QLD Trip 2011: BUNDAGERG!

Well, we made it to Bundaberg yesterday! After finally finding some accom we checked in the van and got ourselves unpacked & organised. There is going to be an air show here over the weekend so there is a shortage in any type of accom. The park that we are staying at is close to a lot of things but it's not that exciting. It's rather close to a main road and noisy, you can hear the trains at night and it's kind of in the industrial area of town. In saying that, we are still able to do all that we need to do. I guess we can't expect it as good as we have been getting it all the time. I think if the air show wasn't going to be held in a day that we would of had more choice because there are a number of caravan parks here.

So, our first stop was at the info. centre to find out what else there was to do here except for the Bundaberg Rum Distillery of course! We were directed to a few things and we have done a few of them. We went to a place called Bargara which is about 10km's out of Bundaberg. Here, we went to a place called the Basin and we fed wild fish with some bread scraps! This town was rather lovely, right on the beach and somewhere we wished we had of heard of before check into the park in Bundaberg, as the caravan park there was pretty good in comparison. And, being near the water is appealing to us too!
Last night I (Krista) was on a quest for a beer, it was rather warm and I hadn't had one for a while. Got that and also got takeaway for dinner, so no dishes was very exciting!!! Beer was great! Kids got into bed reasonably early and so did I. It was all to good to be true, all 3 were awake or up at some stage in the night. I think the noise of this place was a little disturbing to them. Flick in the end had a bottle, some panadol, a cuddle with Trent and I and then was happy to get into bed again. It was closer to the 7am mark before they all woke up which was good.

Today, we did another wash up of the clothes (it was cheaper here to do a load than anywhere else we have been, so I thought I'd take advantage of it!). We then went to the Bundaberg Ginger Beer factory. It was good to look around there, went on an interactive tour which included a tasting of all the drinks they produce at the factory. The kids enjoyed this bit! It was interesting to see how it all works and how it's produced. It's still a local family owned business which is great also. There seems to be an abundance of sugar cane plants around here and now we know why. We actually had to stop for a train carting the sugar cane into the factory on the main road. We collected our souvenirs after the tasting and took a few photo's then left.
Back at the van we had some lunch and then I got a very tired Flick down for a sleep and Phe and Maurie had some down time too. Trent was busy on the net and I thought that because Flick was down I'd have a rest on the bed too. Got all the washing in and then once everyone was awake and ready we took another drive through the main street and CBD area of Bundaberg. Took the kids to a park for a while and then took a drive to a place called Burnett Heads. Here we also discovered the Port of Bundaberg. This is where they ship the sugar out, or at least that's what we have come to decide is right. We didn't find any locals to speak to there to find out if we were right or not, but I think we were pretty right in our guess. After looking around there, we went to Mon Rocks. This is a conservation area where in the right season, Turtles come to lay and hatch their eggs. We went on to the beach where the turtles usually come because the gate was open for us to go through. We think that when its the right time for the turtles that they must close it off and then charge people to go and see them. From there we went back over to Bargara and had some burgers and chips for dinner. It was nice just to do something different.
Back at the van now, showered and into bed for the kids and I'll keep my fingers crossed that they all sleep well over night. We are thinking that we might do a tour at the Bundy Rum factory tomorrow am and then head on to the next port of call - a place called 1770. This place is where Captain Cook landed on Queensland soil in the year of 1770. We were recommended to go and check it out, so we thought we'd take a look.
We both think Bundy is a huge town but don't understand the attraction. There are so many other lovely places to stay close by that we'd recommend those before Bundaberg its self. We also can't get over the how big all these other little towns that are close by are. It's almost as though they have been built for when they become really popular! or perhaps they are when the weather is warmer and we just don't know about it. We need to get more into before we leave so that all these questions are answered.

So, everyone is doing well. I have included some pic's for you all to check out. Until our next post, take care.