The Cliffs Boardwalk

If you cross the Goodwill Bridge from the city side, and venture around to your left, just under the Captain Cook Bridge (the Riverside Expressway) you'll find the start of The Cliffs Boardwalk. The walk runs adjacent to Lower River Terrace on the South Bank side of the Brisbane River. It stretchs along this reach of the river through Kangaroo Point Park to the Riverlife Adventure centre.


The Kangaroo Point cliffs are a results of a violent volcanic event which is estimated to have occurred some 220 million years ago. When the volcanic material settled, it was so hot it welded together. The fine grained rock which was formed is known as Brisbane Tuff. In the early years of settlement in Brisbane, convicts would quarry these cliffs to obtain the building stone which would be used in many of the city's original buildings.


This is another of the great walks within easy reach of the Central City area of Brisbane. The views and atmosphere are fantastic, and you'll often find people scaling the cliff walls in search of their own adventure. The park areas include barbeques, play areas, grassed lawns and even a nature reserve. Both bike and walking tracks are available. As an afternoon of outside exercise there aren't many other things which come close as part of a family activity.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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The Gabba

Whilst not strictly part of the Brisbane CBD, the Gabba is one of the two major sporting complexes at least within walking distance, or a short taxi or bus ride from the city. Otherwise known as the Brisbane Cricket Ground the name "Gabba" comes from the suburb of Woolloongabba in which the ground is situated. Major sporting activities held at the ground include Cricket and Australian Rules Football, along with Soccer and Rugby Union. The Gabba is the home ground for the Queensland Bulls cricket team.the and the Brisbane Lions AFL team.

The history of the Gabba dates back to 1895, when the land was designated as the site for a cricket ground. The first event conducted there was a cricket match between Parliament and the Press on 19 December 1896. Whilst now the ground is considered one of the premier venues for cricket in Australia, there was no state or international cricket played their until 1931. Aside from Cricket, it has also been a venue for cycling and later greyhound racing and trotting, amongst those other primary sports listed earlier. Over the years the ground has been redeveloped in stages, gradually becoming the modern concrete colosseum beheld today. The seating capacity of the ground is now 42,000.


I had the good fortune over the weekend to attend the Sri Lanka versus Australia 1st Test. Unfortunately, it was an overcast day and the game was broken by intermittent rain showers. The crowd was also down because of both the rain, and the slow play of the Sri Lankans. The ground is also now fully enclosed, so gone are the old days of "the hill" and drinking until you fell down it. The Australian's won yet again, and now are on a run of 17 matches won at the Gabba in a row, having not been defeated here since 1989!

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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