Gardens to see in Brisbane

Botanic Gardens

Brisbane’s First Botanic Gardens on the Brisbane River are the second oldest botanic gardens in Australia. Their peaceful location is a welcome haven from the city’s usual bustle and high rise buildings.

In its earliest incarnation, the area was used as a vegetable garden by convicts. It was laid out in its present form in 1855 by the colonial botanist Walter Hill, who was also the first director of the gardens. An avenue of bunya pines dates back to the 1850s, while an avenue of weeping figs was planted in the 1870s.

Hundreds of water birds, such as herons and plovers, are attracted to the lakes dotted throughout the gardens’ 18 ha (44 acres). Brisbane River’s renowned mangroves are now a protected species and can be admired from a specially built boardwalk.

 

Brisbane Botanic Gardens

Brisbane Botanic Gardens, in the foothills of Mount Coot-tha Forest  Park 8 km (5 miles) from the city centre, were founded in 1976 and feature more than 20,000 specimens, representing 5,000 species, of exotic herbs, shrubs and trees laid out in themed beds. Highlights include eucalypt groves, a Japanese Garden, a Tropical Display Dome, which includes lotus lilies and vanilla orchids, a Lagoon and Bamboo Grove and a large collection of Australian native plants.  Many arid and tropical plants, usually seen in greenhouses, thrive in the outdoor setting. Also in the Gardens complex, the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is the largest of Australia’s planetariums.

Mount Coot-tha Forest Park offers both spectacular views and attractive picnic areas. The Aboriginal name means “mountain of dark native honey”, a reference to the tiny bees found in the area.

On a clear day, from the summit lookout you can see Brisbane, snugly encircled by the river, Moreton and Stradbroke islands, the Glasshouse Mountains (so named by Captain Cook because they reminded him of the glass furnaces in his native Yorkshire) and the Lamington Plateau backing onto the Gold Coast. The park also contains some excellent, easygoing walking trails through the woodland, including Aboriginal trails which detail traditional uses of native plants.

 

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

The Oldest koala sanctuary in Australia, opened in 1927, is now one of Brisbane’s most popular tourist attractions. Lone Pine has more than 100 koalas, as well as kangaroos, emus, possums, dingoes, wombats, reptiles and many Australian birds, including various species of parrot.

Lone Pine insists that it is more than just a zoo, a claim that is supported by its nationally respected koala breeding program. For a small fee, visitors can have their photograph taken holding a koala.

A pleasant and scenic way to get to Lone Pine Sanctuary is by ferry. There are daily departures at 10am from Victoria Bridge.