TRAVEL: Brisbane’s Mount Coot-tha

By Jorge Jefferds November 10, 2014

We just arrived this morning, when made up our minds to plan a visit to a couple of places in Brisbane during the rest of the day. Weather was pleasant, but would get hotter in the coming hours, according to an airport employee, who gently helped us to carry our luggage to a taxi driver. He suggested going to a park called Mount Coot-tha. At first, we did not look interested in going to a natural spot.

Pennsylvania is our motherland, where we grew up, and already offers enough wonderful biodiversity. So, we didn’t expect to see any kind of greenery this time. However, as soon as he mentioned an observation deck to enjoy the city view, our “yes” went determined.

After checking in the hotel and leaving our belongings in our room, we asked the same taxi driver for a ride to this supposedly amazing park. The driving lasted less than four miles along Route 32 and part of the Western Freeway.

Our final destination soon captivated our appreciation of a different nature engulfed by the metropolitan Brisbane. Mount Coot-tha is, to an extent, the city’s presentation card. Situated 287 meters above sea level, its highest peak stands right in the Lookout the airport clerk suggested us to visit.

Before the Moreton Bay penal settlement, Mount Coot-tha was the home of the Turrbal Aboriginal people.

Early Brisbane people called it One Tree Hill when bush at the top of the hill was cleared except for one large eucalypt tree. The Aboriginal people of the area used to come to the area to collect ‘ku-ta’ (honey) that was produced by the native stingless bee. Mount Coot-tha (Place of Honey), a derivative of (the indigenous term), replaced the former title ‘One Tree Hill' in 1880 when the area was declared a Public Recreation Reserve.

On Sundays, parking is usually scarce in this park. Bus tours are protagonists of such shortage. Since our driver started to lose his patience, we let him go. Our day was going to be long with a bunch of things to do.

We snapshot the city in many angles. The panoramic views of the city, stretching out to Moreton Bay and around to the distant mountains truly are fantastic. In fact, near dusk, the city lights and star-lit skies spread upon our eyes.

Thirsty and somewhat tired with the early flight from Sydney, we stopped in the Kuta Café. We took a seat on the sun drenched terrace, a pretty native waitress came to take our order and we continued our joy.

As far as we finished our Kuta Big Breakfasts, we walked along several popular walking tracks around Mount Coot-tha.  One of them included an art display comprising works produced by local Aboriginal artists. The tracks vary in difficulty, with most involving some uphill sections or steps. Tracks around Mount Coot-tha are often used by hikers training to walk the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea as the terrain and climate are considered similar.

On 20 November 2005, one of the Mount Coot-tha trails, the Currawong trail, was renamed the Kokoda trail in honor of the Australian soldiers who marched the Kokoda Track during World War II. During World War II, the hill was used as a military base by the RAAF and the US Navy. It was converted to a vast explosives depot and at one stage held more than 120 000 tones of explosive weapons. When darkness fell the Lookout bristled with search lights in an amazing display as soldiers kept an eye out for enemy planes.

The Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha is another of the attractions. Recognized as Queensland's premier subtropical botanic gardens, the 52 hectare gardens are located on Mt Coot-tha Road at and the entry is free. Founded in 1970, more than 20,000 plants are on exhibit, representing approximately 5000 species from around the world. Arid, tropical, and temperate plants, both native and exotic, thrive outdoors in the subtropical Brisbane, making these gardens an outstanding attraction.

Moreover, a visit to the Planetarium is a must. The monumental structure features the 12.5m diameter Cosmic Skydome (hemispherical planetarium theater) with a recently upgraded, state of the art Sky-Skan digital dome projection system, console and refurbished seats for a maximum concentric seating capacity of 133. 

With luck, you will be able to attend one of the 1,300 regular shows or an occasional public field night.

Even though, we paid an affordable ride to our friendly taxi driver, Mount Coot-tha can also be reached by Brisbane Transport Bus 471 (Translink) or the BrisbaneCity Council's City Sights Bus.

Our day finished looking at the stars, as we usually do in Pennsylvania in summer. We stood now in a completely different biodiversity surrounded by eucalyptus, kangaroos and the breeze coming from the Coral Sea.