Bundaburg Tour

Saturday 1^st Nov – the Tour

Diane, who we met at the coffee plantation, and her cousin are coming to pick us up to tour the Bundaberg area. 

Diane and Samantha arrive just after 9 am and we have quick introductions and a renewal of friendships.  Sam presents us with a bottle of home produced Macadamia tree flower honey.  We thank her very much.   They are both very happy to see us and Diane can’t stop telling Sam about how we rescued her at the plantation.

The Bundaberg area is a wonderful agricultural area created by the remains of a small basaltic volcano (the Hummock) located quite near to our campground.  This rich soil has resulted in acres and acres of sugar cane being grown here. 

During the sugar production process, molasses ends up as a waste by product.  With more molasses than they knew what to do with, it was suggested they use it to make rum, and low and behold you have two of the major employers in the area today. 

Sugar cane is grown, harvested, crushed and purified to make sugar for sale to the world.  A huge sugar warehouse takes up a very large track of land near the wharf where ocean going freighters carry the sugar to international ports.  The left over molasses is now sent to the Bundaberg Distillery where they produce rum.  Diane worked at the distillery, but is now retired.

Our tour takes us past miles of beaches to the Elliot Head where we look across this vast inlet of beautiful sand.  This is where Sam brings the kids and grandkids to use the beach.  It has amazing sand to walk on and we will have to come back and check it out. 

Next we head up to the top of the Hummock volcano to view the countryside.  This volcano has been extinct for over 1 million years so we are safe on the top. 

Our next stop is a drive through town to look at the sugar mill, a drive by the distillery and we stop at the local Alexandra Park zoo.  This zoo, similar to the zoo in Peterborough, is owned and maintained by the town for the free use of their townsfolk.  It includes several cages with kangaroos, wallaby’s, several emu’s, a dingo, and a beautiful collection of assorted types of parrots.  We wander around looking at the zoo then carry on to Diane’s home for lunch.

We meet Diane’s mother and sit and chat with her and Sam until Diane calls us for lunch.  She has put a beautiful lunch on the table including assorted cold meats, bean salad, apple salad with walnuts, vegetable salad, fresh lettuce, pickled beets, avocado’s, and an assortment of cold drinks. It is very good and very refreshing.  Then for dessert she brings out a huge platter of all locally grown fruit, sliced watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes and nice red strawberry’s.  

With lunch over, we are ready to leave….we thank Diane for a great morning and a delicious lunch.  We say goodbye to her mother then realize that she has to go with us to Samantha’s to pick up her car.  As a thank you to them both, and give them each a bottle of Clancy and Gail’s delicious maple syrup.  They are looking forward to eating it.

We head out to Sam’s house where we meet her husband Steven.  Diane says good bye and we will stop to see her on the way out Monday morning, yes we decided to stay another day.

We head inside under their raised house to see a collection of Australian snakes. One of the family raises these snakes under the house.  Sam brought out a small diamond back, 2 ft long baby python.  There was an albino and various others, of all sorts of sizes, in locked terrariums.  They are locked for both safety and for theft prevention.  Each of the two lime green pythons are worth $1000.

Again, we both think of the TV program about veterinarians on the job. In one case they were asked to catch a carpet snake (python) that was terrorizing a boat house in Cairns.  They poked holes in all the walls before locating the snake.  Once the snake was dragged from the building and measured, it was found to be 16 ft. long.  They believe there is also a female snake there (that is bigger) but she couldn’t be located.  We are also shown the feed for the snakes (mice and rats in the cages under the house) Now we are looking at various types.

Steven shows us the monitor lizards that are being raised for breeding, babies to be sold.

We are shown around their ranch and see the goats, miniature horses, non-stinging bees (and the source of our honey), stinging bees, and this great big wall hanging with six mounted sharks jaws on the wall.

Rows of shark teeth!

I never want to meet a shark. I didn’t know that sharks have rows of teeth under their gums in reserve, in case they lose a tooth, another will pop up in its place. In fact, there are at least six rows of additional teeth behind the ones you see in the jaw.

Steven has a large aluminum fishing boat. It is 7 m in length. He is a free diver and belongs to a local free diver club.  He dives without tanks using only mask, snorkel and fins.  He specializes in spearing fish and can last over two minutes under water.  The boat has a special platform at the back so he can climb in and out of the boat. The motor is 140 and can handle 3 m waves on the ocean.

Steven and Samantha invite us out on the river tomorrow morning and we are going!    Another adventure. We had such a marvelous day and look forward to tomorrow.  Samantha and Steven drop us off back at the cabin.

We head off to shop and purchase the new local soft drink, Bundaberg Pineapple & Coconut.  Then we are off to find more sunscreen for tomorrow, neither of us can afford another burn!

We are both excited about the boat trip!