Bororen to Rockhampton via Gladstone

This morning in the tiny village of Bororen, I was greeted by a damp morning. During the night I had heard rain drops on the Karavan. Unfortunately, the further into the trip and the day, the rain seemed to get heavier. The rain became heavier as I unhooked the Karavan from the Bravo. Later in the afternoon it started to become a bit lighter. It is definitely not the weather to go sightseeing. Most interesting items are out doors. Maybe the weather will be a bit better tomorrow.

I left Bororen at an earlier hour than previous days. This was mainly because the rain was falling and I suspected that the trip to Rockhampton via Gladstone could be slow. There was a lot of traffic on the Bruce Highway. 

After a while, I turned off the Bruce Highway to go into Gladstone. It is a heavy industry town with massive coal loaders, a very big power station and an alumina smelter. No doubt I will see the raw product in a few weeks around Weipa. The power station is reported to be the biggest in Queensland.

Due to the rain, I only gave a cursory trip into Gladstone. Obviously, the heavy industry is the major reason for its existence. It would be worth a return trip to see more of it but only if it is dry. A thing I noticed as I drove towards Rockhampton, was the size and frequency of coal trains going to Gladstone. The trains are all powered by electricity so it is no wonder they require massive power stations and much coal.

Eventually, I arrived at the first tourist information centre in town. I stopped to gather information on the area. The staff is usually very helpful and this lot were no exception.

Then I drove onto the Big 4 Discovery Park. It is very nice, clean and, after last night, heavenly quiet. As it was showering, I erected the bag awning to deflect the moisture away from the door area. 

After setting up, I went to a massive Stockland Shopping Centre. It is almost the largest I have been in and everything is inside under cover. I did a little replenishing of some items and procured some I was lacking. I had to have a good coffee and found one there, Jamaican Blue. It was really good coffee and made up for the terrible one in Bundaberg, yesterday. Then I returned to the Park to unload and have a late lunch.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to go for a bit of a drive into the older part of the city. There are some magnificent old sandstone heritage listed buildings. The rain had lessened so I was able to get around without a raincoat by just using awnings. I walked around a fair bit of the CBD and enjoyed viewing these buildings. Eventually, I found another nice looking coffee shop which is part of a growing business. It had the eye catching name of “Sexie Coffee”. The coffee was excellent and the staff great, too. It is a very neat and professional business.

Finally, back to the Park and prepare for dinner, a nice steak from Lennox Head butchery along with a variety of nice vegetables. No red wine as I am not one to drink on my own. No doubt that may change in a few days time. So ended a very damp dull day with no photos worth showing.