We are grateful to be able to take our nine year old fur baby on the river ferries of Brisbane. Even for a three months’ trial period. It has opened up opportunities for discovery beyond our local neighbourhood.

Yesterday, setting off at around 10:45 am we walked from Morningside to Hawthorne Ferry Terminal. As with previous trips, the ferry person looked us up and down as we approached the vessel. Two greying middle aged men and their white fluffy dog. Inevitablely, the response to our friendly hello was a gruff ‘dogs out the back’. Why plural, none of our fellow passengers were accompanied by a bundle of joy. We duly trooped through the front outdoor and middle indoors sections to out the back.

The city of Brisbane is the state capital of Queensland. It is known as the Sunshine State because of its largely clement weather. Outdoor seats on ferries are highly sought after unless it is extremely hot, raining or both. There is little shade. We positioned ourselves next to the bulkhead, ready to stand for around 40 minutes.

One of the requirements for taking your pampered pooch onboard is the of application of a muzzle. Think man made fibre sleeve with Velcro adjustment and clip lock fastening, rather than wire cage. Understandably, Stan is not thrilled when this black contraption is strapped to his head. We took it in turns to soothe Stan’s discomfort.

The original plan was to journey to North Quay so that we could mooch around Roma Street Parklands. An early breakfast and morning exercise left us feeling hungry as we coursed along. We opted, instead to alight at South Bank 2 Ferry Terminal. So that we could avail ourselves of lunch at an eatery on Grey Street.

Before docking, in line with most previous trips, the ferry person engaged us in conversation. Remarking on how well Stan travelled on water. I find this change in demeanour to be a trifle unsettling. Perhaps we had passed some unpublished test or were experiencing exit relief, that we had not run amok.

After lunch we decided to head for Victoria Bridge, walk down Queens Street to Howard Smith Wharves, over Story Bridge to Kangaroo Point then catch a ferry home from Mowbray Park. Fortunately, one was pulling in as we arrived at the terminal. About four people got on ahead of us. As we stood looking expectedly at the ferry person they said ‘no space for dogs’. Again the plural, even though I could not see a single canine on board, no matter how much I craned my neck to see.

Catching the next service, in about 15 minutes, we headed home via Hawthorne. Three weary travellers, satisfied with a day of adventure, having walked for about 11 of the 20 km trip.