The beauty of Brizzie

Lively, cultural, elegant and hot, that's Brisbane. JILL MALCOLM seeks out the city's high spots.

The taxi driver leaned back and exclaimed, "Brizzie's beaut," on the way to the city from the airport.

His name was Graham, and in the half-hour it took us to get to town his enthusiasm for life in Brisbane bounded along like a joyful kangaroo. Without charging extra he took me on a detour of the city, past Eagle Street Pier, the street cafes in Edward St, the casino in its magnificent Renaissance-style treasury building, the stylish apartment development in the great brick warehouses at Teneriffe, South Bank with its snaking stainless steel arbour and man-made beach and the elegant profiles of the Performing Arts Complex.

"Frantic as a lizard with a stone on its tail around here," he said, and then, with a smile that was a wreath of happiness, he delivered me to Rydges Hotel on South Bank.

Compared to other cities' flamboyant sophistications, Brisbane was once considered culturally and developmentally challenged. If there was ever any truth to this, things have certainly changed.

Among its lush, subtropical gardens and almost perfect weather, the city now flaunts a lively arts and cafe culture, an elegant mix of snazzy office blocks and early Victorian buildings and a wealth of imaginative parklands.

Downtown I lingered over lunch at the Coffee Club along with the upwardly mobile who were sipping lattes with cellphones jammed to their ears. Among the passing parade of backpackers, baggie-trousered youths and power dressers, I saw only one raw-boned dinkum Queenslander. With booted stride and an Acubra tilted over a crevassed brow, he looked as if he had stepped out of a film set.

Still, Brisbane has neither the hype of Sydney nor the cultural hauteur of Melbourne. It's not as earnest, and time is consumed at a slower rate. Ask any Queenslander the way and, along with the directions, he or she will probably trade a yarn or two.

When the city staged Expo in 1988, it turned to face its imposing river. From my four-and-a-half-star hotel balcony I had a five-star view over the $150 million development of the River Front Parkland, which is the city's outdoor playground.

Beyond, the river drifts broad and deep with Victoria Bridge gracefully spanning its width. The tall buildings of the CBD form jagged outlines against a luminous sky, and traffic, like corpuscles along an open artery, flows to the heart of the city along the Riverside Expressway, which is suspended on huge pylons along the river's northern bank.

One of the most piquant experiences the city offers starts at the South Bank Pier, where I boarded the CityCat ferry. Evening spun a grey sheen over the water as we skimmed downriver to the suburb of New Farm.

I walked up Brunswick Rd, where some of the city's most interesting alfresco bistros bulge on to the pavements. In the unpretentious courtyard of the Moray Cafe, I ate a plate of rich oxtail ravioli helped to perfection by several glasses of Mt Avoca shiraz.

But it wasn't the wine that etched the return trip into my memory. On the darkened river the ferry skimmed between lofty buildings blazing with lights.

And standing on the deck, detached and unseen, I could observe like a dreamer the nightly rhythms of Brisbane: the backlit pockets of alfresco diners, the dimming apartments where quieter citizens were calling it a day, the textured backdrop of the Kangaroo Cliffs and the parklands where late-night strollers mingled among leafy silhouettes.

Next morning another excursion awaited me. This time a 30-minute bus ride to Redcliffe, a small seaside town on Moreton Bay and the site of the first white settlement in Queensland. The Aborigines called it Humpybong, which means dead houses. But I was off to see some humpies of a different kind.

From this village a catamaran takes visitors into the bay to view the large populations of humpback whales which pass through on their winter migration to and from Antarctica.

We had been on the water 45 minutes when two of these great ridge-skinned leviathans exhaled powdery spouts and surfaced about 200m in front of us. One rolled playfully on its side, exposing a white belly and waving a flipper.

Humpback whales are curious and playful. On board we were encouraged to clap and sing them in towards the boat. And if our caterwauling didn't bring them closer it certainly didn't drive them away.

We saw about 30 whales that day. We watched them travelling, sounding, blowing, rolling and waving, but the highlight was one which breached. Forty tonnes of knobbly flesh surging up from the ocean and hurtling skyward in what looked like unfettered joy is a sight I can never forget.

The supercat is owned and skippered by New Zealander Kerry Lopez, a model-size blonde who has been running the whale-watching operation in Moreton Bay for five years. Late last year she bought the 10m Supercat which takes passengers into the bay in comfort without comprising the view.

