Gladstone Tondoon Botanic Gardens — Attraction in Glen Eden

We went to enjoy the Tondoon botanical gardens that we had previously visited about 12 years ago. We were so disappointed. There was no one in the visitor centre to greet you and it appeared dirty and run down. The signs were either broken, non existent or pointing in the wrong direction. Some of the gardens were in very poor state. The economic horticulture garden was revolting, the orchid house was closed, the cafe was closed. The Japanese garden was looking very sad with dead plants, no flowering shrubs, noxious weeds in the pond and no sound of running water. The kids playground/ picnic area appears to be the only part with excellent care. A very sad experience on national botanical garden day. This use to be an amazing garden but...

One of the best things about heading into subtropical Queensland is to marvel at the plant life that flourishes at this latitude.

The botanic gardens in Gladstone’s Glen Eden suburb is often ranked among the best in the country, and is set across a whopping 170-hectare site, with forested areas, lots of water and beautifully designed botanical displays.

There’s a deck and cafe beside Lake Tondoon, a key habitat for waterfowl, as well as a serene Japanese Garden and trails cascading down the slopes of Mount Biondello.

The dry rainforest, tropical and subtropical plants and trees here have been gathered from around Queensland, from the south-east to the very north...

Beautiful. There's a wonderful variety of plant life and many many trails to explore. There is a cafe and visitor centre aswell. We had a picnic after a walk and there is a large picnic area to do so with some picnic tables near a large childrens playground and other picnic tables located away from the playground. There is a gazebo type structure that would be handy for a party. No tables under that but if you brought your own portable camp tables it would work well. There are also bbqs dotted around the picnic area as well as rubbish and recycle bins. There is beautiful wildlife - birds, butterflies, dragonflies and we also saw a...