Tondoon Botanic Gardens

Despite all the crap I give Gladstone, there really are some gems in this town for which I really should give it credit.  One of these gems is the Tondoon Botanic Gardens.  The gardens are right in town, but you would hardly know that this little oasis existed.  I visited way back in October and went on one of the weekly free guided tours that they offer on Thursdays.  Although not advertised as such, it might as well have been a seniors event as I was the only one on the tour under the age of 65.  My life...   Anyways, it was pretty neat to see how different the plants, tree, flowers, etc. are in this part of the world.  I really enjoyed the tour- except for the part where we stumbled upon a giant Eastern Brown Snake (shudder...).  No one else on the tour seemed quite as alarmed as I was.  I'm pretty sure I more than made up for their lack of freak out.  At any rate, here are some photos of the beautiful scenery there. 

The most adorable tour guide

Eucalyptus trees (Gum trees) - Sadly, no koalas in these ones :-(

Australian Bottle Trees

Kookaburra spotting!

Japanese Gardens