Another bucket list item of mine is to see cricket in all major stadiums in Australia.

I have been the MCG (Boxing day v Pakistan 2009), SCG (Ashes 2011), Adelaide Oval (Day/night Test Aus v NZ 2015) and of course numerous visits to the WACA and Optus stadiums here in Perth.

That only leaves Bellerive Oval in Hobart and the famous Gabba ground in Brisbane. This year, due to our State Government’s tough border controls, there is no test match in Perth, so we headed to Brisbane to see the 1st Ashes test. For the cricket uninitiated the “Ashes” are the Cricket Test Matches played between bitter rivals Australia and England. The story of the Ashes is here.

The match, unusually started on a Wednesday, so we bought tickets for day 3 and made a weekend out of it. Jane and I were joined by our good friend and cricket nut Sally. We booked the flights in July knowing the risks of unpredictable Covid-19 virus outbreaks. Travelling interstate is a gamble these days. We were prepared for the worst, but thankfully WA-QLD route was open. We knew things could change quickly – and indeed they did. More on that later.

Day 1 – Flying

Riding on an aeroplane – how exciting! We haven’t travelled on a plane in over two years. We flew Perth to Brisbane on Virgin Australia 10.30am – arriving Brisbane 5.10pm. There’s a two hour time difference between WA and Queensland. We arrived on time and caught an Uber to our hotel, The Inchcolm in Spring Hill, a short walk from Brisbane’s CBD. The vacation was booked through Luxury Escapes. We have used LE many times, but this is the first time we used them for the accommodation and the flights. They have some quite good deals and they are reliable and easy to deal with.

We checked in and immediately set out to explore the city and find somewhere to eat. Sally was staying in a different hotel, so I messaged her to meet in South Bank. As we approached the river it was suddenly apparent a big thunderstorm was approaching from the south. The sky was black and there was flashes of lightning. Sally pulled the pin and decided to stay in the hotel. Jane and I pushed on with the lightning becoming more frequent and the rain starting. As the rain intensified we settled on the Plough Inn for dinner. We shared a double pepperoni pizza which was delicious. We caught an Uber back to the hotel, otherwise we would have been drenched. We had a shower, intending to go down the the lobby bar to cash in our drink vouchers. The hotel bar boasted several signature Martinis. After the shower we decided we were too bushed for cocktails and called it a night.

Day 2 – Cricket

With all the thunder, lightning and rain the night before we were worried that the cricket will be affected. We didn’t want to come all this way and sit and drink our beer in the rain watching the grass grow. We were not disappointed, as we awoke to bright sunshine.

Breakfast at the hotel was ala carte with a small selection. Strangely no bacon on the menu to be seen. I ordered the standard breakfast with poached eggs. The meal was ok, but the eggs were over cooked and dry making it difficult to eat.

After a shower, we made our way to the Gabba. We took the bus and were at the ground 20 minutes later. Sally was already there at our seats on Level 4. The view was great and we enjoyed the whole day in shade.

I won’t bore you too much with the details, but here’s a quick summary: Australia were 7/343 at the start of play with Travis Head 112 no. We arrived in time to see Head’s 150. After that the Aussies went for quick runs and were eventually dismissed for 425 with a lead of 278. The England innings started shakily with both openers falling cheaply at 2/61. Captain Joe Root and Dawid Malan came to the rescue and batted the rest of the day finishing on 86 and 80 respectively. England healthier, but not out of the woods at 2/220.

Watching Joe Root bat nearly all day for 86 runs wasn’t my ideal day at the cricket, but we all agreed it was a wonderful experience.

We caught the bus back to the city and hopped off in South Bank. We had a beer at the Fox before wandering up the road to checkout the West End. We settled on Fry Days Bar and Kitchen for dinner (and another beer). We ordered their signature fried chicken, arancini and pork belly. It was very good. After dinner the girls were hankering for ice cream. They had spotted Messina on the way and made a mental note. When we got there, there was a line out the door. The lure of the cold creamy goodness was too much and we joined the queue. Both Jane and Sally emerged from the shop with the same flavour believe it or not: Super Dulce De Leche. I must admit it was damn good.

Sally caught the bus back to her hotel and Jane and I walked back to ours, fully intending to have the famous Martinis. But the events of the fun filled day took their toll on our tired old bodies and we hit the sack martini-less again.

Day 3 – Tourists

We awoke to another sunny day, had breakfast. Jane asked for the poached eggs to be runny this time – no luck – ok, sunny side up tomorrow! We watched some of Day 4 on the TV in the room and as predicted (as hoped) England did capitulate. It was only a matter of time before the Aussies took a 1-0 lead in the series. We made our way to the Queen St Mall for some shopping compensation for Jane. I had a beer at Jimmy’s on the Mall and watched the demise of English hopes and dreams. So satisfying!

I joined Jane for some shopping before we met Sally for lunch at the Treasury Casino. We found a small bar, By George, at in the casino and had a a pizza and chicken wings. The food was ok, but took ages to come. The ladies were both hangry.

We then took the ferry up the river for a touristy river cruise. The City Cat ferries are big, fast and comfortable. We embarked and asked the conductor how to pay. He said we needed a “Go card” – which we did not have. He whispered “never mind” and we got a free cruise (it felt good to get something from Translink …but that’s another story). We stood up the front on the ferry and with the warm wind on our faces, enjoyed the city sights up to “North Shore”. Then we went inside for the trip back home.

We then got the news from the WA government that they had strengthened the border restrictions to travelers from Queensland – that’s us! If you were arriving after midnight Monday you’d have to (self) quarantine for 14 days. Jane and I would just make it, arriving back in Perth on Sunday, but no such luck for Sally who had booked her return on Monday. This means missing various Christmas festivities.

Arriving back in the city at North Quay we decided to head back to our hotel and have those elusive Martinis. We were all exhausted so we caught an Uber. Thankfully they allowed us to use all our vouchers at once so we each had a couple of cocktails. We agreed the whiskey based “Old Pal” was the best.

As the Perth Scorchers were playing their BBL fixture in Sydney, we had already planned to find a pub somewhere and watch the match. We settled on the Grand Central Hotel in the heart of the city and ordered another round of drinks (of course).

The Scorchers had a big win over the Adelaide Strikers with Kiwi import Colin Munro hitting a 73 ball century. In a nice gesture, the hotel manager kept the bar open for us until the match ended. After the game (and a lot more drinks) we went into the city to find a toilet(?). All I can remember is Sally and Jane walking through the streets shouting “Let’s go, Scorchers, let’s go!”.

We made it (somehow) back to the hotel after midnight.

Day 4 – Home

Our flight home wasn’t until 5.55pm so we woke late, hungover, had a leisurely breakfast and chilled out in the room until checkout at 12pm. The hotel kept our bags, while we ventured into the city for some more shopping and sightseeing. We had some Nasi Goering at Jimmy’s on the Mall and made our way to South Bank again. We rode the Wheel of Brisbane, which was quite fun.

After the wheel, we noticed that just about everyone was eating ice cream. We found that Connoisseur were having a promotion and handing out free ice cream bars – what a city!

It was time to leave for the airport and say goodbye to Brisbane. We really had a great time here. The cricket was great, Brisbane was a nice and friendly city and the weather turned out nice. Travelling with Sally was so much fun too. Hopefully when the borders open we can all plan a trip to Bali together – or at least a Hobart test match.

We arrived back in Perth having to show our GTG pass to police officers before they’d let us into “Fortress WA”. We made it!