Brisbane was my last destination in Australia. Not that I was very interested in visiting, but my flight out of the country was from there so I stayed for a few days to see what is the city about.
Another boring city OMG! It’s crazy how I see more things happening in Vietnam at 7 am within 20 min than I would see in Brisbane the whole morning haha.
This city is such a “nothing going on” place haha. I arrived in the morning and I walked from the train station to the hotel, it wasn’t a very long walk but damn. Absolutely depleted of people, energy, vibe, colors, haaaaaa, what can I say? Please keep in mind that my opinions are based on my life experiences. I will mention again that before Australia, I lived in Southeast Asia for 2 years.
So, my first impression was not the best at all. No convenience stores, no businesses open at 7 am JEEZ, really not used to this boring pace. The hostel, again, was filled with foreigners who work in Australia on the working holiday visa program. No one to explore with, no one to have interesting conversations with… whatever, not really a real backpacking vibe. I simply wandered around the city trying to find some eye-catching architecture. But, as this was my last destination, I had one mission: seeing kangaroos. Yes, I could go to the zoo in many other cities, but I wanted to see them jumping around wild as apparently, they are everywhere in the rural areas. But I haven’t been to a very rural area yet, so I had to see the kangaroos in Brisbane, or not see them at all. After some research, I finally found a promising spot and I decided to go on a day adventure in search of kangaroos.
Wacol Bushlands
On the web, I found this place as a possible spot to watch the roos roaming freely. I went by train to Wacol station which wasn’t that far from Brisbane. All I wanted was to see them close. I have seen them jumping around while on train rides or buses but I didn’t see them close or look them in the eye.
From Wacol station I made my way to Wacol Bushlands. I walked there through a spot where no one else was walking. It is not that far and the walk is very quiet and calm, It’s a chilled place. I start approaching the neighborhood and I’m happy to see signs warning for kangaroos. That was an exciting sight. My hope was spiking. I didn’t really know where to go or what was this place about. I simply walked and followed my instinct until I reached a place with a wooden board and kangaroo signs. It is an entrance to a very green flat piece of land with tall grass. I decided to follow that path and a few steps in: tcharam!!! A ROO!! Just there!! Between the tall grasses OH MY I WAS SO EXCITED! It jumped away as soon as it saw me. I didn’t have the chance to see him close so I was hoping there were more animals.
I kept walking further in the area and that’s when I saw a group of them. OH MY. I saw a group of 5 kangaroos and it was awesome. Some were bigger than others and one seemed to have a baby in its pocket. So adorable WAAAA! They went into the tall grasses as I approached closer, but they stayed kinda near the edge of the tall grass so I could spot them feeding and poking their heads looking at me. They were curious too. I didn’t know if I should get too close or not. I didn’t try to feed them too. I just watched them doing their lives, lying on the grass, jumping around. It was fantastic as I have never seen kangaroos this close running wild. I was kinda scared that they would fight me or whatever haha, but they were basically scared. After spending a lot of time staring at these kangaroos, I wanted more. There was this kangaroo trail not that far in an area called Pooh Corner Bushland Reserve. Even though the place was just next door, I had to make such a big loop to reach it because the train tracks passed between lands. It was a very tiring day as I walked for hours and hours. I had nothing else to do that day but chase kangaroos so I decided to walk to this reserve unaware that the entrance was even further than I thought. What a walk! But the place is very quiet and there is nothing going on anyway.
Pooh Corner Bushland Reserve
Approaching the reserve I start seeing warning signs but this time for koalas!! WHAT! I didn’t expect that. Would I also be able to see koalas in the wild?- I thought. I was thrilled as there were several koala warning signs. Why so many signs if there are no koalas to be seen? The idea of spotting one of these animals was more convincing than my leg pain, so I went into the park and walked the trails for 30 min one way. I was so tired already. I looked up constantly, trying to hear a sound and seeing suspicious moves on trees. My neck started aching after looking up for so long haha.
Unfortunately, all I saw while looking up were spiders. Big ones with huge webs up high, haaa so disappointing. At least I wanted to see kangaroos, but even though the trail is called the Kangaroo Trail, I saw none. Uff I walked so much to get there, it was such an extra effort from my side as I would have to walk exactly the same way to get to the train station. Disappointing!! I considered asking someone for a ride to the train station, but when I was to leave, the few people I saw walking their dogs in the park were gone.
But at least I saw what I came to this area for, the kangaroos. And that was a delight, so this trip was worth it for me. If you are looking to see some free roos, Wacol Bushlands will be a good spot to see a few.
Watching wild kangaroos in Brisbane is a natural and healing thing. It is a very good idea to use Custom Patches as a souvenir of your trip. This not only preserves the unique experience of the trip but also highlights the theme of kangaroo observation.
The patch can be designed in the shape of an active kangaroo jumping to highlight the highlights of the trip. At the same time, some natural elements such as grasslands and jungles can be added to the background design.
In addition, the commemorative date of the trip can be added below or on the edge of the patch. In addition to being a souvenir of the trip, you can also use the patch to decorate your clothes and bags.
Walking around Brisbane
For the rest of my time in Brisbane, I walked. A lot haha. I’ve been to the most touristy part of town where it isn’t that boring and there are things going on and that’s the area around Queen Street Mall. Crossing Victoria Bridge on foot was also nice as the river offers nice city views. I also walked around the area with the Brisbane sign to find a little manmade beach within the city and next to the river. That was cool. These people can enjoy these free swimming pools with a very pleasant view and a certain beach vibe as there is even sand. Streets Beach was a nice discovery. Then I have also been to the Queensland Art Museum as it has free entrance. I spent quite some time in there.
West End is also a popular area with many restaurants along the street and shops. It’s a vivid place and apparently, the nightlife is good in this area. Not that I witnessed, but, I was told so… There was this free public bus, stopping right in front of Brisbane backpackers resort, that ran a loop along this part of Brisbane. It connects some major attractive areas, so you might wanna check it out. I used it to go to South Brisbane train station and to connect me to the airport. I didn’t explore anything else. But surely this city had many more things to do and be seen. I guess I was just not very motivated to see “more of the same”. It feels like home, which is not what I’m most interested in.
Check also what I have visited in Sydney HERE!
