drop summer’s slow pace.
Visitors equate Brisbane, and Queensland, with its summers, but we really should be famous for our autumn and winter. Those blue-sky days (day after day), dining outside comfortably, and calmer weather for a bay tour or island visit.
It’s perfect walking weather to enjoy Brisbane’s recently expanded collection of riverside walkways.
This autumn, take advantage of the river walk from Hamilton to Newstead. Catch the City Cat ferry to Hamilton then walk back along the Lores Bonney walkway toward the city, taking in river and city skyline views and doing some houseboat spotting before crossing the Breakfast Creek pedestrian bridge to the stunning, heritage-listed Newstead House and gardens. If pastry is your jam, then take a little detour under the Breakfast Creek Bridge for a well-deserved treat at Rise Bakery, Newstead, before continuing on to the walk’s end near Gasworks.
If staying at the Emporium Hotel or South Bank, you can start with a coffee at GoMA Bistro then follow the river’s edge all the way from GoMA to Kangaroo Point. This walk will take you past Street’s Beach and the Southbank Parklands and along the bottom of the famous Kangaroo Point cliffs, where you might sit to watch rock-climbers navigate the sheer face before continuing on to the green and open parkland underneath the Story Bridge. Stop here for a locally brewed craft beer at Sea Legs Brewing or keep going a little further and you can have a bite to eat amidst the lush riverfront gardens at Medley before hopping on a City Cat back to Southbank (from Dockside ferry terminal).
The stunning Kangaroo Point Bridge is a great mid or end point for any walk along the city and botanical garden reaches of the Brisbane River. Make the most of the elevation to admire the Kangaroo Point cliffs or gaze down at Customs House and the Story Bridge before grabbing a (staff favourite) Banh Mi at Riverside Centre Food Court.
The walkway from the Botanic Gardens to Riverside is now fully reopened as well, so you can walk along the river front almost the entire way from Queens Wharf (Waterline Park), around the Botanic Gardens, past Riverside and all the way to Howard Smith Wharves under the Story Bridge. Keep going, and you will rejoin the riverwalk to take you all the way along the river (more or less) to New Farm Park. And you can always catch the City Cat back to the city or South Bank after recuperating at Mary Mae’s Bar and Kitchen or Bar Alto at the Brisbane Powerhouse.
From there, you can also walk the stunning river boardwalk from the Powerhouse to the Teneriffe ferry stop (near Gasworks), fantasising about an exclusive inner-city Brisbane lifestyle as you admire the luxe heritage-listed, riverfront conversion of an old 19th century sugar refinery, or the adaptive reuse of heritage Wool Stores now converted into chic apartments, eateries and bars. Dotted all along this walk are details outlining the areas unique historical past (keep an eye out for the section known as the Submariner’s Walk). The people and property watching here are on point.
Brisbane’s river hugging walkways must now be some of the best urban walks in the world – encompassing history, architecture, scenic views, culturally significant places, gardens, stunning public art and many world class coffee and dining options.
Walk Brisbane this autumn.
Or better yet, let us take you on a guided walk to uncover Brisbane’s secrets.
Brisbane Unexpected recommends:
- Mulga Bill’s, CBD
- The Prawnster, CBD
- Riverside Centre Food Court banh mi (weekdays only), Riverside
- Supernormal, Riverside
- Bar Miette, Riverside
- Fellini’s Trattoria, Howard Smith Wharves
- Felons Brewing, Howard Smith Wharves
- Mary Mae’s Bar and Kitchen, Powerhouse New Farm
- Bar Alto, Powerhouse New Farm
- Beccofino, Teneriffe
- Rise Bakery, Newstead
- Sea Legs Brewing Co, Kangaroo Point
-
Medley, Kangaroo Point
- Otto, South Bank
- GoMA Bistro, South Bank
Written using only NI (natural intelligence).