Arriving at the Botanical Gardens we were greeted by a very helpful lady at the information desk who loaded us up with a map and sent us on our merry way. With so much to see and do we weren't quite sure where to start first....
... so we thought a quick photo of the two of us would get us started :)
From the horizon we could see a curious dome shape so off we went to investigate. It turned out to be a 'Tropical Display Dome' which is a bit like a smaller scale Eden Project. The aim is to create a humid atmosphere that provides a perfect micro climate to grow plants not normally found in Brisbane.
We went off next on our merry way to 'The Fern House' which houses many different types of fern - who knew that there was more than one type, but apparently it curently houses 80 species!
After this we encountered many different fruit trees along the path down to the lagoon (thankfully we had already eaten and weren't tempted to snack along the way!)
I have to say that both Tim and I enjoyed the Lagoon very much - there was so much to look at that it was almost a sensory overload. The first thing that we both spotted were the ducks as you would expect from what in esssence was a rather large pond! The lagoon was coated with water lillies which the ducks seemed quite happy to weave their way in and out of.
One bird that we came across that I found curious is the Ibis. As you will see from the photos below it has got long legs and a fat body. Its head I can only describe as that of a vulture with a rather long beak at the end that looks like a grim reepers sheaf. Depsite this however they are very graceful birds and I had a close encounter with 10 of them on the pantoon on the lagoon.
The other bird that we saw on the lagoon was the Coot - a cute little black bird with a red beak - very cute!
A view looking back at the lagoon :
Me drinking from a water fountain which the Australians call a bubbler - brilliant!
The Japanese gardens within the Botanical Gardens are a copy of those that were at the World Expo of 1988. The architect who designed the gardens sadly died before it was finished but I am sure he would be proud of the finished outcome. We were definitely impressed by its tranquility. We took another opportunity to have our photo taken.
They seem to have everything here that you could possibly want to see - the next area we moved onto was the 'Bonsai Tree Garden'. There was approxmiately 30 tress in this area and some of them range from 30-50 years old, however they were no bigger than a couple of feet tall. The volunteer who was there explained to us that there was a Bonsai tree within the garden that had a twin. The twin had been allowed to grow in the ground and therefore has grown to an enormous height whereas the Bonsai tree seemed tiny in comparison.
I could go on and on about what we saw in the day that we spent at the gardens but I think the pictures tell their own story so I will leave you guys to have a look through the post and gaze at all the wondeful wildlife that we saw. I thoroughly recommend a trip here if you are ever in Brisbane especially if you get a nice sunny winters day like we did - yes they call 17 degrees winter here. Crazy! There is so much to see from the Fern House right through to the Japanese Garden.
One for Gran - we thought this might we a different variety of the Bottle Brush Tree. The flower was a vibrant pink although a different shape as you can see!
One thing that I can honestly say that both Tim and myself moving within the gardens was the 'Australian Freedom Wall' - when entering one would think that is just another war memorial. However this was built as a remembrance to all the soliders that fought in the war and also the companies that helped in WW2. Whatever it is meant to be a place truely humbles you. I think we both came out feeling very peaceful and reflective.
This cheeky little red bug tried to sneak onto Tim's t-shirt and come back to Jan & Paul's with us but we left him within the park so that he could stay with his friends.
Finally I end this post with the view of Brisbane from the lookout which we gazed over for quite a while. Well I gazed and Tim took lots of photos in true Tim style. But wihout Tim to take lots of photos we would not be able to bring you the wonders of Australia to share on the blog.
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