Fairymead House and Bundaberg Botanic Garden, Baldwin Swamp (Bundaberg Trip)

 

30 September 2020 – 295 535 – Fairymead House and Bundaberg Botanic Garden, Baldwin Swamp

We finished off the Bundaberg CBD Heritage walk this morning, some lovely old buildings. 

https://www.discoverbundaberg.com.au/cbd-storywalk 

We then drove to the Australian Caravan Museum and looked at the half dozen older vans they had there, and also a modern A-van that may suit us well when there are only two of us. https://www.searlesrvcentre.com.au/australian-caravan-museum/

Fairymead House and Bundaberg Botanic Gardens filled our morning.  The upstairs of Fairymead House primarily shows the beautiful Queenslander’s design with each room providing information on a particular local history topic e.g. South Sea Islanders, Toft Brothers etc.  Downstairs is a rich information source on all things Bundaberg sugar cane related.

 https://www.discoverbundaberg.com.au/fairymead-house-sugar-museum

Five facts I learnt today:

·       There are six bulk sugar terminals in Queensland including Bundaberg

·       340 000 tonnes of raw sugar can be stored at Bundaberg Port

·       There are now only three mills operating in the Bundaberg area

·       Some fields are environmentally better to be burnt than green harvested, depending on soil type

·       Originally 51 male and 51 female cane toads were brought into Australia

The Bundaberg Botanic Gardens are beautifully maintained and well utilized. The lake has an incredible number of freshwater turtles, as well as short-finned eels and many many waterbirds. https://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/botanic-gardens

After a picnic lunch in the gardens, we headed back to the van for a nap and to do some washing.

In the late afternoon, we went to Baldwin Swamp.  We saw flying foxes, ducks with ducklings, water hens with chicks and magpie geese with goslings, plus several other types of birds. 

https://www.aussiebushwalking.com/qld/wide-bay-burnett/baldwin-swamp 

http://www.bundabergbirdobservers.org/site/birding-sites/baldwin-swamp/

Bargara, The Basin and The Barrel (Bundaberg Trip)

 

29 September 2020 – 295 494 – Bargara, The Basin and The Barrel

First stop, Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, The Barrel to book a COVID safe tasting for this afternoon – they have only just resumed tastings yesterday. https://www.bundaberg.com/ 

Then off to Bargara. https://www.bundabergregion.org/explore/bargara-and-the-coral-coast  https://www.bargara.com/ We parked at “The Basin” and walked south to just past the tidal lagoon at the southern end of Kelly’s Beach.  The sea looked quite unpleasant and we all agreed it was for the best that today’s whale watching had been cancelled.  The coastline consists of patches of yellow sand interspersed with patches of large black rocks.  The view is topped off with beautiful coloured water and a nicely maintained foreshore.  We then walked north to Nielson Park and back. https://beachsafe.org.au/beach/qld/bundaberg/bargara/nielson-park  https://www.bundabergnow.com/2020/02/28/nielson-park-makes-top-ten-queensland-beach-list/

A picnic lunch was followed by a swim in The Basin.  This is a rock walled tidal pool built by the South Sea Islanders.  There were hundreds of fish in it, trapped when the tide goes out.

Bundaberg CBD Heritage walk showcased some lovely old buildings. https://www.discoverbundaberg.com.au/cbd-storywalk We only got to do part of this prior to heading to the Barrel for our afternoon tastings.  Once again the dilemma was which one to have in the six pack as there are so many delicious choices.

Lady Musgrave Island, Southern Great Barrier Reef (Bundaberg Trip)

 

28 September 2020 – 295 454 – Lady Musgrave Island

Lady Musgrave Experiences were our hosts today, for a trip to the only navigable lagoon and the second most southerly island of the Great Barrier Reef. https://ladymusgraveexperience.com.au/ We were allocated to the clownfish group, this meant our itinerary was snorkel, lunch, island walk, glass bottom boat and snorkel.

There were many many fish of many varieties and several turtles.  Drew took some cracking underwater photos – this is only our second trip with this camera and we are impressed.

Lady Musgrave Island is inhabited by an incredible number of birds. At this time of year White Capped Noddy Terns are there in numbers. These have a very interrelated life with the Pisonia trees on the island – neither would survive without the other.  There are also lots of burrows for the Wedge Tailed Shearwaters which nest below the surface. 

On the glass bottom boat tour we saw Green Turtles and the endangered Hawksbill Turtles.

On the way back to the mainland we talked to a family who were on their way back from six days camping on the island.  I think the noise of the birds and the constant rain of droppings would be too much for me!  For those with kayaks it would be great to explore the lagoon. 

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/capricornia-cays/camping/lady-musgrave-island

A fantastic but tiring day!