Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Brisbane to Gladstone Challenging Weather for Big Boats
Weather forecasters are predicting a light head wind start to the Queensland Cruising Yacht Club’s 63rd Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race off the historical Sandgate Pier at noon on Good Friday.
They are expecting light five knot northerly sea breeze which will hardly allow the more powerful yachts including the 2009 and 2010 line honours winner the Mark Bradford helmed Brisbane sloop Black Jack to generate an exciting boat speed to challenge their 21 hour 52 minute 23 second elapsed time set last year.
This relatively unstable forecast for the Easter holiday weekend is in complete contrast to the wild weather which dumped torrential rain on Moreton Bay during the past 24 hours while a 41 knot Easterly gust sent the Cape Moreton wind speed recorder into overdrive at 1-30 pm yesterday.
Unless there is an unforeseen change the super fast line honours trophy contenders Black Jack, Lahana, Brindabella, Spirit of the Maid and Hooligan could face some time occupying an aquatic parking lot along the northern Sunshine Coast beaches on Good Friday night.
All five big boat skippers and their tacticians have agreed the 20 hour 24 minute 50 second record set by the Grant Wharington skippered Victorian maxi Skandia Wild Thing in 2004 will remain as the present wet and windy weather system slips away into the Tasman Sea.
While Race Director Herb Prendergast remains optimistic he and other long term Gladstone Race sailors have prepared to face a tactically tormenting challenge to maintain the required handicap rated boat speed to become the 2011 winner of the prestigious 63year old trophy The Courier-Mail Cup.
A slow start and a fast finish could favour the lower handicapped race veterans the Peter Kerr skippered 1964 race champion Pagan and her match racing rival 1964 MacDonald helmed 1959 Sydney Hobart race champion Cherana.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Easter Tourism Dollars Flow
EASTER – the traditional boom time for tourism – could be the saviour for tourism operators in the Gladstone region this year.
Some places are already booked out and many are reporting increased bookings in the lead-up to the combined school holidays and Easter period.
Lady Musgrave Tours marketing manager Rob Moore said he did a call around of the accommodation in town and was told booking numbers were up and there were bookings in the week after Easter, which he said was a good sign.
“They’ve slowly started to pick up and people are on the road again. We’re looking pretty good at the moment,” he said.
After a disastrous summer with flooding, Cyclone Yasi and the misconception that the whole of Queensland was under water, tourist operators are looking for a good Easter.
Mr Moore said the initiatives from Tourism Queensland and Tourism Australia were helping the industry get back on its feet.
“We’ve signed the Queensland Pledge and we’re getting the word out that we are here,” he said.
A big push into the China market was expected to have positive results for local operators.
“The (Great Barrier) reef is a big drawcard, it’s what they want to do when they come here,” Mr Moore said.
Kroombit Park owner Carol Sandilands said they had quite a few bookings and were getting a lot more inquiries.
The park is nestled in two hectares of eucalypt forest on Lochenbar Cattle Station, 35km from Biloela, which offers an Australian outback experience.
“It was pretty standstill during the flooding, but now we’re seeing a lot more campervans and caravans,” she said.
“We did have a large backpacker market but this hasn’t picked up yet.”
Inquiries were coming from Brisbane and throughout Queensland, as well as Gladstone locals looking to take visiting relatives to Kroombit.
Tourism Minister Jan Jarratt launched yet another tourism initiative yesterday.
Five hundred backpackers in Sydney will be offered free bus and rail travel to Queensland when they book five nights of accommodation in at least two Queensland destinations.
Book Quality Gladstone Accommodation at Metro Hotel and Apartments Gladstone
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/04/08/easter-tourism-dollars-flow-gladstone-region/
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Gladstone's Bucket List
WITH the Top 100 things to do in Australia before you die list released last week, we thought we’d do our own Gladstone-specific bucket list. Here’s the first 30 – in no particular order – to get you started.
There are a wide variety of experiences in the region – from fishing and boating to arts and culture, as well as the beaches and parks.
We have the upcoming Harbour Festival, which draws in 70,000 visitors to the region each Easter.
There are a multitude of events during the week-long celebration of the Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race.
Places like Baffle Creek are ideal for camping, fishing and sight seeing and it is only about an hour from Gladstone.
Just outside the Agnes Water township a family can stay at the Workman’s Beach Campsite for as little as $17 a night.
Other campsites in the region offer similar cheap rates, making it affordable for families to holiday in their own backyard.
The Australian Traveller Top 100 was determined by a panel of 10 respected Australians, who have each explored most corners of the country.
The panel included Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler, Getaway reporter Catriona Rowntree, travel industry pioneer Bill Peach and Blue Wiggle Anthony Field.
The three Gladstone region experiences included in the top 100 were: camp on Lady Musgrave Island; dive the Great Barrier Reef; and take the family to a Great Barrier Reef island.
Gladstone's bucket list
1. Test your hiking and climbing skills by climbing Mt Larcom
2. Visit Beautiful Betsy at Kroombit Tops National Park
3. Find out how Gladstone really ticks by taking a free industry tour
4. Dive the southern Great Barrier Reef
5. Get a permit and go spend the night camping and fishing at The Lillies
6. Learn to surf at Agnes Water
7. Attend the Mt Larcom Show
8. Take a leisurely stroll, cycle or run on the Turtleway Cycle Way at Boyne-Tannum
9. Learn to ride a horse at a farmstay
10. Grab some fish and chips and spend a romantic sunset on Tannum Beach
11. Swim to the Pontoon at Lake Awoonga – sunbathe and swim back
12. Dance – like no one is watching – in front of the stage at Harbour Festival
13. Jog through the Toondoon Gardens
14. Feed the turtles at Police Creek
15. Join Toastmasters and face the fear while improving yourself
16. Go to the QAL lookout at night
17. Head down to one of the playgrounds at the Marina with the kids
18. Jump in a four-wheel drive and head south from Agnes Water through Deepwater and come out at Baffle Creek
19. See the winner of the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race come into the Marina at Easter
20. Head north from Seventeen Seventy through Eurimbula and up to Turkey Beach
21. Catch some barra in the Awoonga Dam or Boyne River
22. Check out the lookout on Auckland Point
23. Watch the kite surfers at Tannum Sands beach
24. Take a loaf of bread to the duck ponds and feed the ducks, turtles and eels
25. Check out Heron, Wilson or Lady Musgrave Island
26. Visit the Calliope Historical Village
27. Attend the annual Harbour Festival at Easter
28. See the history at the maritime museum
29. Check out the 1770 Captain Cook Festival
30. Visit the Gladstone Regional Art Gallery and Museum
What do you think are the ‘must do’ things in the Gladstone region? Tell us: gladstone.newsroom@gladstoneobserver.com.au
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