With just a little imagination, you can personify literally any city or region in the world. Queensland, to me, is the one who founded the 5 am club. They’re that person who sets an alarm for 4 in the morning so they can run at 5, swim at 6, surf at 7, start work at 9, wrap up by 5, and then be seen at a sundowner, going on to own their 5-to-9 like nobody’s business. They’d probably be over 6 feet tall and have abs that look like they were always there. To top it up, they’d banter with you till you’d be head over heels in love, because as cliché as it sounds, the way to most people’s hearts is through humour. As an Indian travelling abroad, you don’t expect your immigration agent or your aviation security staff to make jokes with you as they flag your bag, but when they do, it somehow makes you feel warm, welcome, and fuzzy all at once.
ADVERTISEMENT
If you can go anywhere this year, go to Queensland
Where else will you find bridges you can scale with a harness, a door-hunting adventure, and a skincare lake?
Photography by Nilay Shah
In frame: Priyanka Parkash
From 60 storeys high, like from our sprawling service apartments in Brisbane, the city seems like it wove itself around nature. The contrast of glossy high-rises and imposing architectural bridges criss-crossing around a river that’s not just used for expensive yachts but also for recreational activities is staggering. If you zoom into the scene by taking the elevator to ground zero, you’ll see that the inhabitants grew up engaging with the environment. For instance, in not many major metropolitan cities do you see locals casually kayaking on a random Thursday evening, right between skyscrapers and buzzing shopping streets. But in Brisbane, the rules seem to bend.
The best part, though, is the view of the city that hugs the languid Brisbane river. The lights, the hum of people socialising from the wharf below, the fresh, clean air—there’s no better spot to experience the soul of the city through all five senses than from on top of the Story Bridge. Later, we eat dinner at Greca at Howard Smith Wharves below, the remnants of the excitement of the climb amping our appetite as we take second helpings of hummus. The table we leave behind is complete carnage.
In the morning light, the city switches personality. While the locals are at work, we go on a walking tour. We notice to our amazement that Brisbane has turned canvas for the region’s artists. There are installations that crop up outside herculean towers, hand painted murals cover building facades, and we also spot the distinctive blue three dimensional motifs by a popular local artist who goes by Blu Art Xinja. We look up at Linda Lee’s bewildering (and perhaps the most photographed) sculpture, ‘Being Swallowed by the Milky Way,’ right in front of Queen’s Wharf, and struggle to get an aesthetic picture.
There are also blink-and-miss miniature doors attributed to an anonymous artist that have come up all around. People refer to them as ‘Brisbane’s Banksy’ but the artist reportedly is not happy about this title. We don’t blame them. We go on a hunt for these doors and it’s like a Where’s Waldo? mission. No two doors are alike. We move aside wheel barrows and trash cans to uncover little painted ones, and each one makes us go ‘aww’ just like puppies, babies, and literally anything that comes in teeny-sized packaging. The Brisbane Street Art Festival is to credit for the city’s new-found artistic instinct.
As Australia’s lifestyle capital, Brisbane obviously has delicious food. We indulge in Greek, Indian, and east Asian cuisines and realise that there are enough options even for the cautious Indian vegetarian. The highlight, though, is Eat Street, a bustling square with live bands, multi-cuisine food stalls, arcade gaming, bars, and little souvenir shops. You’ll find toys, keychains, charms, caps, t-shirts, vinyls, photo frames, posters and plenty of other trinkets that make for great gifts for friends and family.
The Sunshine Coast
While Brisbane makes a strong case in and of itself as a destination, the best of Queensland’s beaches and islands are also less than 90 minutes away. The Sunshine Coast is one of those areas. Like the name suggests, this region is a vivid composition of cerulean waters, rolling green expanses, white sand, and freshly painted bungalows. If holiday weather had a moodboard, Queensland would be it. Even to the naked eye, the colours look saturated, almost as if your graphic designer picked the most vibrant blues and greens on her Photoshop.
Driving from the airport, on overhearing us gush about the yellow sunshine and the comfortable 17°C temperature, Ryan, our driver says, “In Queensland, they say, ‘Beautiful one day, perfect the next.’”
