Whilst staying at the Hansen Hilton, you must ask the proprietor to take you
out to Tortoise Tutor-tanks where you can see these titanic terrapins
twisting their torsos as they trip the turtle two-step.
No visit would be complete without a quick dive into the M.monticola ponds,
where the temperature is carefully regulated to resemble a PNG highlands
stream and the pond itslef has such deep black water you can't help but
wonder how such a hot and humid place like PNG can make you want to look
around for the Loch Ness monster.
As Adrian mentioned - a swim in the Hansen billabong will do you a world of
good. Just like swimming in a tropical lagoon but you have to keep an eye
out for those two swamp-dogs Bruce put in to discourage his pooch from
paddling in the pool.
Some times visitors to this establishment can be noisy, cantankerous gents
that speak with funny accents and live in mountainous places. They bare
absolutely no resemblance to there namesakes sleeping in in the mornings til
lunch time after partying with the docs daughters all night. The best way to
handle these other guests is to consume vast quantities of Green Ginger Wine
with a lot of Bundy Rum and a dash of Ginger beer added, however it is wise
never to let the bottle of GGW out of your site whilst roisterous roosters
are on the premises.
My rating would be a 4 but then I'm more prone from a bottle of GGW than
Adrian :-)
The Tappin Tavern comes highly recommended. The tavern itself is cunningly
disguised to blend in with its surroundings in Brisbane suburbia however do
not be suprised when you find that it is really the abode of some of
Australias best kept and rarer fish species.
The best time to visit is when the lady of the house is present. The coffee
here is an exotic blend of caffeine and chocolate that is conducive to
sitting and sipping whilst the old fellow goes into his reminisence trance.
For young blokes it is really interesting to here all those stories of the
frontier and the early days. They were the days when going on a fish
collecting expedition meant a weeks horse and buggy drive to outback
Australia, places now called inner suburbia Brisbane. The days when we
actually had pristine water and native fish in close proximity to our homes
and the days prior to those dammed AQIS and DPI bushrangers. These daydreams
even predate our wonderful organisation (ANGFA). If you proceed down the
ricketty stairs here you will venture into an aquatic wonderland. There are
many rare and wonderful species of ichyological fascination down in this
wonderland and you may never be the same again when you leave.
My rating is a definate 4.5 (always room for improvement :-)
And the Meiklejohn Mansion, well what can I say. Things around this place
started getting noisy about two years ago when my wife arrived home with a
baby girl. Initially cover lids sufficed but she learned early how to
escape - more jumping ability than a school of purple spotted gudgeons in a
thunderstorm (louder too). Now she eats barra for brekky, (catches 'em with
her bare hands) and goes a round or two with the local Johnstone R croc. I
get nervous when she beats him 'coz I suppose next she'll be wanting an
estuarine one. I'm hopeful she will learn the meaning of you can't always
have what you want before she brings one home on a leash. Anyhow if you can
stand the torment you are all welcome to visit and view the blue-eye ponds
and form your own rating.
Catch you in October,
Baz.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~fisher/news.htm
-----Original Message-----
From: Adrian R. Tappin <atappin at ecn.net.au>
To: rainbowfish at pcug.org.au <rainbowfish at pcug.org.au>
Date: Thursday, 19 February 1998 10:42
Subject: [RML] ANGFA Convention (SPAM)
>While I am sitting here with nothing better to do or say I thought I might
>give you all a brief Rainbowfish Keepers guide to Brisbane and its delights
>for those of you that might be considering visiting Sunny Queensland or
>Brisbane in particular for the ANGFA Convention later this year.
>
> ...............................................................
> Adrian R. Tappin
> "Home of the Rainbowfish"
> http://www.ecn.net.au/~atappin/home.htm
> ...............................................................
>
>