Road trip to Brisbane

2,700 kilometres - mostly driven on the Pacific Highway - in a bit over a week. That's a road trip to Brisbane for us - and a great opportunity to catch up with family in Brisbane and friends in Sydney on the way home.

We stayed in Kempsey on the way up to Brisbane and discovered the joys of the RSL Club there....It was a bit of a Kath & Kim moment sitting there with my $4.60 glass of Chardonnay!

 We love staying in Southbank/West End when we're in Brisbane. It's right on the river and walking distance to the centre of the city, yet so close to the buzzy vibe of bohemian West End.

 With our 1200 kilometre drive to Brisbane over we felt we deserved our first beer from the local Catchment Brewing Company (Vulture St West End).

We scored an apartment on the 22nd floor of the "Ivy" building this visit. I was transfixed by the view, overlooking Southbank, the river and the city skyline beyond.

 But we were a bit alarmed by the sight of this drone cruising around the nearby apartments blocks.

 This view from our bedroom wall of windows was brilliant enough to keep anyone awake at night.

 We had four full days in Brisbane - mostly spent with Rob's Mum - helping her celebrate her 93rd birthday and catching up with Rob's brother Colin and his wife Elaine. The balmy temperatures were a great change from wintry Canberra and we missed out on the extra cold snap (and freak snowfalls) over SE Australia while we were away.