I may still be missing my friends and lifestyle up in Townsville, and I may not be much of a city person, but the good thing about Brisbane is that it does have a lot of bush around. For a big city this is really great, and it means you can get into nature without travelling far at all - even without leaving the city limits.
Not having much free time due to work and uni commitments, a short drive to get to somewhere where I can go for a bit of a walk in pleasant, natural surroundings is a real winner. I've recently discovered 2 new places that are ideal for those occasions when I don't have much spare time, but I just need to get out of the house.
The first of these places is Enoggera Dam, a mere 15-20 minute drive from where we currently live.
This water reservoir dates back to 1866 and is heritage listed, although we were more interested in being outdoors and enjoying the 5km Araucaria walking track that encircles the dam.
I was also pretty interested in the friendly local wildlife, like this super-handsome guy
The walking track played host to plenty of trail runners while we were there, it's fairly level going so it might make a reasonable starting point for me if I can pluck-up the courage to actually start trail running... (still fearing my unstable ankles...) There are also mountain bike trails to explore for when I have time to get back on my little yellow bike, and I was further pleased to see lots of kayaks and canoes out on the water. I could have my own little mini Adventurethon if I get fit enough!
The second place we checked out the following weekend was Toohey Forest Park. A bit of a further drive over to the south side of Brisbane, and this forest park nestles right up against the suburbs!
There are a few little walking tracks there, we didn't have time to do much (assignment pressure...) so we just ambled around a bit aimlessly, thinking that we might come back another time if we wanted to see things properly.
On this particular little amble there were lots of other people around, so we didn't get to see too much wildlife - although I did take a few moments to watch a few Australian king parrots playing amongst the trees (sadly too far away for decent photos).
The parrots might not have shown up brilliantly in my photos, but the xanthorrhoeas, or grass trees, were looking pretty magnificent. These trees appear kind of, 'other-wordly' to me for some reason. Very unlike any native British trees.
So, plenty of ideas for when I have time, but for now it's back to the uni work...
The first of these places is Enoggera Dam, a mere 15-20 minute drive from where we currently live.
This water reservoir dates back to 1866 and is heritage listed, although we were more interested in being outdoors and enjoying the 5km Araucaria walking track that encircles the dam.
I was also pretty interested in the friendly local wildlife, like this super-handsome guy
The walking track played host to plenty of trail runners while we were there, it's fairly level going so it might make a reasonable starting point for me if I can pluck-up the courage to actually start trail running... (still fearing my unstable ankles...) There are also mountain bike trails to explore for when I have time to get back on my little yellow bike, and I was further pleased to see lots of kayaks and canoes out on the water. I could have my own little mini Adventurethon if I get fit enough!
The second place we checked out the following weekend was Toohey Forest Park. A bit of a further drive over to the south side of Brisbane, and this forest park nestles right up against the suburbs!
There are a few little walking tracks there, we didn't have time to do much (assignment pressure...) so we just ambled around a bit aimlessly, thinking that we might come back another time if we wanted to see things properly.
On this particular little amble there were lots of other people around, so we didn't get to see too much wildlife - although I did take a few moments to watch a few Australian king parrots playing amongst the trees (sadly too far away for decent photos).
The parrots might not have shown up brilliantly in my photos, but the xanthorrhoeas, or grass trees, were looking pretty magnificent. These trees appear kind of, 'other-wordly' to me for some reason. Very unlike any native British trees.
So, plenty of ideas for when I have time, but for now it's back to the uni work...
