Patrick AutoStrad & Fort Lytton

13 Oct, 2018

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Free

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Annual Event

Part of Brisbane Open House (October)

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Fort Lytton

Open on Sundays. More information here and here.

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Free

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Annual Event

Part of Brisbane Open House (October)

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Fort Lytton

Open on Sundays. More information here and here.

Every year, various buildings open their doors to the public as part of Brisbane Open House. This year, we visited Port of Brisbane and Fort Lytton on Day 1 of the Brisbane Open House weekend. At Port of Brisbane, the rain affected the ability to access some parts of the Port (like the accessibility to the top of the Grain Corp silos). We did view the Port region from the viewing deck at the Visitor Centre, then headed to Patrick AutoStrad.

Patrick AutoStrad

Patrick operates a 3-berth container loading facility at the Port and loads container ships using 5 cranes. We were able to watch the ships be unloaded and loaded – while we were there, all three berths were full and being loaded. Then, we watched one ship leave its berth and head out to sea, then watched another ship sail into port and dock at the empty berth.

Patrick AutoStrad was the first fully-automated stevedore facility in Australia and just the third fully-automated facility in the world. The straddle carriers that transport the shipping containers around the port are fully automated ‘robots’, called ‘AutoStrads’. Each AutoStrad is 3 stories tall, weighs 60 tonnes and can move shipping containers weighing up to 40 tonnes. The AutoStrads can navigate their way around the terminal without a driver or operator with a very high degree of accuracy (within 2cm). Satellite navigation and GPS isn’t accurate enough to allow the precision that the Patrick Stevedores require, so instead, the Patrick facility has installed its own system to guide the AutoStrads that operates independent of satellite navigation.

Fort Lytton

The Fort Lytton Historic Site is a small national park on the banks of the Brisbane River not far from the Port of Brisbane. I’ll be honest – I’m not sure how much we actually learned about the military history of the Fort, but we did have a lot of fun in the rain. When it was originally built, the Fort was one of the best examples of fortifications in the world – the shape of the Brisbane River channel at the site of the Fort is so close to the bank of the river, it would have been impossible for an enemy ship to avoid the Fort as it sailed towards the city of Brisbane to attack it. It was also (almost) impossible for the soldiers arming the cannons and guns of the Fort to miss the ship as the closeness to shore significantly decreased margins for error in both range and accuracy.

While we were exploring the Fort, a P&O cruise ship passed by, giving us an example of just how close to shore a ship has to sail to follow the channel of the Brisbane River. The cruise ship was literally only 30m off the shore!

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The view from the Patrick AutoStrad Observation Deck

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The view from the Patrick AutoStrad Observation Deck

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An AutoStrad at Patricks AutoStrad Terminal

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Fort Lytton

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It was a bit wet at Fort Lytton

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Skuzz lines up the P&O Pacific Dawn from Fort Lytton

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Muppet does what she does best at Fort Lytton (also, we don’t own raincoats)

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Paw Patrol Movie

6 Oct, 2018

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Varies according to cinema

Cineplex prices:

$8.50 for adults

$5 for children

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Official Site

Paw Patrol – Mighty Pups Movie



Varies according to cinema

Cineplex prices:

$8.50 for adults, $5 for children

p

Official site:

Paw Patrol – Mighty Pups Movie

This morning, Skuzz, Planet Duplo and I headed to the cinema to see the Paw Patrol – Mighty Pups movie. Naturally, we had to take Skye, Everest, Chase, Marshall, a helicopter, a snowmobile, a police vehicle and a fire truck with us. And also a teddy bear, just in case there was a scary bit.

How was the movie? Well, that depends on how old you are and how many endless repeats of Paw Patrol episodes you have had to endure. Personally, I wanted to see Christopher Robin, but the kids spied the Paw Patrol movie images on the cinema website while looking over/under my shoulder. Sucks to be me.

Plot

Without giving too much away, a meteorite crashes in Adventure Bay and gives the pups superpowers. Totally believable, because we saw a meteorite crash in the Monsters vs. Aliens movie and make Susan grow big. Anyway, Mayor Humdinger’s nephew also gets superpowers, Ryder becomes separated from the pups, Chickaletta makes a cameo appearance and Mayor Goodway’s tulips get crushed. A lot.

The Highlights

Planet Duplo’s favourite bit was the astronauts (there were none – no clue what she’s actually talking about*).

