River-Rum Adventure

Sunday 2^nd October – River Run & Rum

On the river!

Getting ready to see the river.

Another sunny morning and today we have toast with Steven’s homemade honey……delicious!  At 9 am Sam and Steven arrive with their boat, and their two grandchildren.  He head to the wharf where we put the boat in.  Once out in the water we do a bit of crabbing as Steven shows us how he places his crab pots.  Then we are off to tour the river…..we see the other side of the cargo loading ramp, the devastation from the 2013 flood, the mangroves and the beautiful boats moored along the shore.

Further up the river we head into this small estuary to try and to net a few prawns. The tide is out so a mud bank full of holes is exposed.  This is where another type of crab lives.  Steven has brought a fish net, not a prawn net, so we only manage to catch one, which we release. A prawn net has pockets that hold onto the prawns.  

As Steven would say, when the land is dry so is the ocean….hence no fish.  On the way back we check the crab pots and no crabs either.  He will recheck the pots later in the week.

On the river!

Apparently there is a 100 year old law that states they cannot have crocodiles or alligators living south of Rockhampton. Apparently, there are fourteen in the local estuaries that the game wardens cannot catch.  They have to live catch them and move them as they are protected.  We saw no sign of them!

We finish just before lunch as the sun is getting stronger. Thank you to Samantha and Steven for such a wonderful river adventure. 

Pelican

Steven and his grandson putting in a crab pot!

Estuary Shrimp - the only one we caught!

After a quick bite of lunch and some refreshment we are back on the road to the Bundaberg Distillery.  The Bundaberg Distillery has been making rum since 1888. 

The molasses left over from the sugar making process was originally discarded causing problems locally.  The town asked all the local farmers to get together and find a suitable way to dispose of it. 

The distillery was formed and they now make millions of litres of rum for world consumption. Only one percent is sold internationally. Very interesting tour beginning with a safety talk, indicating that all battery powered items will be placed in a storage bin to prevent unwanted sparks. 

Very interesting tour, right in the plant. It ended with two proper drinks of rum.  I had Bundaburg beer, which is a pop.  Alan had the vintage rum and the chocolate, caramel liqueur.  He loved the liqueur!

Later it was laundry time where we met the local gecko, speaking and eating flies.