Walking for Fitness in Brisbane City Botanics

Inside the Historical Botanic Gardens near CBD and Brisbane River

Jun 28, 2008

Central Path in Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, Susan Morris

Brisbane's original botanic gardens in the city are open - free admission - 24 hours daily. Here's a walking route for new CBD workers, tourists and Brisbane visitors.

Exploring a new city by foot as a tourist or business visitor is one way of getting thirty minutes brisk walking daily – as the health experts agree – to improve fitness.

Next to the Central Business District (CBD) of Brisbane, close to the stretch of restaurants and cafés on Eagle Street Pier and over the walking-cycling-only Goodwill Bridge from South Bank Parklands sits the original botanic gardens of Brisbane.

Walking Around the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens

Cityworkers and tourists taking a break in Brisbane can enter the City Botanic Gardens via Alice Street and Parliament House entrances. Plentiful park benches are in perfect sites for eating lunch, reading, birdwatching or photography as alternatives to exercising with purposeful walking.

With thirty minutes of brisk walking in mind, walkers can tour many of the botanical specimens using the main walkways including the Ficus benjamina or Weeping Fig Avenue from the main entrance off Alice Street in Brisbane, near to landscape artist Harry Oakman’s ornamental pond, towards the Riverside path.

From the wide Central Path cutting through the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, there are three left turns and three right turns allowing solo walkers or walking groups to design their own exercise loops around the plants. Visitors with more than thirty minutes may find the self-guided interpretive walks of the botanic plants rewarding to follow their exercise.

Brisbane City Botanic Gardens’ Plant Collections

The City Botanic Gardens' Plant Collections in Brisbane were stripped of many botanical specimens by the floods of 1890, 1893, 1897 and 1974. Today, what walkers interested in identifying plants can see what remains at the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens. This includes:

Queensland native fig, the small-leaved Ficus microcarpa, the Queensland kauri pine, Agathis robusta and Bamboo Grove
Rare inner city Blue Gums, Eucalyptus tereticornis, from the original vegetation of the area which provide shelter and food security to several native animals
Tamarind Tree, Tamarindus indica, which was planted by the first superintendent and botanic gardens’ curator Walter Hill. The Tamarind Tree has been producing fruit in the City Botanic Gardens for 150 years.
Queensland Nut or Macadamia Nut Tree, Macadamia integrifolia, was brought from the Queensland bushland near Gympie and planted by Walter Hill in 1858. Brisbane City Council claims “This tree is believed to be the first commercially grown macadamia in the world”.

About the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens

With free admission and 24 hours opening daily, the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens is a green gym for walkers, private lunch site and perfect for wedding photography. As a home to several native trees with different native animals and birds, the City Botanic Gardens are popular for wildlife photography in Brisbane.

The copyright of the article Walking for Fitness in Brisbane City Botanics in Public Gardens is owned by Susan Morris. Permission to republish Walking for Fitness in Brisbane City Botanics in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.