Skuzz’s favourite bit was seeing the pups (which tells me that I could have saved the effort and stress of getting dressed and out of the house in time and just stayed home to watch pirated episodes on YouTube instead).

My favourite bit? Apart from the movie session only being 60 minutes long, it would have to be when Skuzz bit his finger – hard – while eating popcorn. Unfortunately, that was even before the pre-movie advertising had started and I lived in hope that another similar event may follow. Queue Planet Duplo, who belted out a superb rendition of the ‘Paw Patrol’ theme song with great enthusiasm, volume and complete disregard for tune – but in the middle of the movie, not at the start when the song was actually played.

*Update: We’ve been able to decipher Planet Duplo’s ‘astronaut’ favourite bit. She meant ‘asteroid’, or when the meteorite hit the ground. This bit forms the basis of all the movie trailers we watched on YouTube before heading to the cinema, so once again, I could have saved a lot of time and effort by just staying at home and spending the morning surfing YouTube.

The Summary

If you’re a Paw Patrol fan, you’ll love this movie. If you’re responsible for a Paw Patrol fanatic, read on.

This wasn’t the worst children’s movie that I’ve seen, but it also didn’t have an ‘adult’ aspect to it so wasn’t that engaging for adult viewers. The movie was true to the format and theming of the TV show – it would be safe to assume that the movie is an example of what a 45-minute long episode would look like. In saying that, I loathe the one-liners and pup-jokes in the TV show but didn’t seem to notice them too much in the movie (maybe because I was too busy stuffing my face with popcorn).

I haven’t had to endure too many episodes of Paw Patrol (that’s outsourced to the grandparents) so can’t comment on how nauseating the movie may be for those that are forced to live and breathe Ryder and his pups 24/7. I feel for you though.

The Verdict

Will Skuzz and Planet Duplo look forward to watching this movie again? Absolutely. Will I be preoccupied with something else and not be able to hear it when they do? Absolutely.

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Watching the Paw Patrol Movie with friends

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Watching the Paw Patrol Movie with friends

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Inflatable Factory

4 Oct, 2018



$9 - $19

$9 for 4 and under

$19 for 5 and over

Spectators free

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School Holiday Activity

Recurring each school holiday

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More details:

The Inflatable Factory



$9 - $19

$9 for 4 and under; $19 for 5 and over; Spectators free

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School holiday activity

Reoccurring each school holiday

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More Details:

The Inflatable Factory

This morning, Planet Duplo refused to wear clothes from the waist down. In a desperate attempt to distract her and actually get to our intended destination only a little bit late (as opposed to the freakishly late style we normally arrive in), I slammed my finger in the front door and broke it (the finger, not the door).

Sounds like the perfect start to two hours of fun at The Inflatable Factory – a school holiday pop-up activity ‘centre’ at Mitchelton Rugby League Club (there’s also one at the Mt Gravatt Showgrounds).

We visited with relatives, so our group had four kids – aged 6, 4 (two of them) and 2. There was heaps for them to do and the 2-hour timeframe was a perfect length for us (you can get a 3-hour pass, too). There was a wide selection of inflatable jumping castles, slides, obstacles and other things for the younger children in a dedicated (and well-policed) section for Under 5’s. The two 4 year-olds were able to also play on the larger inflatables, but there were a couple they weren’t able to use due to their age and size. In our experience, our kids enjoyed The Inflatable Factory more as a group rather than if each family group had have attended on our own.

Things to know before you go:

You don’t need to pay before you enter, so if you’re not sure if it’s suitable for your kids, you’re welcome to walk around and check it out before paying (and playing).

The area is outdoors, so a hat is a must. Socks are also required – if you forget, you can buy some for $3. Sunscreen is provided, however make sure that you bring your own water unless you wish to buy a drink (we couldn’t find a tap close by to refill our water bottles, but I am sure that there would be a tap somewhere in the park). Limited food is also available – the BBQ food truck onsite wasn’t operating when we were there today, but there was a small range of ‘treats’ available. You can bring in your own food and some tables and chairs are provided under cover, but be prepared to share.

When to go:

We arrived at 10.15am – it wasn’t overly busy and there wasn’t much queuing to get on to the equipment. The queuing that did exist was for things like the trampoline harness, the mechanical wipeout and surfboard rides, and the free-jump. We managed to get a couple of chairs in the shade (sharing the table with a couple of other groups). By the time we left at 12.30pm, the area was much quieter. If you want to avoid the (small) crowds, an afternoon visit would be the go.

