VISIT TO THE BRISBANE BOTANICAL GARDENS AT MT COOT THA FOR A FAMILY AFTERNOON TEA...

 For our last full day in Brisbane, we all got to-gether at the Brisbane Botanical Gardens up at Mt. Coot tha for afternoon tea and a bit of a play for the children...

We hadn't seen them for a couple of days as Sarah was busy working on an assignment and we busy helping Chloe around her place and  we were on the verge of a bit of a head cold so wanted to hit the Armour Force tables and fight it off before it took hold plus we didn't want to spread it... On Saturday we were all feeling good so thought it would be great to be out in the fresh air and enjoy the gardens.  Also a great chance to catch up and say goodbye...

Arrival at the Gardens

The Botancial Gardens are located adjacent to the entrance  of the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium which incorporates the Cosmic Skydome.  Sir Thomas Brisbane, in addition to being the Governor of New South Wales after whom the city of Brisbane was named, was also a renowned astronomer who catalogued the southern skies of Australian during his term...  As we were driving in looking for a car park, I noticed this star gazing sculpture in the gardens next to the Planetarium.. 

Of course once we had parked I was keen to investigate and find out a little more about this sculpture and then photograph it...  The sculpture was of a Russian-born scientist and mathematician  called Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.  He is often referred to as the father of astronautics and human spaceflight. His visionary ideas for the future of humanity in space were far ahead of his time. He was born in 1857 and died when he was 78 in 1935. 

 

After taking these couple of photos I headed over to the little cafe area where we were meeting up with Colin, Sarah and the children...  There was another sculpture piece on the way there, it almost looked like a ball of barbed wire with kind of like a seed pod inside of it...

Once we met the others we headed off along one of the paths close to one of the lagoons to find a nice grassy spot for us to sit and have our afternoon tea....

Along our walk we saw yet another lot of sculptures of a male and female that looked like they were exploring a garden looking for insects and then checking them out with a magnifying glass....

As we walked along the path we notice quite a few bearded dragons lazing in the sun... They were obviously very tame and used to people because they did not bolt off when you got close to them..

We found a lovely patch of grass overlooking the lake and the viewing platform and put down our picnic rugs.  Lovely views of beautiful flowering gardens, the lake and birdlife....

part of our view..

There were a few ibises hanging around whilst we enjoyed our cuppa and biscuits and the children (especially Max) had fun chasing them away..

It was good to see the children running around and having a goo time....  Colin spent time playing with the children and Willow loves to practice her gymnastics...  Well the reality was she was putting on a little performance for us all to show us just how far she has progressed with it all...

Of course what one child gets the other wants it too... Poor Colin,   but he graciously gave her the swings also.....

Willow loves her gymnastics and practices every chance she gets, it doesn't matter where we go she is always practicing her hand stands and cartwheels, and it was no exception here also...

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the kids had their play it was time to pack up so that we could  go for a walk around the gardens....  There are lots of path ways through the different sections of the gardens...

 

These are reality new botanical gardens having been founded in 1970 and officially opened in 1976.  There are 56-hectares of gardens and they are opened daily from 8am to 6pm in Summer and 8am to 5pm in Winter and they are free to visit... 

Map of the gardens...

At the entrance to the gardens we picked up a map from the entrance board which we then used to explore some of the many accessible paths through rainforests, desert plants, bamboo groves, South American and African glades.....

From the map we could see that there was no way we would be able to explore all these gardens as they had  all of these many designated areas'...

    Tropical Display Dome which is 28m in diameter and 9m high

    Japanese Garden

    Bonsai House

    Fern House

    Arid Zone and Cactus House

    Exotic Rainforest

    Australian Rainforest

    Fragrant Plant and Herb Garden

    Temperate Garden

    Lagoon and Bamboo Grove

    Australian Plant communities

    National Freedom Wall..

 

We set off on a walk past the lagoons heading towards the children's play area...

So many beautiful flowering plants at this time of year.....

This led us to the relatively new children's nature playgound....   The playground has a big climbing frame, swings and slides set into a slope. There is also a great dome-shaped climbing feature that’s perfect for making a den inside. Plus there are lots of wide grassy spaces that are perfect for picnics and ball games

The highlight of this playground is the way it invites and entices kids to play with and amongst the natural features. The playground is set amongst ecologically designed drought resistant gardens and has a lovely natural theme. There are natural bases such as sand to play with, and a dry stream bed with pebbles and rocks to sort and stack. There are balance logs to walk along  as well as little laneways and stepping stones to lead kids on an adventure to explore other little areas.

 

From here we  continued our walk around the lagoon heading towards the herb and kitchen garden...

we had a little bridge to cross over the little creek that fed from the lagoon...

with Dan and Chloe

It was around here that Sarah and Colin and the children decided to leave us.  Sarah and Colin were going to surprise the kids tonight and take them for a family movie to the Drive In and as it was after 4pm and they had a good 45 minute drive to get home, needed to leave now if they had any chance of making the Drive In on time...

