OUR NEW RIVERBANK...

It has been a pretty hectic start to the year for us this year with coming home from our big lap around Australia and settling back into work,  and catching up on medical appointments in our spare moments.  We hadn't really had a chance to do much exploring since being at home and lots of things had happened and changed whilst we were away.

One of those things was the revitalization of our river bank.
The $36 million  Rockhampton Riverside Redevelopment was officially opened whilst I was in Albury for Danielle and Andy's wedding.

"The Queensland Government committed $15 million to this project, Council committed $14 million and the Australian Government $7 million and it wonderful to see what can be achieved when all levels of government work together.

People took their first look at the many new features, including the Boathouse restaurant, grand staircase, water jet plaza, playground, custom furniture and curated public artworks. 
 
The opening was quite a spectacular event with the spectacular water and light show "River Revery" which ran every half an hour from 7pm to 10pm on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening.

Eight massive pumps threw 28 tonnes of water into the air every minute and colourful lights shone  on walls of water 80 metres wide and 30 metres high. Lasers, fountains, music, LEDs and searchlights, all controlled through the hands of a master fountaineer and laser artist, added to the spectacle.



This display has never travelled north of Brisbane before so I am absolutely thrilled that we can bring something new and exciting for our community.
 
After we arrived home from Tannum we had another week of holidays to get a few jobs done around home.  We were keen to check out this new precinct and took some time out to check out the changes at the coast and also on  our riverbank.

How impressive...
There is a wonderful new playground there for the kids.... Our grandkids are going to love it...
We did take my niece and her children down there for a play whilst they visited...

The new riverside precinct includes an amazing  playground areas, river lookouts, shaded walkways and gathering spaces, and the plan is that it will become a vital part of Rockhampton’s lifestyle, and the site of regular events and festivals.

New Boathouse Restaurant right on the river...

The project  also includes a new pier structure with a restaurant, water jet plaza, an aquatic play area, improved gardens and an amphitheatre along with curated public art and shaded seating with water misters.

A grand staircase leads down to a plaza area dedicated to tennis great Rod Laver, waterfall and water jet features, state-of-the-art playground and public art".

 A real credit to all involved in the designing and building of this wonderful riverside precinct...

 After checking out the playground we drove further down Quay Street until we came to the Boathouse,  a new restaurant built out onto the river...  There is even a lift now  that you can hop into to head down onto the bottom level of the parkland where there is some lovely water features...
There is an amazing water curtain that lights up and even displays messages...
Just beautiful....

“The waterjets on Rod Laver Plaza will also had a display of their own, and we spent quite a bit of time just sitting down there and enjoying the display it put on for us... There were quite a few families down here enjoying the precinct as well and we watched as lots of children darted in and out of the water feature.....
The display was quite spectacular and I am sure it will draw a lot of tourism to this area of our city...
We will definitely be back and will take our visitors down to enjoy it.

 We had packed a bit of a snack to have down on the river bank, so we had it whilst sitting enjoying the light display from the waterjets...

Enjoyed a late afternoon tea....

 Before heading home we headed back up the stairs to check out one of the many sculptures that is scattered along the river..

 We also enjoyed a walk along Quay Street where a lot of the heritage listed buildings are all lit up at night.... Part of the redevelopment of this area included includes new technology and feature lighting which is being used to enhance this area of Quay Street between Fitzroy and William Street.  All very impressive...

The new Boathouse Restaurant situated right on the banks of the river...

 The Restaurant was packed, there were people everywhere so we figured it must be OK otherwise it wouldn't be so busy....  We decided that we would come back on the weekend and enjoy a Sunday Lunch meal there.  They have live music on the weekends so we thought it would be good to come check it out and enjoy the lovely river breeze whilst enjoying a good meal and listening to some great music....

 It was a perfect day, the weather was great, the views were great and once again the restaurant was packed.

The menu was simple and reasonably priced.  Basic meals ranged from around $14 to $24 with a couple of more expensive meals for those looking for something a little more fancy.

 Steve settled on a lamb pizza and I chose a chicken buger with their own battered chips..
Delicious and considering that they were very busy, the service was good and we didn't have to wait too long...

 We really did enjoy the live music too.  It sure made for a very relaxing dinner date..

 Did we enjoy it.... Definitely
Would we go again... Most definitely....
I think it will become a bit of a regular place to dine on the weekend....
This is a beautiful area of our city and the Council should be very proud of the wonderful job they have done in planning this lovely area for us all to enjoy....