In true Kat & Kyle fashion, we didn’t have anything planned for our final two weeks in New Zealand. We figured that we would work it out when it got closer. But, even late last week, we still weren’t sure what we wanted to do. We had seen just about everything on the South Island, and to go up to the North Island again and then come back down to fly out of Christchurch on the 15th turned out to be a lot more costly than we thought (even with just taking a bus and the ferry).
So we decided to call an audible and start off the new year in Australia, which meant moving our plane tickets up by two weeks. It also meant we only had 4 days to come up with a plan. We commenced with the scramble to make a few plans, such as figuring out where should stay and making sure we got our Australian visas (woohoo for the online ETA – so easy!). Several hours later we had lined up some travel plans including plane tickets, accommodations for at least the first week, and some plans to meet up with friends. We’ll figure out the rest later.
Bright and early on New Year’s Day, we boarded a flight to Brisbane and checked into our guesthouse over in the New Farm area of town. We’ve spent the past 2 days exploring the city, walking along the paths on the riverwalk, soaking up sun and culture and fun over at South Bank, getting some shopping done on Queen Street, and taking in the amazing views from the CityCat (catamarans that are part of the Brisbane Transit System) as we ride up and down the river.
Brisbane is a hip town. It’s got a great cultural scene, is a wonderful city if you’re a foodie, and the public transportation and other public amenities are fantastic. We’re having fun during our week here, even though it is HOT. And it’s not even really all that hot (in the 80’s F). But after cool weather for most of our time in New Zealand, it feels hot and humid, like we’re back in South America.
I’ll be finishing up the last of the NZ Road Trip Posts and recapping our time in Christchurch over the next several days. And then it is time for adventures in the Land of Oz.
Got suggestions for things we should do or see while we’re in Aussie? Share them in the comments section below.
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