By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent
Fans who have jetted around the world to follow the British and Irish Lions have brought the wet weather with them to Australia.
However, it hasn't stopped them singing, drinking and bonding in a wintry Brisbane.
It is 125 years since the first Lions tour and the fans are letting Australia know they have landed and mean business.
The Pig 'n' Whistle pub in the city centre has become the "Lions' Den" - feeding and watering the fans, making sure they get their pints and pies and that they are in good voice as the Lions take on the Wallabies.
Fan James Parker told Sky News: "It's been a great build up so far.
"We have been here for just over a day and the pubs are starting to fill up. Landing at the airport they had the bagpipes ready, so yes, there is a buzz around town."
Fans will be hoping the Lions can recover from their loss to the Brumbies The unique nature of the Lions' tour means sworn enemies coming together with a common cause.
The team walking into the Suncorp Stadium on June 22 contains eight Welshmen.
One fan, fresh in from Merthyr Tydfil, said: "We are proud of the Lions, and we are good Welshmen, so if we win we are going to sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - we will do it!"
The fans will be a significant force behind the British and Irish Lions who have never lost a Test in Brisbane.
In 2001, the sea of red in the stadium caught the Australians off guard.
Former Welsh international Scott Quinnell played all three Tests 12 years ago and knows how important the red army will be.
"When we were at The Gabba it was incredible," he told Sky News.
Welshman Sam Warburton is captaining the British and Irish Lions "We warmed up inside and when we walked up through the tunnel it was hands and flags and you had to fight your way out of the tunnel.
"You could see the pitch and you looked round and there was this sea of red.
"I'd never seen it before and I think that's when it started for the Lions and hopefully will see that again."
The influx of 70,000 visitors to Brisbane has been a major boost for the city's tourism industry.
"It's definitely one of the busiest weekends we have seen in a very long time," said Anne-Maree Moon from Brisbane Marketing.
"Our hoteliers are jumping through the roof. They have full occupancy and everyone is very buoyant and feeling great about it."
The Lions are favourites, especially because of Australia's recent history of embarrassing starts to a Test season and lack of a warm-up match.
With his Wallabies coaching career on the line, Robbie Deans has taken the punt on quarantining his players in a three-week camp to refresh them from the rigours of Australia's Super Rugby and fine-tune a more attacking style in training.
The midweek defeat to the Brumbies won't have helped the Lions' morale but speak to any of the fans in Brisbane battling jet lag and they will tell you that the Lions are ready, and so are they.
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