12th/13th August- Bundaberg

We arrived at almost 9pm at our free camp spot- Wallum Reserve- just south of Bundaberg. ‘Free camping’ is where you can ‘camp’ at a designated spot for free; we use a book called Camps 6 to help us find a camp to stay in overnight. They are great little places to stop when you are on the way somewhere, and many have facilities such as toilets and water. Usually, there are restrictions as to how long you can stay in a free camp and you generally have to be self-sufficent. We found it to be a very safe and lovely spot and even chatted to the ‘neighbors’ over breakfast.

Heading into Bundy, we visited the ‘Bundy Barrel’, which is home to Bundaberg ginger beer. We enjoyed an interactive tour and samples of all their products. They were very generous in their sampling and we really didn’t want to look at any more soda drinks after it! Nethertheless, we took advantage of the 2nds shop and a few cases of ginger beer later, we were adding more weight to our van.

We were now in Croc territory and we were quite pleased with how much Zach was able to recall about Crocs from the show at Australia Zoo!

We then headed to our caravan park, Big 4 Cane Village and spent a few hours housekeeping while the kids explored the playground. Melinda then drove into Bundaberg Library to research her family. Mel’s Dad was born in Bundaberg and the library has a wonderful research facility of records. She found out quite a few things about her grandparents and great-grandparents. Most interesting to note was that her great- grandma was German and travelled to Australia as a 16 year old! There is even a ‘Steptoe’ (Mel’s maiden name) street in Bundaberg.

The following morning, Joe decided to do a tour of the Bundy Rum distillary. After Mel dropped him off and took the kids to a nearby park, Joe learnt quite a few things about making rum! Rum is actually a by-product of the sugar industry and is made from the mollasses left over from processing sugar. During the process, it is actually stored in 70,000 litre vats for at least 2 years. Given that each vat is worth $16 million and there are about 315 of them- you do the maths!!! A funny story was that in 1936, lightning struck the factory, causing a fire and requiring the vats to be emptied out on the street. Apparently the locals fillled every container they owned and the river was alight for 3 days due to its alcohol content!

Mel took over driving for a bit as we headed out of the beautiful Bundy and made our way up to Rockhampton.

Having just missed a few festivals along the way (including Brisbane’s famous Ekka), we were happy to be around for the festival in Moore Park Beach- 25km north of Bundy.

We had a fantastic afternoon there. As you can see in the pictures, the kids enjoyed horse riding and a show, trying (although unsuccessfully!) to make fire from wood and shavings, and making a candle,  which  was cleverly crafted into patterns when they had finished. The family also enjoyed camel rides through the festival, as well as flying our kite on the beach. We decided to free camp again and stopped at the Boyne River Rest Area, just west of Gladstone (south of Rockhampton). This was a gorgeous site along the river, with even a few concrete slabs for those who arrived early! The caravan industry is huge and it amazes us how many people are travelling around our beautiful country. It’s wonderful how local communities support the industry with these spots; providing and maintaining them.