Our drive to Gladstone passed through a town called Gin Gin which had no sign of any fancy gin distillery or anything much to admire at all really that had somehow won 2 awards for Queensland’s friendliest town? The drive got weirder as we saw giant animals outside motels and a tourist lure called the “Mystery craters” that was sadly (or maybe thankfully) closed for the festive break.
For the entire journey, the sky was leaden and overcast so we made the decision to bypass the beach towns of Agnes Waters and 1770 (and lack of accommodation for New Year) and plan to call on them on our return journey when hopefully the sun would be shining and we could appreciate them fully. We did however call into Tannum Sands not far outside Gladstone, an immaculately presented beachside suburb but one strangely lacking a few much-needed cafes, etc by its nice beach. One can only assume they all have really top-notch coffee machines in their houses and both water & beer on mains supply.
Gladstone is a very industrial port city with a lot of FIFO workers for the mining industry, in fact, it is the world’s fourth largest coal exporting terminal. It is however also the gateway to the Southern Great Barrier Reef and as such is a city with many hidden faces. This was our second visit here, the first being a one-day stop on a cruise holiday up the east coast four years ago so it was great to be able to revisit and give it the attention it deserves.
After a week in the tent and with no campsite in the general CBD area of Gladstone we took the opportunity to book accommodation and sleep in a real bed for a few nights. The Reef Hotel, up on the hill that is the CBD had a nice room available with a bar/restaurant downstairs and a rooftop pool with fantastic views across Gladstone. If any of you have seen the movie 28 Days later they could film a remake on the main street here, most of the shops and cafes/restaurants were closed for the full Christmas break and it was deathly quiet and devoid of human life. Funnily enough, our previous visit was also at Christmas and we experienced the same. Determined to find traces of mankind we set off walking and headed towards a parkland area we remembered near the cruise terminal. Bingo everyone was hiding here with hundreds of children playing in the numerous water play areas. We also noticed that a new cruise ship arrival terminal had been built ready for when the industry starts back up again.
The laws of physics are strange things, take for instance every time you try and plug a USB cable in, you first try it upside down. Those same strange laws also ensure that wherever we walk when exploring a brewery pops up in a sudden shimmering haze that stops us in our tracks. Yep we found another, a new one we had no idea even existed, and being a warm day it would be rude not to. With no car keys to worry about we grabbed a nice table outside looking across the water and enjoyed a few cold ones at Auckland House brewery. Risking disappointment we ordered the cheeseburger & fries each and wow they didn’t let us down. It’s a burger I would happily recommend (unlike the one I received on New Years Day from a cafe nearby that I won’t name which was dire, to say the least)
We had a good couple of overcast days so we happily wandered around exploring this small city and discovering a few little hidden surprises, one of which was its quiet beach with views across to Facing Island.
There are a couple of nice parkland areas all next to the water with free public BBQs providing great spots to cook, eat and chill. It’s also worth going up to the William Golding Memorial Lookout for fantastic views across the region. There’s also a cafe up there called The Outlook Cafe which won a Trip Advisors Travellers Choice award, they say “come for the coffee and stay for the view”.
We were enjoying our stay so decided to extend it a few more days although due to availability we had to change motels, the new one was another good find with a pool, hot tub, good bbq area, and our room was on the first floor with a nice balcony.
On New Year’s Eve afternoon, we sat by the waterfront in Gladstone’s Yacht club and got talking to a nice friendly couple who had sold up in Melbourne like we had but they’d bought a boat and had been traveling in it for the last three years. We accepted their kind invitation to meet at their floating house later that evening for a few drinks and to watch the NYE firework display. Gladstone Marina Park was the centre of attraction tonight with live music, food trucks, bars, and two firework displays. It was packed out with happy families and reassured me that people do live here. After the earlier 8 pm kids fireworks display we made our way to one of the marina berths to meet our new friends. I shall only say my jaw is still on the ground now. Their “house” was amazing and even capable of transatlantic travel. We had a great evening over a few drinks and sat on the bow of the boat with drinks and good company to watch the fireworks at midnight and had our latest night out of the year so far (2.30 am!)
New Years Day morning and we woke to find the clouds had cleared, blue skies returned and all the local inhabitants were back in hiding again so we once again wandered around the very quiet town exploring and generally enjoyed our final day here with a comfy bed, aircon and a TV even showing the traditional “Sound of Music”, knowing camp life was about to resume!
Thought of the day – everyone has very different tastes and so what might be amazing to one person (Tannum sands) is not the same to others! Conversely, a second visit somewhere can sometimes change your opinion completely (Gladstone)
Post written by Lee, edited and tech support by Carolyn covers Mon 27th Dec 21 – Sat 1st Jan 22, days 33 – 38 of the trip.
230 kms driven, 3hrs drive time, 2 new stay locations (2 motels in Gladstone)
Reef Hotel motel – this is a hotel-style motel with parking underneath or in front of an adjoining large tavern and drive-through bottle shop. Facilities include a rooftop pool and entertainment area with great views, very comfortable modern rooms although their “harbour views and balconies” were disappointing/non-existent. The food in the tavern was excellent and the outdoor undercover deck was our favourite spot for both dining and drinking with a view onto the main street. Our score is 8/10 as its good quality, value, and location, the rooms were just lacking in equipment for cooking brekki, etc. eg toaster/microwave which we prefer to have as a minimum when not camping.
BromsAway 
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