Brisbane's Streets Beach

Swim at the ”Australia’s only inner-city, man-made beach”, Streets Beach.

Streets Beach is right in the touristy area of South Brisbane, between the river and the restaurant area, and the big conference hotel and center. Very nice, basically a shallow pool but with added nice clean sand, lifeguards, and a lot of activity during the day. Very popular with families.

I visited on my way back to my hotel after the conference sessions, so later in the evening. This made the sun not burn so hot on my skin... and the pool was also empty.

There are bathrooms, changing rooms, and showers as well, under the nearest restaurant complex. There's also plenty of beach chairs and other seating around, and some shade with the trees. And indeed many bars and restaurants to get those drinks and snacks.

Streets Beach is one part of the nice park area, South Bank Parklands. This is an area opened in the early 1990s, having originally been the site of the 1988 World Expo.

Much recommended!

Links: Queensland.com, Visit Brisbane, Wikipedia.

Night views from high above South Brisbane in the below picture. Taken from my hotel which also had a pool (see the other article).

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.  I never photograph pools, beaches or saunas unless the facility is closed or empty.

Pool and sauna at the Hope Street Apartments

While in Brisbane, I stayed at the Hope Street Apartments, a hotel/service apartment facility in South Brisbane next my conference venue. Affordable, my own kitchen, laundry machines in the apartment, etc. They had a pool and sauna as well. Of course, otherwise I would not have stayed there :-) 

The pool was ok, sauna was ok, maybe not great. But it was great that they had them, free for use at even early in the morning or late in the night. And superb views! And when I checked in at 8am I was able to use them before getting my room.

Views from the pool deck (4th floor):

Views from my apartment (29th floor):

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.  I never photograph pools, beaches or saunas unless the facility is closed or empty.

Takeoff from HEL

Wonderful views from the Finnair A350-XWB's windows as we took off from Helsinki to Singapore.

This was after my equally wonderful sauna experiences in the Finnair's HEL lounge (see the other story).

For more flying stories, check out the planetflier.com website! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.

Hot in HEL

Go against the flow - from HEL to SIN this time. On my way to the IETF meeting in Brisbane. First row seat on this first leg at the appropriately hot lounge in HEL.

And it is bliss. This is such a nice lounge, cannot think of any other lounge that I would prefer over it, merely based on the sauna!

Some complaints though, it closes already at 17:30. Since my flight was around midnight, I came to the airport 6 hours earlier just to experience it :-) Can we PLEASE extend the lounge times of the Platinum lounge, Finnnair? (Not that it may matter for me... I will lose my status soon, flying less.)

Once the better lounge was closed, I migrated to the business lounge. At times it felt like I was at the Moomin Valley International airport, though:

Back in the better lounge, the classic they have is the reindeer burger:

For more flying stories, check out the planetflier.com website! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.

Brisbane area caves

I'm visiting Brisbane this week for work. Before returning, I have a weekend to look around. Surely there are caves? I have been to Australia before, for skiing and climbing... but not visited any caves. And I'm desperate for "collecting" another country that I've caved in :-)

Unfortunately, there isn't so much near Brisbane. The best caves are 20+ hour drives away. Actually, only 11 hours, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney there are for instance the Jenolan Caves. But that's still a two-day drive in practice. And I'm already flying enough and not have enough time to spend a day in the airline system to fly from one place to another. 

What I'd *really* like to go to though is the Undara Lava Tubes. Been missing visits to lava tubes, albeit been in them in Iceland... Undara seems like a wonderful place to explore! However, 20+ hours driving.

But what's there around? My best bet seems to be the Mount Etna National Caves Park and the Capricorn Caves, 7.5 hours driving north of Brisbane. Maybe still doable?

Below you will find my Google Maps list of caves that I've found within the 10 hour or so driving range from Brisbane. Some a bit further.

The link to the Google Maps list is here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/13yKzDm19BvH14cg8. I have also listed the places below:

• Baiame Cave (NSW)
• Bat Cave Gully (NSW)
• Bloodwood Cave
• Burgress Beach  (NSW)
• Bushranger’s Cave
• Camooweal Caves (northwestern QLD)
• Capricorn caves
• Cathedral Cave
• Cave Creek
• Cave Gully (NSW)
• Cave Point (NSW)
• Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park (northern QLD)
• Dayman's Cave
• Euglah Cave
• Graig hole caves
• Hook Island
• Jenolan Caves (NSW)
• Lava cave (NSW)
• Mount Etna Caves National Park
• Mount Beerburrum Bat Caves
• Mt Gravatt Caves
• Natural Bridge
• Newbys Creek walk and caves (NSW)
• Paradise Caves
• Red Hands Cave (NSW)
• Salt Caves (NSW)
• Sandstone Caves walking track (NSW)
• Thunderbolt Cave (NSW)
• Undara Lava Tubes (northern QLD)
• Yessabah Caves

Post Scriptum: More information about the caves I actually visited can be found from these later articles:

• Tamborine Mountain Glow Worm Caves
• Sprinbrook's Natural Bridge
• Mount Beerburrum Bat Caves
• Paradise Caves at the Sunshine Beach
• Mt. Etna Caves National Park
• Capricorn Caves

Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2024 by Jari Arkko, map picture is a snapshot from Google Maps. All rights reserved.