Furry friends at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Photo / Tourism and Events Queensland
Australia's most biodiverse state capital city is also making great gains in sustainability, writes Celeste Mitchell
There's no need to ditch the city limits if you want to have an eco-conscious holiday in Brisbane. Earlier this year, Australia's third-largest city was named the third most sustainable in the world, ranked on its use of renewable energy, pollution levels, percentage of green spaces and more.
Its subtropical outdoor lifestyle has a lot to do with it; Brisbane has the richest biodiversity of any city in Australia and is on track to achieve 40 per cent habitat cover by 2031 (it's currently at 35 per cent). These green lungs house one of the nation's largest koala populations, and support more than 81 ecosystems and 2500 native wildlife species.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says the council is spearheading a range of initiatives that are building a cleaner, greener and more active city. "We've seized the once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring nature back to the city by transforming 64 hectares of green space into the Victoria Park which will become a world-class natural retreat," he says of the development that kicked off in July. There are also green bridges and zero-tailpipe emissions eclectic buses on the way.
Whether it's your first visit to Brisbane or you're headed over the ditch for a long-awaited reunion with family and friends, leave a minimal footprint as you travel with these Brisbane stays, eats and experiences.
Who says a city hotel can't tread lightly on the environment? Check-in at Instagram-favourite, The Calile Hotel in Fortitude Valley, and you'll soon notice the passive solar design and clever tech touches that kill air con and lights when you're not in the room, and close blinds to cut energy waste.
Working towards its zero-waste goals, four beehives and an edible organic garden were recently installed on the roof of The Calile to supply The Lobby restaurant with 42 varieties of lettuce, sorrel, tomatoes, sugar snap peas and garlic to name just a few.
You'll find large refillable Leif amenities and filtered drinking water in glass bottles in rooms at the nearby Spicers Balfour boutique hotel. The Spicers Group have vowed to be plastic-free by 2025 with a goal of zero net emissions by 2030. Balfour recycles 95 per cent of its waste already – now generating just one domestic wheelie bin of landfill waste per fortnight.
But for a completely off-grid experience, check out Wander at The Overflow 1895, which will open to guests this month (1 hour 15 minutes drive from the CBD). Five sustainable, luxurious 'Wanderpods' are currently being constructed on Yugambeh with minimal impact – connected to the land with eco anchors, not concrete – by two hotel designers who spent years in frustration listening to hotel companies grapple with sustainability. Your stay can be complemented by picnics and wine tasting at the new world vineyard, guided hikes, Scenic Rim produce boxes, meditation and massage. A partnership with Bush Heritage Australia ensures $10 from every stay supports conservation work.
Demand for sustainable dining and provenance is only increasing for NZ travellers as well as Aussies – 46 per cent of whom prefer to dine at sustainable restaurants, according to an Open Table report. Luckily you don't have to look far to find locally sourced, closed-loop menus here – every chef worth their salt has sustainability built into their DNA, working with organisations like Loop Growers and Falls Farm on the nearby Sunshine Coast.
At Grown in West End, sustainability leads decision-making in every step of creating the plant-based menu – from ensuring coffee from local roasters is packaged plastic-free, to sending food waste back to the farm it comes from to be turned into compost. Everything is made in-house – from the homemade vegemite served with their avocado toast, to the amazake custard that tops the maple baked granola – with a vegan beer and wine list to complement brunch and share plate dinners.
Drawing on both an Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish background, Adam Wolfers is one of the hottest chefs in Brisbane and at his renowned Gerard's Bistro in Fortitude Valley the onus is on nose-to-tail and minimal wastage. With hyper-local produce guaranteed, the veggie-heavy woodfired menu, which changes daily, might feature bread made from potato peels or no-waste za'atar created from carrot tops.
For quick, but certainly not dirty eats, Grassfed in Fish Lane, South Brisbane, serves up Alejandro Cancino's vEEF patties with vegan cheeses and aioli on its towering plant-based burgers. Cancino helped set up the hole-in-the-wall joint after leaving the celebrated Urbane where he was responsible for Brisbane's best vegan degustation, and before moving to the Sunshine Coast to create the world's first carbon-neutral vegan meat product.
Conscious travellers will find plenty of green ways to explore in Brisbane, whether you want to visit one of the 2100 city parks or get up close with nature on myriad hiking and cycling trails.
The free Brisbane Greeters walking tour programme offers a sustainable way to get acquainted with iconic Brisbane suburbs and landmarks. Then, once you've got your bearings, swap the Uber for a GreenCab pedicab to get around the CBD and inner-city suburbs like West End and Fortitude Valley, or jump on a Lime scooter.
With the serpentine Brisbane River snaking around the CBD, this really is a city best seen from the water. Head to Breakfast Creek to hire a self-drive electric GoBoat replete with recycled timber picnic table, perhaps stocking up on local produce from Northey Street Organic Market (on every Sunday) beforehand. Beneath the Kangaroo Point Cliffs you'll find Riverlife with kayaks, SUPs and water bikes for hire.
If you love a bit of retail therapy, skip the fast fashion and head for Biome Collective in Paddington where you'll find their sustainable slow fashion collection featuring the likes of Queensland-born Outland Denim alongside Torju, Frank & Dollys, and jewellery by One Happy Leaf. For the best in op-shopping, spend a morning in West End browsing the racks at SWOP, St Veronica and Yesterday's Thrift Shop.
Wildlife lovers can get a cuddly fix just 12 kilometres from the CBD at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where visitors are encouraged to explore by eclectic scooters, skateboards and bikes, and the Amphibian and Reptile House, and the Platypus House, are temperature-controlled using geothermal power. For almost 100 years, Lone Pine has served as a refuge for sick and injured koalas, established at a time when the species was being culled for fur. Visit the Brisbane Koala Science Institute for a peek at the work being undertaken by research staff in the lab.
If you're keen to get out of town on a sustainable day trip, a two-hour drive will deliver you to O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park where you can join guided bird walks and take the treetop walk – a series of suspended bridges 16 metres above the ground. Order ahead for a picnic hamper to refuel and discover waterfalls and lookouts along 160 kilometres of nature trails.
For a coastal fix within cooee of the CBD, eco-certified Australian Sunset Safaris can take you across to Moreton Island (approx 75 minutes by ferry) where you can paddle across sunken shipwrecks in a transparent kayak, go snorkelling and toboggan down sand dunes.
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