Seductive as the attractions of Brisbane are, leaving town for a night or two also has merit. An hour's drive south is the Gold Coast with all its glitz and glamour. Travel the same time north and the more laidback Sunshine Coast begins. Turn inland to discover the forest-mantled mountains of Lamington National Park or the historic villages of the Blackall Ranges.

It was seeringly hot in Brisbane the day I left for Binna Burra Lodge in the McPherson Ranges of Lamington. But as the road wound higher, the air cooled and between the trees I glimpsed the high rises of the Gold Coast like a row of uneven teeth.

Lamington National Park is 200 square miles, and protects the largest area of subtropical rainforest left in Australia. The two areas that are easily accessible are Binna Burra and OReillys. I headed for Binna Burra, where an unpretentious mountain lodge of the same name is an excellent base for exploration.

It comprises a large central amenities area and a series of rough-hewn timber chalets which are plain but comfortable. No starving bushwhackers here. A large bell outside the dining room sounds six times a day to bid guests to partake of mountainous repasts of home-baked food.

But it was the mountains I had come to see. There are 160km of paths crisscrossing the park. I walked about five of them. I don't believe in setting distance records, especially when there is so much intriguing wildlife around: bush turkeys scrabbling at the soil, satin bower birds parading their brilliance, a magnificent paradise bird, a secretive whip bird and cute little paddymelons.

But with my one tilt towards real adventure, distance became paramount. I was standing on a perfectly good bush track and there was no real need to abseil into a gully 90m below, but I'd tried the smaller slopes and gone on until I couldn't back out.

On the 15-minute descent I felt alternately like Crocodile Dundee in drag and an out-of-control spider. Somewhere in the bush a kookaburra was laughing. But the walk back up the gully through the rainforest, with its stinging trees and hanging vines, gave me a good glimpse of the rugged nature of the McPherson Mountains, and a healthy appetite.

It seems masochistic that I should choose a place called Eyrie Lodge for my excursion to the north of Brisbane city. Perched high on a hill in the Blackall Ranges, this elegant and friendly place gives extensive views to the Sunshine Coast and to the bizarre monolithic humps of the Glasshouse Mountains rising up from the wispy blue of the plains like remnants of an oversized city. Apparently you can abseil down the sides of some of them. I wasn't interested.

Eyrie Lodge is owned by Peter and June Rogers who, like many people in Queensland, are escapees from another part of Australia. They came here in search of the good life, and found it.

From there I visited some of the small villages folded into the hills of the Blackall Ranges. It was Saturday, and in Eumundi the exuberance of the village's famous market was hard to resist. I listened to jazz bands, drank homemade lemonade under the spreading fig trees and bought an armful of items I will probably never use.

Back in Brisbane, the population was finishing a week-long homage to their river. The annual Riverfest has open-air concerts, regattas, fireworks, dance parties and candlelit dinners. Most bizarre was a banquet atop the Victoria Bridge, where the city's chefs organised dinner for 2500 people.

The prize for the most original presentation went to the hotel that served its entree of prawns and oysters from the bodies of recumbent volunteers. These people platters, covered in a protective layer of cucumber, were transported to the bridge on stretchers in a refrigerated van and then placed on the tables. Too bad if they were ticklish.

A day later the iconic Story Bridge Hotel held its annual Beer Festival by offering 130 of Australia's best brews. I thought it was a fitting end to a stay in Brisbane to look at a celebration of one of the activities that Queenslanders do best. I pushed my way to the bar and ordered an ale.

A fellow imbiber, already rocking slightly, held his glass up to me. "Beauty lies in the hands of the beerholder," he mused.

"Beauty is Brizzie," I said.

Case notes

Moreton Bay Whalewatching

Pick up from Brisbane hotels and transfer by bus to Scarborough Marina, where boat departs.

Trip lasts five hours. Morning and afternoon tea and lunch provided. Cost: about $A129 ($156) a person (subject to change).

Phone: 0061 7 3880 0477 Email: kl@whalewatching.net

Whale watching

When to go

Winter months are the busiest but also the perfect time to visit. Accommodation between April and November should be booked in advance

Being there

The dress is generally informal. Take a jacket and tie or cocktail dress if you're dining or staying five-star.

UV radiation is high, so sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat are essential.

Insect repellent is also a good idea. Flies are not too troublesome in the city but they can drive you mad once you hit the sticks.

The centre of Brisbane tends to empty out at night. Best collections of restaurants are found at New Farm, Fortitude Valley and South Bank.

The best way to explore the city is to buy an off-peak pass and spend the day cruising the river on the City Cat. You can get off and on at as many points as you want.

Brisbane Tourism