WE’VE BEEN TO BRISSY BEFORE and will be back after this cruise, so yesterday was just a chance to stretch our legs a bit. The Brisbane City Cat is the best transportation deal ever. For a few bucks the water taxi catamaran whisked us up the river to the Botanic Gardens.
Cool Cat
It was a beautiful day with hardly a hint of the bushfires ravaging Queensland and the Gardens were in full bloom. The birds weren’t overly cooperative and Maasdam was sailing at three so we were back aboard in time for lunch.
Not Gladstone's best side, bushfires additional
WE AREN’T SURE WHY WE EVEN STOPPED AT GLADSTONE, pronounced "Gladstin" — the 'O' is silent. Newcastle is to coal what Gladstone is to bauxite, the mineral from which we get aluminum—“al-ū-min-ium” in Aussie-speak. We could see smoke from the bushfires behind the smelting plants even before we docked. Even at 750 feet, Maasdam was dwarfed by the industrial port facilities. We walked up to the library for a last chance for Connie to use the internet but otherwise there was little reason to go ashore.
Connie takes advantage of Gladstone Public Library wifi
