Whale Watching, Gin and Candy (Bundaberg Trip)

 

1 October 2020 – 295 565 – Whale Watching, Gin and Candy

The plan for this morning was Drew and Hayden would have a sleep in while I went for a run.  On stepping out the door I discovered that our shoe tub and a lot of our clean washing was missing.  So everybody got up and looked around the surrounding area – the shoe tub and one pair of shoes was found, but that was all.  I spent the next hour or so on the phone to the police and insurance company (no luck) and completing the police link form with all the missing items.  Based on what is missing it appears the culprits were specifically after running shoes and apparel – unfortunately my orthotics were in my runners also.

When we had just boarded the boat to go whale watching I had a phone call back from the police who were planning to fingerprint someone else’s fishing rod that had been dropped as the miscreants left the caravan park.

The whales were a long way out to sea, but we could see several groups between us and the horizon.  The group we were watching was a mother and calf with one escort.  They were quite curious and came close to the boat several times.  We saw the calf breach twice – very special.  The group went under the boat several times.  They are truly grand, majestic creatures.  On the way back we also saw a pair in the distance repeatedly fin slapping – apparently these guys wanted an audience.

 https://ladymusgraveexperience.com.au/whale-watching/

When we were almost back to port the boat made a strange sound.  Not long after the Captain announced we had lost one of the four engines.  He had several attempts to berth unsuccessfully before moving to the fuel jetty to allow everyone to safely disembark.

On our return to Burnett Heads we drove back to the caravan park to put out the recovered items for the police to check as requested.  Then off to buy Hayden some shoes, as all he has left is a pair of thongs.

Kalki Moon Gin Distillery was our next stop, where I chose the Chocolate Hazelnut and Vanilla Liqueur. https://kalkimoon.com/ Jake’s Candy Shop provided some great reminiscing of childhood favourites and some difficult purchasing decisions – one of everything is not an option. https://jakescandy.com.au/

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.