A crazy view of the city from Mt Coot-tha and a visit in close contact with nature while walking through the Botanic Gardens!
Everyone likes big cities and Brisbane it is not an exception: the clouds reflecting in the windows of the skyline, original clubs at every corner, art galleries and everywhere fabulous places for fast-food take away.
Dynamism, energy, that vital rhythm that enters you and that like a vitamin cocktail makes you feel… BOOM! Simply… ALIVE! Getting bored in cities like Brisbane is next to impossible.
But at a certain point something clicks, that mechanism in the brain that makes you say: "enough, I need a STOP". You feel like you are losing your balance, nauseated aboard a ship with the stormy sea. Without an escape route. And this is how you begin to yearn for quiet places, permeated by peace and silence, immersed in the green of nature, that nature that now seems so distant and unattainable.
Brisbane, how to relax
You are in Brisbane, in a city with over 2 million inhabitants, skyscrapers and buildings everywhere. Ok, there are a lot of wonderful parks, but they are NOT enough, they don't allow you that all-encompassing immersion you now fully need. And as soon as you start to feel disconsolately resigned, an Australian who happens to meet between a flat white and the other utters the magic word: Mt Coot-tha.
Well yes, guys, because not far from the city CBD rises this mountain (incredible, right?) Furrowed by woods of eucalyptus and green oases.
Brisbane: Breathtaking city views
From the top of Mt Coot-tha, from the so-called Mt Coot-tha Loockout, you can enjoy a stratospheric view of the city that extends to infinity in front of your gaze: hundreds, thousands of homes skirt the center of the city characterized by tall skyscrapers, extending as far as the eye can see up to the mountain ranges of the South Queensland. Following the zigzagging of the Brisbane River you will almost seem to see its mouth in the ocean on the horizon. A mesmerizing sight. A place absolutely to be reached.
In this area you can also enjoy an aperitif or an excellent dinner at the beautiful and panoramic Summit Restaurant and Bar. There is always space for a seasoned break with an entrancing view, don't you agree?
Botanic Gardens
Retracing back the path that led you to the top of the mountain, you will find the entrance to the Botanic Gardens, the real attraction of the area.
This is a huge area that constitutes the largest example of Queensland's subtropical botanical gardens. Founded in 1970 and officially opened in 1976, the 56 hectares of land used as gardens open to the public every day of the week and entry to this paradise is completely free. For us, scrupulously LOW COST travelers, this is a reminder that cannot be answered! :)
Before continuing, I want to give you some advice: leave your watch and any kind of care at home, enter this magical world with a light heart and try to experience every scent, every color, every sound, as if the world outside did not exist. Allow yourself several hours or a whole day to enjoy the regenerating fruits that only nature can give you. If you let her, she will surprise you and leave you speechless. On the other hand, isn't that exactly why you are here?
Before entering, at the information point, collect one map and try to plan a path that allows you to land in every corner of this city Eden. But just not to miss anything, because each of the many sections that make up these gardens deserves to be explored. For the rest, I repeat, let yourself go, be like the child who chases butterflies in the meadow and lets himself be guided by the enthusiasm of the moment.
Botanic Gardens: the different sections
As anticipated, the botanical gardens are very extensive (we stayed there for over 5 hours walking, at a slow pace, but almost continuously) and made up of multiple sectors. I list below the main among them:
1. Fragrant Garden, here you can close your gaze and let yourself be led on a sensory journey by the scents and aromas of the plants of this garden. You will find medicinal or culinary herbs from all over the world.
2. Tropical Dome, an imposing geodesic structure in glass and metal that recreates a special microclimate inside which is suitable for hosting tropical flora from all over the world. In the center, a pond inhabited by beautiful water lilies and native fish.
3. Desert areas, among sand dunes and giant cacti, a very faithful reproduction of the African hinterland and Central America. Aloe vera, Euphorbia, Kalanchoe… are just some of the flora specimens that populate this area.
4. The House of Ferns, you can admire over 80 different types of ferns. This particular plant plays a role of fundamental importance in bio-balance of nature, providing a suitable habitat as well as sustenance to various animal species (not least to man, who has always exploited them as food, for medicinal purposes or as vegetable fibers). The presence of these plants in fossils shows us that they already existed hundreds of millions of years ago ... incredible, right?
5. Bamboo forest, a wild, almost ancestral wood, in which to immerse yourself surrounded by walls of very high bamboo canes, from which the sun's rays penetrate grazingly, helping to recreate an almost dreamlike atmosphere.
6. Ponds with water lilies, actually calling them "lakes" is rather restrictive, considering that they have very little of "hectogram". The two lakes, in fact, are quite large, crossed by bridges and dotted with beautiful specimens of water lily flowers. Take a break, right here, in this enchanted place: lie down at the edge of the water and half close your eyes, inhaling the scent of jasmine and listening to the call of the ibises that scurry in the pond.
7. Japanese garden, you know those so beautiful parks that you see in Japanese souls? With lots of rivers, bridges, Zen-style kiosks overlooking the water and lapped by the branches of cherry trees ...
8. Bonsai House, some of the examples exhibited here of this ancient oriental art are over 60 years old!
9. Secular forest of native Australian plants, an area extending 27 hectares which also includes an artificial lagoon in which rainwater from the mountains is collected. Inside there are over 40 rather rare species for which the natural habitat has been recreated, but also a large forest of eucalyptus, plants which are very widespread especially in the region of East Coast of Australia.
10. Rain forest, a dense and infinite expanse of palm trees with tall and thin stems and long roots anchored to the ground. A trickle that crosses the ground, snaking between the palm trees as if it were alive. The sound of the roar of the water, the wild turkeys scampering on the ground, the dew that covers the foliage. Entering a rainforest, albeit recreated like the one in question, is always an experience that excites me and that makes me perceive, and in a certain sense how to rediscover, that primordial contact with the mother earth of which today's society too often makes me , unfortunately, forget ...
I conclude by pointing out the need to dedicate to Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens at least half a day: walk through this world slowly, silently, respectfully. Leave the city and open yourself to nature and the multi-sensorial experience that awaits you: I guarantee you, once you enter that "other" universe made of reflections of the sky on the water and the scent of wild roses ... you will never want to leave it !
Practical information
Getting to the Botanic Gardens from the city center will take you approximately 20-30 minutes by public transport (approximately 7 kilometers). For more information, I refer you to the article Brisbane: all the alternatives to get around the city.
Free admission
Official web site
Opening hours: 8: 00 - 18: 00 (September-March) 8:00 - 17:00 (April-August)
The gardens also include the Queensland Herbarium, the Planetarium and a library, these are also a must visit!
Free guided tours are periodically organized lasting about an hour. They must be booked, you can check the timetables on the official website in the activities section.
