After the Brisbane Marathon: Lone Pine by River Cruise

The Route: South Bank → Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary → South Bank Logistics: Mirimar river cruise both ways, sanctuary entry included. Upstream on the Brisbane River and back the same way. Marathon Month: June Duration: Day trip

Cultural Centre pontoon, South Bank ──(1 hr 45 mins Mirimar cruise, Brisbane River)──> Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
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               └──────────────────────(return cruise, back about 15:00)──────────────────────────┘

The Brisbane Marathon starts and finishes in the City Botanic Gardens, and the pontoon for this trip is a short walk away across the river at South Bank. On the Monday after the race the day asks very little of the legs: most of it is spent sitting on a boat.

June in Brisbane: winter, which in this city means mild days with a long-term average maximum of about 21°C and cool mornings. It is comfortable weather for sitting on an open deck, though a light jacket helps on the water in the morning. Winter also suits a day outdoors at a wildlife park.

The Koala and River Cruise leaves at 10:00 from the Cultural Centre pontoon, on the South Bank boardwalk outside the State Library, and returns at about 15:00. The package costs about A$115 (£61) for adults and includes the return cruise and entry to the sanctuary. Book ahead on the Koala and River Cruises website; seats on a single daily departure are limited.

Up the River

The cruise takes about 1 hour 45 minutes each way. It runs upstream from South Bank, away from the city centre and through the western suburbs, where the riverbanks are lined with modern riverfront houses and older timber Queenslanders on stilts. For legs that ran 42 km the day before, this is the recovery part of the day: nearly four hours of the trip is seated.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

The boat gives two and a half hours at Lone Pine, which calls itself the world's largest koala sanctuary. It has been receiving visitors by river for more than 70 years. Alongside the koalas there are kangaroos in an open paddock where visitors can walk among them, as well as platypus and other native animals.

Two and a half hours on your feet the day after a marathon is more than it sounds. Plan the visit around a sit-down lunch, pick two or three enclosures rather than trying to see everything, and head back to the jetty early so there is no rush for the boat.

The return cruise reaches South Bank at about 15:00, a short walk from the Victoria Bridge and the CBD hotels.