And perfection is just what Noosa is: an idyllic, picturesque town located on the Sunshine Coast with a vibey shopping and cafe culture, a pristine beach, and glorious hiking paths, all within walking distance. While driving into town, we notice canals that snake through the countryside, and quaint yet quietly luxurious boats nonchalantly anchored by waterside mansions—a dead giveaway that this isn’t your average tourist town. There are oceanfront boardwalks swarming with runners and hikers even on a weekday, and the adjacent beach is packed with people surfing, swimming, lounging or playing volleyball. We have the nagging urge to ignore our emails and WhatsApp texts forever.
Our hotel, Elysium Noosa, is situated bang in the middle of Hastings Street—a hip Riviera-esque boulevard. Nearby, we find a Mecca, where we buy lipsticks and highlighters. We walk into a few homegrown boutiques like Arms of Eve which stocks beautifully designed 24-carat gold-plated stainless steel jewellery, and clothing stores like Camilla, Seed Heritage and Alterior Motif. The atmosphere is somehow active and laidback at the same time. We see jeeps with surfboards tied to the roof, and groups of 20-somethings walking back from the beach, still in their swimsuits. There’s alfresco dining and laughter, and the combination of everything instantly gives you that holiday feeling. We’re convinced that even work-life balance aspires to be a Queenslander.
We go for an early morning surf session. The instructors spend time teaching us the techniques on land, before venturing out into the open waters. We almost succeed, and this puts the group in high spirits for the rest of the day. We’re with Tasty Tours for the afternoon, where we go on a river cruise with Ollie, our boat operator, who regales us with stories of sharks and surfers as well as some local gossip about the owners of the stately homes that line the waters. We spot Steve Irvin’s estate, and his boat ‘Croc One’ anchored outside, with a doodle painted on its hull, reportedly drawn by his daughter when she was eight. We slurp freshly shucked oysters dressed with zesty lime and bite into crispy calamari. We find ourselves drifting into zen mode, the interplay between the sun, wind and water almost meditative.
We then drive over for a tea and a yarn with Aunt Dilly, a First Nations woman and former chef, who educates us about local bush foods, and encourages us to taste and smell the indigenous ingredients of ancient Queensland. “First Nations people can eat anything but their family totems,” she tells us. Her totems are emu and possum. She’s warm and friendly and we feel at home chit-chatting around her table. We round off the day with gin-tasting at the Sunshine & Sons distillery and get a good night’s sleep thanks to the copious amounts of spirits sloshing around within us.
North Stradbroke Island
If Noosa is the perfect holiday destination, then North Stradbroke Island is where you can come up close and personal with nature. A day trip from Brisbane, the island is a short ferry ride away. Our guide Elisha Kissick founder of Yura Tours, wielding her own brand of humour, tells us about the Quandamooka people as she helps us spot a koala comfortably plonked on a branch. The koala looks at us without an ounce of shyness and even puts on a show as he loudly munches on some eucalyptus leaves. We can’t stop taking pictures.
We then drive to the brown ‘tea tree oil’ lake that we’ve heard so much about. In ancient times, First Nations women would gather here for women’s business, Elisha tells us. Tea tree oil is the perfect skincare. We run our hands in the water and find our palms exfoliated, cleansed, and moisturised all at once. It’s a healing lake and perhaps the “oldest spa in the world”, she says. We see people swimming. They’ll probably emerge with glossy hair and glowing skin, I think to myself.
There are multiple beaches around the island as well. But it starts raining. Surprisingly, some locals are still surfing. We hop on her car for the journey back to Brisbane and are back in our hotel before 4 pm.
Australia Zoo
The legendary Australia Zoo, colloquially referred to as the late Steve Irvin’s zoo, is also 40 minutes away from Brisbane city. Needless to say, when you go, don’t forget to bribe the kangaroos with some snacks for a selfie! You’ll also see koalas, giraffes, zebras, crocodiles, alligators, dingoes, and the (very) photogenic meerkat. Make sure you attend the show at the amphitheatre—you’ll learn a lot about the animals, including their names and personalities. Like the fact that Archie is the most sensible dingo and he loves all the different smells. Or that crocodiles have a cerebral cortex and therefore they can learn. Graham is one educated and trained croc who they work with on a demo about how to deal with crocs in the wild. Fun fact: They sense any movement on the edge of the water, so it’s safer to be on land when faced with one.
--
If you are considering travelling this year, we highly recommend flying to Queensland via Singapore Airlines. With four daily flights to Brisbane via Singapore, the journey is quick, relaxing and will put you in holiday mode much before you land. And when in Queensland, prepare to feel joy, excitement, connection, zen, and rejuvenation, all at once.
--
