Tannum Sands & Gladstone

It is about 450km from Golden Beach to Tannum Sands. We soon leave the rain behind, and the further we drive the sunnier and warmer it gets. Our plan is to get to Far North Queensland before the weather gets too hot & humid, so we are bypassing a number of towns that we will call into either on the way back or at another time.

The name says it all!

As always, we are on the lookout for a good coffee stop, and this time find it just north of Maryborough, and it's called Sexie Coffie. If you're not into coffee, then you can try the Strip Teas! It is a bright fresh establishment with good eats and the coffee was very good. We later find another outlet in Rockhampton, so it looks like it might be a franchise. We tried both, and they were equally as good. A little further up the road, we find another little outlet with a sign out front saying "we may not be Sexie but we're hot!" Gotta love there quick wit!

Wild Cattle Point Cycleway

Tannum Sands is about 25km south of Gladstone, and from our research decided to stay there, as Gladstone itself is very industrial. It turned out to be good advice, as the Caravan Park, The Tannum Sands Top Tourist Park, was right opposite the beach, with great walking tracks and cycleways, and excellent shopping facilities nearby. The only drawback was the bloody sand flies, which got John's legs looking like the join the dots puzzle again in no time. We made great use of the cycleways, and especially enjoyed a dirt cycleway to Wild Cattle Point, all along the inlet, next to the park. Oh! we should also add that phone and wireless Internet connection, were non existent!

Feeding time for the kookaburra.

Kangaroos in for a feed.

The bird life and wildlife within the caravan park was also fantastic. Each day we fed a variety of Kookaburras and other birds, and the kangaroos were very tame, grazing right up to the caravan sites.

Gladstone is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, all being driven by the mining boom, and the latest energy product, LNG (Liquified Natural Gas). We were gob smacked by the extent of works in and around Gladstone. Everywhere you look, are young men and women dressed in their dark blue and yellow flouro work wear. One wag joked that if you aren't wearing flouro, you are either retired or unemployable!

Curtis Island Ferry Harbour Cruise

We took a Harbour Cruise on the Curtis Island Ferry barge, which takes place only on Wednesdays, and is a fantastic way to get to understand what is happening with industry around Gladstone. It is without doubt, one of the best value and informative tours we have done. $18.00 for Seniors, and it included a good morning tea, and lasted 2 and a half hours.

Bauxite Processing Plant Gladstone.

First we sailed past the bulk loader, loading a ship with the fine white marble product, that is used as a filler in the cosmetics industry. Then past the Grain loader, filling the holds of another ship  with wheat. From there we sailed past the first of the two bulk coal loaders, busily loading a ship with 150,000 tonnes. This is the smaller of the two coal loading facilities. Then further around the harbour past the huge mounds of red bauxite at the world's largest bauxite processing plant, where alumina is produced to feed the world's demand for aluminium. In the distance is the Boyne Island Aluminium Smelter, the largest in Australia, where the alumina is turned into aluminium, both for the local and export markets. The volumes being moved, are mind boggling, but it is the scope of the LNG projects currently under construction, that really set your head spinning. Each of the 4 projects will generate export dollars in the tens of billions, and the work that needs to be done to build harbour facilities for the LNG Super Tankers that will carry the gas, is just as impressive, especially in light of the fact, that all the work is being done by barge, as it is on an island!

The coal loader at Gladstone

Finally, we come back past the big coal loader, where 3 huge ships are each being loaded simultaneously with 150 to 160,000 tonnes of coal. The coal which comes in from the vast coalfields west of Gladstone by train, is stockpiled next to the wharf. It is usually at around 3 million tonnes, but is down around 1.5 million, due to still catching up from the floods earlier this year. The trains themselves are enormous, with over 100 cars being pulled by 2 locomotives at the front, and another 1 or 2 in the centre of the cars. When you come across one beside the road, they seem to go on forever.

With all the heavy industry going on, it is easy to forget that Gladstone is a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Heron Island is only a 2 hour fast ferry ride away. This is a unique Eco resort, famous for its marine and bird life.

Speaking of marine life, the area is also a major fishing centre, both recreational and commercial. All those wonderful reef fish, such as coral trout, sweetlip, and cod, are caught for the local, and export markets. In fact there is a live fish export operation from Gladstone, to Asian markets, where fish like coral trout are a sought after delicacy. And whilst on the subject of delicacies, this is the home of the iconic Queensland mud crab. The area is teeming with mangrove estuaries, ideal for the "muddy". We found a fish market, and bought the biggest guy we could. He was caught and cooked the day before, and weighed in at 1.5kgs, so we had him cleaned and cracked, headed back to camp where Carol made our favourite mango and walnut salad, covered ourselves with bibs, surrounded ourselves with napkins, cracked a cold bottle of sauvignan blanc, got out the jar of locally made lime aioli, and let the carnage begin!! I'm telling you that if this had been served at the Last Supper, it wouldn't have been their last!!   

So our stay in the area has been most interesting. We can really see why our economy is going so well. The new houses and new cars, the new shopping centres and great infrastructure, are all testimony to this booming area. The mining companies pour millions back into the community, with sporting fields, picnic areas and the beaches, all in wonderful condition. The Tondoon Botanic Gardens are another excellent example. We took a look around these gardens, which place a strong emphasis on the areas rain forests and native orchids.

On our final day we fitted in a round of golf at the Tannum Sands/Boyne Island Country Club, which was very pleasant indeed. We almost had the course to ourselves, the only way to play! We finished up with light lunch at Lilac Lily's, a nice little cafe high on the hill above our caravan park, with a wonderful view out over the harbour, the islands, and the dozens of waiting ore carriers. 

We left Tannum Sands in the sunshine! A stay with no rain at last. On to Mackay.