Lake Awoonga

Cliché, but the best thing to come out of Gladstone is the Bruce Highway.  Boring.  What a nothing town.  It was 12 years ago when I passed through with the Ignite the Dream Tour, and not much has changed.  They’ve pumped considerable dosh into the marina and foreshore, but there’s nothing really there other than a pretty playground and boardwalk.  No shops, no cafes, no fish and chip take-away, no atmosphere.  The main street is odd. It snakes around and lacks that main street feel  that you generally get in a country town.  There’s not many pretty old buildings to appreciate and the housing scene appears pretty dismal.  No beautiful Queenslanders, or even modern houses.  Just lots of fibro commission homes.  Everything is overshadowed by the industrial feel of the town which is the reason it exists.  So some trivia for you, QAL (Queensland Alumina Limited) is one of the world’s largest alumina refineries producing around 10% of the western world’s alumina production.  The Port of Gladstone also moves over 30% of the state’s exports and 10% of the nations.  It’s the world’s fifth largest coal export port and third largest in Australia. Blah blah, the list goes on. So we headed up to the look out for a glimpse of the refinery.  Massive and pretty impressive.  Enough said.  Rick was disappointed that we couldn’t do the tour.  It’s such a shame we’re hindered by the kids.  On to Barney Point Beach, a place of interest according to the visitors information guide.  Again boring, but we did see a cargo ship crossing the bay. Riveting.  The kids managed a quick play on some groovy playground equipment that proved the highlight of the day. Back in the car for the obligatory drive through the main street.  Nothing worth stopping for so off to the Marina.  We saw the main bridge in town open on the way for a tug boat, pushing a barge carrying a crane. Max was in heaven.  The marina took all of 10 minutes to walk around and it was back to play in another park.  And that was it. Sushi for lunch that was pretty average at the only shopping centre in town that was pretty rough. A few groceries and we were back at the caravan park.  And the kids were again in heaven as new friends arrived next door.  This time two little girls and madam was smiling.  Prawn pasta for dinner and it was time for bed.  Speaking of, Max fell out of bed last night landing right next to poor Zachie fast asleep with knees tucked up on the floor and his head on the mattress.  It seems to be a common thing with us scooping him back up into bed most nights.  Poor little mite.