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Monster jumping castle

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Bouncy Basketball

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Wearable bubbles that create a human version of dodgem cars

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Soccer-themed obstacle course

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Zorb Ball Ramp – we were all too chicken for this one!

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Riverfire

29 Sep, 2018

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Free

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Annual Event - September



Free

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Annual Event - September

Dodge and I aren’t exactly fans of crowds, so the only way that you’ll get us close to an event like Riverfire is from a Brisbane CBD office block, or in the case of this year, a friend’s place with a view. We missed the CA-17 Globemaster flypast, however we were in Southbank on Thursday when it did its practice runs. Loud. Low. Impressive. And feeling a bit sorry four ourselves that we missed it today.

We did see the Roulettes in acrobatic action, though. I frantically ran about the house, trying to get us ready and organised for the bus that would deliver us to the CBD in time for the performance. Not sure why I bothered – the kids took one look at them in the sky and went back to bouncing over someone else’s lounge with sticky fingers from the donuts they’d pilfered off the table. The next 90 minutes basically became a war between me, the kids, someone else’s lounge and the stress-free health of their aquarium fish…

By the time the EA-18 Growlers flew by at 5.30pm, Planet Duplo was in the midst of screaming at anyone who would listen that she wanted some blueberries (carrying around the punnet of blueberries I’d packed for them, now half-squashed and thankfully not smeared over the lounge or embedded in the carpet). The EA-18 was so loud it drowned her out. It was so awesome that she forgot about the blueberries for the rest of the evening. Instead, she dragged a chair up to the balcony to lean over for a better look (on the 39th (top) floor of the building). Skuzz, never far behind, tried to climb the glass-panelled balustrade beside her. I became a nervous wreck.

The fireworks didn’t disappoint and were worth the stress I’d endured at trying to keep the kids from destroying the joint or free-falling over the side of the balcony. Fireworks were not only set off from the river directly in front of us, but also from the neighbouring (lower) roofs of the buildings around us. In the end, we had fireworks, and remnants of fireworks, passing literally within a few metres of us. An amazing experience!

About Riverfire

Riverfire is an all-ages event featuring aircraft and fireworks that closes the Brisbane Festival. Over the years, it has become an iconic event for Brisbane, but for those unfamiliar with it, military aircraft complete a series of flyovers throughout the afternoon before the fireworks are unleashed in the sky.

The fireworks are launched from boats in the Brisbane River around the CBD section – essentially from (and including) the Victoria Bridge at Southbank through to the Story Bridge at Kangaroo Point. Fireworks are also launched from buildings in the CBD, bridges over the river and other mototrised craft as they move along the river. The Story Bridge becomes a focal point of the fireworks, particularly in the finale phases.

Best vantage points are along South Bank and Kangaroo Point, through the Eagle Street waterfront precinct and from the parks around the Story Bridge. Vantage points along Kangaroo Point give great views of both stretches of the river and of the CBD buildings.

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Riverfire along Southbank (2018)

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Riverfire along Southbank (2018)

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Riverfire 2018

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Riverfire along Southbank (2018)

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Riverfire 2018 in Brisbane CBD

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Riverfire in the Brisbane CBD

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Riverfire along Southbank (2018)

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River of Light

28 Sep, 2018

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Free

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Part of Brisbane Festival 2018

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More Details:

River of Light



Free

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Part of Brisbane Festival 2018

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More Details:

River of Light

‘River of Light – The Story of Maiwar’ uses water fountains, lasers and light to explore the Dreamtime legend of the creation of Maiwar (Brisbane River). After the serpent becomes stuck and creates the river in attempts to get free, the performance then moves on to tell the story of the establishment and rise of Brisbane as a city. The performance lasts for 10 minutes and is shown three (3) times a night.

We took in a picnic dinner, sat on the bank of the river and tried to stop Skuzz and Planet Duplo falling in. There was a bit of wind around, which meant that in addition to being a bit cool, we were coated in a fine mist of Brisbane River water from the water fountains to give that complete sensation of being fully immersed and ‘at one’ with the message of the performance. Awesome. Mental note to self: Sit further back next time.

Afterwards, we continued our lightshow escapade by chilling under ‘Jem‘, the permanent sculpture at South Bank, before heading home.

Other Brisbane Festival Activities:

Brisbane Festival by Day

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River of Light

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River of Light