On our way to meet up with Steve who was still sitting back at the original lagoon where we had our picnic (His foot was a bit to sore to go on a long walk, so he had remained behind to mind all our gear and take in the beauty of the gardens around him...)  we checked out the Fragrant Garden and the Kitchen in the Garden.... a beautiful area in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens....

The Kitchen in the Garden, an open-air outdoor teaching facility set right in the middle of the Kitchen Garden, where you’ll discover a world of seasonal and perennial edibles growing.  The plants growing here can all be successfully grown at home in the Brisbane climate, and attention has been given to how much water useage these plants need alone with small garden limitations and even being able to grow these plant in small gardens on balconies....

 

Apparently there are a range of popular events and educational workshops for kids and adults that are held in this area promoting the benefits of growing your own fruit and vegetables and how to turn what you’ve grown into healthy and nutritious dishes.  I think this is a great program and I will have to check into this in future and bring the kids along for one...

These gardens  also contain culinary, fragrant and medicinal herbs from around the world, as well as flowers and aromatic foliage.  You can actually smell the blooms in season and gently rub the leaves of the many assorted mints and lavender...

 

 

 

Whilst we were wandering around this area, we witnessed a bridal couple having their wedding photos taken...

We weren't far now from where Steve was waiting for us, we were back alongside the larger lagoon and I enjoyed taking time to admire the beautiful range of Spring flowers that were in full bloom here...

 

By the time we got back to Steve it was going on for 5pm.  Dan and Chloe grabbed all the gear as they were going to take it all back to the car and then come back to the car park to pick us up.  Steve and I took our time wandering back and checked out one of the green houses along the way...

Close to the entrance of the botanic gardens is the cactus garden. I am a great fan of the humble cactus, simply for their ability to grow vs my ability to garden.  The cactus house is as it sounds, a house, to protect the cactus from the sub-tropical Queensland weather where there is too much rain for cacti. 

This house also contained some beautifully flowering orchids as well on the other side of the walkway through the house..

These are such spectacular gardens and we have just scratched the surface of them today, there are so many other areas of them to explore so they are back on my list of places to visit when back in Brisbane again next time..

By the time we had finished in the Cactus House, Dan and Chloe had driven the car into the parking lot so we scootered out to meet them, we had decided to end our afternoon by going for a drive to the top of Mt Coot tha to see the views of the city and watch the sun lower in the afternoon sky...

Views of Brisbane

Guests enjoying a picnic on the lawns up at the Summit of Mt Coot tha

It takes a short drive from the Botanical Gardens  and a few twists and turns up Sir Samuel Griffith Scenic Drive to find the best angle for views of Brisbane city.  The Brisbane Lookout Mount Coot-tha provides a remarkable vantage point to view Brisbane and beyond.

It is set amongst beautifully manicured gardens and nestled in the natural bushland of Brisbane Forest Park.  At the summit you will find the Summit Restaurant and Bar, Function Centre, Kuta Cafe, Gift Shop and Observation Deck. Interpretive facilities pointing out well-known Brisbane landmarks are located on the observation deck. On a clear day, you can take in striking views of Brisbane City and right out to Moreton Bay and even see the ocean.    I can only begin to image how beautiful it would be at night  with the  spectacle city lights and star-lit skies.

There are  a handful of bushwalks around the vicinity of the Lookout.  You can take the Aboriginal Track down to Slaughter's Falls and keep your eye out for some original Aboriginal art. Mt Coot-tha is also scattered with picnic areas fully equipped with gas barbecues but we didn't have time to do any of this today as it was almost sunset when we arrived up there...

Mount Coot-tha was previously known as One-Tree-Hill, a reference to when the hill terminated in a bare knoll with a solitary large tree at the summit.^. Mount Coot-tha Lookout & Kiosk was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.  The above  viewing gazebo with an ogee shaped roof, stone base, open balustrades, and pergola entrance and  has a terrazzo floor with an inlaid brass star pattern was constructed  in1918 and is still very much the prominent feature there today..

It's been a lovely afternoon... So go to get out in the fresh air and sunshine and appreciate the beauty around us.  In all honesty you could easy spend a whole day at the Botanical Gardens, and I think next time we come up to the Summit, we will come for a meal where we can enjoy the views during the day, witness a sunset and then enjoy the views of the lights of Brisbane...

Whilst Dan and Chloe went to get the car, Steve and I quickly checked out the gift store... It will full of Aussie memorabilia and Aussie themed gifts...

And that was how another perfect day had ended...  Time to head home and think about some dinner... We also had some packing to do as we were keen to take off back to Rocky first thing in the morning...

We ended up having left overs for dinner with mashed potato and vegetables... Since I have been at Chloe's I have been doing the mashed potato in the Thermomix and my goodness it has been turning out well... Think I might have to continue this at home....

Back on the road again tomorrow...