On the Saturday, we went & caught up with a mate (who I won't name because all my other mates may well get their noses out of joint because we slipped in & out of town without visiting) for lunch. Next time clan. I promise. That night was a family and family friends seafood feast at mum & dad's. Enjoyable & delicious at the very least.
Just before dinner, Kerri & I wandered up the road to the Toowong Cemetery for a nice outlook over the city for the fire works spectacular to come. We weren't alone. There were at least 50 living people (and the usual residents) with the same idea just in the small area we were.
Back in the day..... there used to be a fireworks show every year that included fireworks set off from barges on the Coronation Drive reaches of the river and culminated in an F-111 flying low along the river & performing a dump & burn on the way out. Back then it was called the FM104 Sky Show.
The current era version involves fireworks being fired from barges & buildings from the Storey Bridge to the Regatta, but still involves the F-111 dump & burn. The current version is called the "River Fire". We were lucky enough to be in Brisbane on the weekend when the River Fire was on.
The F-111 Dump & Burn is unique to this particular aircraft. For those not in the know, the F-111 has the ability to do an emergency dump of fuel from its tail that is then ignited by the exhaust of the aircraft. When they do it at night its quite the sight. The last one I saw was at RAAF Pearce near Perth, but it was a day time affair. This year there were two & they lit up in clear view of us despite being some kilometres away from us. It was no less spectacular.
This year was the last time the F-111s will close the show because the government/RAAF are retiring these old war birds that first saw service in the Vietnam war. They were a key instrument in the gulf wars but are now a maintenance nightmare & will be replaced in the next few months with Super Hornets.
After briefly buzzing the city they headed straight toward us & over our heads & into the stratosphere. As we were walking back to the house, we could smell the burnt Jet A1 in the air. All very exciting & not just for me. It was one of a few unexpected bonuses from the trip.
After lunch we headed back to the ferry. This pelican was watching over 
The photo below is Breakfast Creek. Its a serious restaurant district including the famous Brecky Creek Hotel. Legendary Sunday sessions, steaks & beer on the wood.
The Hamilton wharves in the photo are about as far upstream as major shipping comes these days. Now that the cement plant is now located 600kms north in Gladstone & ships don't need to come upstream, the dredging of the river no longer happens. This would appear to be the major contributer to the river no longer being brown & silty. Go figure.
Around the next bend from South Bank is the main city reach of the river that runs from the gardens, past the Riverside centre all the way to the story bridge.
Below is a government (or Ex-government) building that I've never noticed in my years of living in Brisbane. I think it much have undergone a restoration in recent times. I should know what it is because dad used to work in it or near is some decaded ago when he was an accountant, but I don't. Sorry.
The bridge below is the Storey Bridge. It's been there since I can remember. It looks much more impressive at night when it's lit up.
The next bridge along is the rail bridge.
This horrible thing below is the new foot bridge. It is so ugly! Stupid arty architect students. The question is who let them get away with it? Remember contemporary doesn't need to mean ugly peoples.
Adjacent to the CBD is South Bank. It's come such a long way since it original development for Expo '88. The new ornament, as is the case in many world cities now that "Big Pricks" are out of fashion, is the big Ferris wheel. The world went mad while we were in Canada starting with the London Eye. When we got back, Perth & Brisbane both had one. Weird.
