24th June
Gladstone is a major industrial city. It boasts to be the fourth largest coal exporting port in the world and also loads aluminium and natural gas on its huge and many wharves and super jettys. Named after William Gladstone the prime minister who stated
“If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are excited, it will calm you.”
We were squeezed into a trailer park in the arse end of the town near Barney point which is where old capn cook once again put in a ship .
On the day we arrived the weather was glorious so we waked into town and toasted the passing seamen with Heineken and Gordons best.
The following day however was like Downton Abbey -warm but wet. We managed a decent walk down by the beach overlooking the picturesque aluminium smelter then back via a coffee shop before the heavens opened
The coffee shop opened each day at 445 am for the scores of hi viz clad engineers who worked in the docks , mines and passing vagrants with dogs who get up early.
That was it for the day – nails were painted and admin caught up with as it drizzled pretty much all day.