Planning trip to Brisbane...

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 12:40 am

Hello fellow F'rs, specially those living in Brisbane. I haven't been that active here since I have no ongoing project at the moment. Bike have been running good, had the usual charging issue which was fixed by a guy in Oulu who re-wind the rotor. Now it is functioning very well. But that was not the reason why I write this post...

I'm planning a trip to Brisbane next February (with my wife and daughter) and almost thought that we had it all figured out. Flights through Singapore etc. Then we started thinking what is the weather like in Brisbane that time of year. Looked up the rain statistics and found out that it rains roughly 150mm during the month. I would not want to spend the time in hotel room because of constant rain. So, I'm asking Your advice...

Does it make sense to travel to Brisbane in February? If it rains, is it like pouring for couple of hours and then its all sun again? Or is it light rain for 4 days in a row. We are not afraid of rain and realize that it will eventually rain everywhere but it would be nice to know what we are getting into.

I would also like to know if it is worth the money to rent a car. We drive right side here in Finland and it would be my first time driving on the 'wrong' side. We would still like to see places outside Brisbane so is a rented car the right way to go?

So, if anyone living in Brisbane or nearby could share their opinion it would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

-Pasi-

Hawk Joined: Jul 24, 2020 Posts: 274 Location: Australia

Hey Pasi, I live in Brisbane, and it's true that February can see heavy rainfall. The problem is it's very unpredictable, for example during February 2022 we had the highest rainfall for over 100 years during one week in February, and the lower level of my house was totally flooded (no bikes lost thankfully). Indeed.....the whole of the eastern seaboard of Australia has seen the highest annual rainfall in 50+ years. This is due in part to a weather pattern called La Nina....we've had 3 in a row, look it up on Google.

Having said all that, the previous 10 years we had a big drought!! Australia is a country of extremes!

So..in terms of February 2023, it's anyones guess as to whether we will see 'normal' rain, or lighter or heaver than normal.

If it's a more normal month, then typically, we'd have a couple of big storms a month roll in around 3pm and dump a lot of rain in 2-3 hours then it will be fine for another 24hrs.

My advice would be this....if you had a totally free choice, then visiting Brisbane in our Spring (Sept/Oct/Nov) would be the ideal time, but if you are locked into a February trip, then just accept you might see a lot of rain in the afternoons and work around it. You could still have a fantastic time.

In terms of renting car, there is plenty to do in Brisbane without a car for a week. However, if you want to travel to the Sunshine Coast, or Gold Coast, Fraser Island, or the Hinterland, then you would need a car. I have driven on the left side, right side, many times and as a long as you 100% concentrate, then you should be fine.

Good luck with your trip, whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have an amazing time.

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 9:43 am

Thanks, X7eater, for quick response.

We have some (probably a lot smaller though) floods here in Finland also because of melting snow while rivers are still covered with ice. Even though I don not live in those areas I can guess what kind of damage they can cause (and it is always all over the news in spring time). When buildings are flooded It is always extra work and trouble to deal with.

My wife is a teacher and in Finland they also have same amount of holiday in October as in February. I can have my holiday whenever I feel like it Smile

. In that sense we are not locked into February and it makes sense now to move our trip to your spring time. I would guess our daughter does not like this change as she has been very excited about this trip. But it is not canceled, just delayed a bit.

We have found many places we want to visit during this trip and you mentioned some of them and some new. We are eager to hear more. My wife is always looking for beautiful spots so she would love to hear all about those not so well known treasures.

Our riding season is pretty much over, I guess yours is just starting or is it all-year around. Enjoy and ride safely!