Wednesday 7th April Brisbane

Body clocks still not in synch. Dave was wide awake at 4 a.m but got some great pictures of the bird life that comes to feed on the terrace in the early morning. Looking out of the kitchen window in Linlithgow at the bird feeder is going to seem very dull after this. The birds in this picture are Galahs or, if you are a Scot of a certain age, Francie and Josie

When Rosena eventually arose (not late, honest!) John and Anne took us for a trip on the Catamaran Ferry that runs up and down the Brisbane River and which gives a great view of the city. These boats really shift between stops and you have to hang on to your hat if you don't want to lose it. We bought day tickets so that we could hop on and off as suited us. Our first stop was the Queensland Art Gallery for Rosena's culture fix. This was OK for an hour or so if you like that sort of thing. Dave was impressed with the Melbourne school of outdoor artists who specialised in paintings on 9" x 5" cigar box lids. Waste not, want not.

After this cultural excess we headed back to the river and took the ride downstream, passing in a loop around the city centre, and disembarking by a rather smart restaurant where we had upmarket fish and chips and calamares for our lunch. By the time we had digested and hauled ourselves out of our seats the sun was getting pretty hot so we got back on the ferry to make the most of the cool air over the water. This part of the river is home to some massive pelicans. On the way home we took a tour of the University of Queensland campus.

Our final call was at the top of Coot-tha Mountain where we had spectacular views over the whole of Brisbane and down to the mountains on the border between Queensland and New South Wales. By the time we got home we we were ready for a drink and Dave had his first beer in Australia - 40 hours after arriving. Don't tell anybody.