Things to do in Brisbane

Scenic helicopter tours

Get the camera ready for this scenic helicopter tour of the city. A 22-minute flight provides spectacular views of the Brisbane River, South Bank precinct, Suncorp Stadium and Story Bridge. V Squared Helicopters (www.v2helicopters.com.au) offer shared flights in their bubble helicopter, departing from Archerfield Airport.

A day at the races

Brisbane Racing Club (tel: +61 7 326 2171; www.brc.com.au) conducts 98 race meetings each year at its two racetracks, Eagle Farm Racecourse and Doomben Racecourse. The summer and winter carnivals are the highlights of the year, and other events include the world-famous Melbourne Cup and Exhibition Wednesday. Tickets for race day events and other special offers (including behind the scenes tours) are available through the website. This is one for both keen equestrians and casual punters.

Go Go-karting

Kingston Park Raceway (tel: +61 7 3826 2222; www.kingstonpark.com.au), a 35-minute drive from the city along the Logan motorway, offers go-kart racing on an international standard circuit. It has three tracks to drive on and over 100 go-karts available – customised to suit different age ranges – plus offers opportunities for floodlit races at night. Bookings are for groups of five people or more.

Get your morning roaster in a bomb shelter

Hidden amongst the commercial buildings and offices of nondescript Milton is one of the world’s more unique coffee bars. Built into a foliage-covered World War II bomb shelter, Bunker (tel: +61 42 212 4767, www.bunkercoffee.com.au) has some of the most artfully brewed coffee in town. They also do a mean line in iced drinks if the Brisbane heat is closing in.

Take a tour round Boggo Road Gaol

Boggo Road Gaol was open from 1883 to 1989, and in that time earned a fearsome reputation as a hotbed of prisoner riots, protests, uprising and unrest. You can now take the Boggo Road Escapes Tour (tel: +61 7 3844 0059; www.boggoroadgaol.com/tours/escapes-tour) which takes you into the bowels of the place, while guides spin yarns about its most notorious inmates.

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