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The river city

Bay, hinterland & two coasts

Brisbane Guide · Chapter 9 of 9

Brisbane’s weekend geography is unusually generous: a bay full of sand islands to the east, mountains and rainforest to the west and south, and two entirely different beach cultures an hour either way. Most of it is close enough to do after a Saturday morning shift.

The bay

Moreton Bay is the thing visitors miss and residents organise their lives around. Moreton Island — Mulgumpin — is the world’s third-largest sand island, reachable by vehicle ferry, with wrecks to snorkel, dunes to sandboard and wild dolphins in the shallows at dusk. North Stradbroke — Minjerribah — is the surf-and-headland one, with whales passing close from June. Both are day trips, not holidays.

Closer in, the bayside suburbs give you the water without the ferry: Wynnum and Manly’s esplanades, the mangrove boardwalks at Nudgee and Boondall, and the tidal flats where the migratory shorebirds arrive from Siberia each spring.

The hinterland

West and south the land climbs quickly. The Scenic Rim — Lamington, Springbrook, Mount Barney — holds Gondwana rainforest, waterfalls and walking tracks an hour and a half from the CBD, cool enough to need a jumper in July. Closer still, Mount Coot-tha does the sunset view over the city, and the Glass House Mountains stand up out of the plain on the way north. The Sunshine Coast hinterland — Maleny, Montville — is the weekend-away version: ridge-top villages, cheese, and a view back to the sea.

Two coasts, two cultures

South is the Gold Coast: high-rises, a long surf strip, theme parks and the most famous beaches in the country, an hour by rail or road. North is the Sunshine Coast: lower-rise, greener, family-shaped, with Noosa’s national park headland and main beach at its top end and a string of surf towns below it. Brisbane people are loyal to one or the other and will tell you which at length. Try both before you take sides.

Three directions out of the city

Brisbane’s weekend geography is unusually generous, and it runs on three axes. Most of what follows is close enough to do after a Saturday morning shift.

East, to the bayThe thing visitors miss and residents organise their lives around — sand islands, wrecks to snorkel, and whales passing close from June.
The cityBayside · 30 min by railVehicle ferryMoreton & Stradbroke
West and south, up into the rangeThe land climbs quickly: Gondwana rainforest, waterfalls and walking tracks cool enough to need a jumper in July.
The cityMount Coot-tha · 15 minScenic Rim · ~1 hr 30Lamington
The two coasts, an hour either waySouth for high-rises and the most famous surf in the country; north for lower-rise, greener and family-shaped. Locals pick one and will tell you which at length.
The cityGold Coast · ~1 hrSunshine Coast · ~1 hr 15Noosa · ~1 hr 30

The Gold Coast run is a rail journey as well as a drive, which matters on a long weekend when the M1 fills. Try both coasts before you take sides.

Ten weekends, to start

  • Moreton Island: the Tangalooma wrecks, the dunes and dolphins at dusk
  • North Stradbroke: the Gorge Walk, then whale-watching from the headland in winter
  • Lamington National Park: rainforest circuits and the tree-top walk
  • Noosa: the national park coastal track, then breakfast on Hastings Street
  • Springbrook and Purling Brook Falls, with glow-worms after dark
  • Mount Coot-tha at sunset, and the botanic gardens below it
  • The Glass House Mountains and a Maleny ridge-top lunch
  • A CityCat the length of the river, just because it is the best fare in Australia
  • Bayside: the Wynnum esplanade, the mangrove boardwalks and fish and chips
  • The Gold Coast: Burleigh Heads point at dawn, before the crowds
That’s the guide

Nine chapters on Brisbane. Statewide topics — the sixteen health services, the tropical north — live in the Queensland guide, and everything national in Moving to Australia. When you’re ready to talk about roles here, send us your CV.

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