DAY FIVE (Brisbane)

Last night's Jazz Club was great. We got an Uber there (my first time using it), which is a long way round, when in fact we could have walked to end of our street and caught the free ferry right to the door. But we came back on the ferry.

The Jazz Kings were excellent, and one of their members (keyboards) used to be famous - he was in Gerry and the Pacemakers!

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to be from Scotland in Australia and New Zealand! Everyone wants to tell you of how much they love Edinburgh, or how much they’d like to go there.

What a fun day we had today. Our pal from Gisborne, Sue (she lives here now), came to our hotel from the train about 9.30, and we strolled off round town, and had a coffee in the Mall. We then decided to head down to the river for a Citycat trip. First boat that came along (they're very frequent) was going anti clockwise, but we didn't mind at all. I was chatting to the (mainly women) staff, and asking them about the river flooding. Really bad a couple of years ago - all the landing piers, which were designed to accommodate rising river levels, couldn’t cope, and were swept away and houses flooded. And there will be another one,..

As we sailed along, coming back to Kangaroo Point, we decided we needed lunch, and checked on the map for a handy spot, and yes, there was the 'Iconic' River Bar and Kitchen right by the pier. It was huge, so plenty of seating. We had a nice lunch - I managed a fish taco, which was small. Still not hugely hungry, which is unusual...

After a short (but hot) walk up our street, the girls went on into the city to buy flowers and a bottle for this evening. I was excused after my 4,993 steps, and I went for a dip in the pool. Unfortunately, it was full of kids this time, but that's a great facility for families. So I just had a quick dip and cool off. Sue and JR have gone there now, before we get ready to go for a bbq at our pals' house.

We got an Uber (2nd time I've used the app - love it) to Sue and Tony's house and had a super evening there. A real Aussie barbecue! What fun we had.