Park run is at the Botanical Gardens so we thought let’s do it before we leave. We rocked up there a couple of minutes before 8 just in time to see everyone leaving the gardens all red and sweating. It started at 7. We did the course anyway but park runners will understand it is not the same as getting your time registered. It was a beautiful location though. We decided that for each town now we might try and find a nice park to run in.

The path was covered in messages like these. How nice is that!

As we left Rockhampton I made Chris stop and take photos of some of the beautiful Queenslander homes near the Botanical Gardens. I have decided I want to retire in a Queenslander home.

We drive to Bundaberg and planned to stop at a cute little town called Gin Gin on the way. It’s written up in the tourism brochures.

We arrived and this is the first thing we saw.

Nothing worse after a 3 hour drive to find the award winning bakery with the teasing signs along the highway is closed. On the Saturday lunchtime of a long weekend. And the cafe over the road.

Never mind. We headed to the Information Centre. You may know I love an Information Centre.

I said we are driving through I’ve heard about Gin Gin but it seems like things are closed. Yes, she said, we had a market this morning and for some reason the shops close after. No other suggestions seemed forth coming…

I asked her for some suggestions for our week in the region and there wasn’t much. Oh dear have I made a terrible blunder in itinerary? We are in the region for a week. Chris disappeared mid conversation and I lost him for 20 minutes.

When he returned I asked what happened to him. He said I couldn’t stand it – I had to leave. You were asking questions and it was like pulling teeth. This was very surprising as Chris is the mild mannered one of the two of us. Nothing much bothers him.

I said what did you see? He said nothing all shops closed except one cafe gift shop.

So we drove the 30 mins to  Bundaberg. It did get me thinking about a comment I made about a town the other week. You can tell a lot about the town by the information centre. That may have just proved my hypothesis.

I am ashamed to admit we went to a club for dinner and then put $20 in the pokies. I never play poker machines and I’m not a fan of clubs for dinner but it is over the road from where we are staying. Now I really feel like a grey nomad.

Hopefully I can redeem myself tomorrow on our overnight excursion to Lady Musgrave Island with some snorkelling and scuba diving.

First impressions of Bundaberg aren’t great but I don’t want to judge yet.