Day 9: Tue 4 Jul 23 - Gladstone

Tue 4 Jul 23 - Gladstone 

Weather: 20 Deg at 0700 (not a typo), warming to 23 Deg throughout the day. Overcast to light showers and humid all day.

Moving a little more freely today, I walked to mum's for my morning catch up with her, then returned to the van for a couple of hours to do some work on my computer. At 1000, Noel and I drove back and collected Mum for a day out. First stop was a nearby cafe for coffee at East Shores in Gladstone, then we drove out of town to Boyne Island. Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) in Gladstone is one of the largest alumina (powder) refineries by production capacity in the world. Boyne Island, approximately 12km away to the south produces about 545,000 tonnes of aluminium per year at a large smelter using Alumina from QAL. We didn't drive past the Smelter, but we did drive to the boat ramp on the Boyne River where I use to go camping and fishing when growing up. The local council has done a fabulous job with the parks and gardens at Boyne, and they also have a very nice looking bike path too, which unfortunately I didn't get to try out. From Boyne Island, we drove a few kms further across the Boyne river to Tannum Sands stopping at the Esplanade for a wander around. Neither Boyne Island nor Tannum Sand resemble the small communities that I remember when growing up in Gladstone. They now look like very modern and appealing townships with a wide range of services. Next stop was lunch at a small cafe in Tannum Sands (the same cafe where Mum went with her Legacy friends on Saturday - she liked it so much she was happy to return). Then we returned to the beach at the esplanade to put the Drone up for a few aerial photos of the beach and Wild Cattle Island.  Afterwards, we drove back towards Boyne Island to the Boyne and Tannum Sands War Memorial - a very thoughtfully laid out and beautifully maintained memorial. From here we drove back to Gladstone, taking a short detour via the QAL lookout, before delivering Mum back home safely, and we returned to the van. We walked back to Mum's later in the evening for a light dinner, then we returned to the van at 2000 as the rain began to fall more steadily. Despite the wet conditions today, we had a very enjoyable day out between showers and managed to stay dry. Thankfully, the forecast heavy rainfall didn't eventuate, but it is getting heavier tonight as I write.



East Shores - Auckland Creek Gladstone


Boyne Island - Boyne River

Boyne Island - Boyne River

Boyne Island - Boyne River. Great to see so may kids outdoors fishing and riding bikes

Boyne Island - in deep discussion.

Tannum Sands - Wild Cattle Island

Tannum Sands - along the Esplanade

Tannum Sands - A beautiful Kookaburra on the beach

Tannum Sands - Wild Cattle Creek

Tannum Sands - Drone looking south over Wild Cattle Island

Tannum Sands - Drone looking towards Tannum

Tannum Sands - Drone looking out to sea

Tannum Sands - Drone looking north

Tannum Sands - Drone along Wild Cattle Creek

Tannum Sands - Drone along Wild Cattle Creek

Boyne Island / Tannum Sand War Memorial

Boyne Island / Tannum Sand War Memorial. 

NAVAL ODE

They went with songs to battle
They were young
Straight of limb true of eye
Steady and aglow

They were staunch to the end
Against odds encountered
They fell with their faces 
To the foe

They have no grave but the cruel sea
No flowers lay at their head
A rusting hulk is their tombstone
Afast on the ocean bed

We will remember them


Boyne Island / Tannum Sand War Memorial.

Boyne Island / Tannum Sand War Memorial.

Boyne Island / Tannum Sand War Memorial.

Boyne Island / Tannum Sand War Memorial.

Queensland Alumina Refinery - Gladstone















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