Free from author duties, the exhilarating Byron Writer’s Festival now behind me, I woke up from a strange dream at 6.30 am on Monday. I had taken the bus the evening before and was now in Brisbane. After a hot shower and a satisfying breakfast, I put on my running shoes and decided to head out to the South Bank. As usual, I chose to familiarise myself only peripherally with the city’s outlines, knowing intuitively where I was currently located but comfortably unsure about where I would eventually find myself. The gesture of tying my laces produced in me the same excitement it always does; the thrill of being adventurous, of submitting oneself to the geography of a city by following the lead of a street, or by spying a curious piece of architecture that then discloses open-ended walkways and often, the first glimpse of water.

The glimmering Brisbane river is almost a constant companion as you explore the city. Pic/Rosalyn D’Mello