BUNDABERG, Queensland

Bundaberg was a surprise to us. It was one of those places we thought we’d stay one or two nights but ended up being there for a week! Our decision to hang out in ‘Bundy’ for so long was influenced, not by unlimited quantities of Bundy Rum, but by the hospitality and friendliness of our farm stay hosts, John and Gilda from Binnowee Farm. Their beautiful dog, Meg, was also instrumental in us extending our stay night after night. We were all missing Hailey and Bodhi terribly and Meg’s personality was a perfect combination of theirs so she easily fulfilled our need for doggy companionship.

The town of Bundaberg was established in 1870, primarily as a timber and agricultural area (but wasn’t proclaimed a city until 1903). However, sugar cane farming became its staple industry within a decade, opening the first sugar mill in 1882. South Sea Islander people were used as indentured labour (slaves), allowing the sugar industry to develop quickly and expand relatively cheaply. Today, the Bundy economy still relies heavily on foundations of sugar, supplying the key ingredient for its most famous brands including Bundy Rum, Bundaberg Sugar and Bundaberg Ginger Beer. The region also produces a surprisingly large quantity of fruit and vegetables including avocados, bananas, citrus, stone fruit, tropical fruits, zucchinis, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and macadamia nuts.

We spent a day visiting some the major attractions – the Bundaberg Ginger Beer factory, Schmeiders Cooperage (barrel makers) and the Bundy Rum factory (we decided to be responsible parents and not to take the kids on the official tour – we didn’t think they were quite ready to sample the free rum on offer!). We filled in our other days wandering about the city, catching up on some shopping and enjoying the peacefulness of the farm. Although the property was only 16km from the centre of Bundy, it felt like it was million miles from anywhere.

We also celebrated Jesse’s 8th birthday at Binnowee Farm. He requested we stay there so he could share it with Meg, John and Gilda. He was too excited (and impatient) to want a treasure hunt like we had for the girls - he was awake before 6am and opening his presents before we could even peel our eyelids apart! He spent the day enjoying his birthday loot, which included a nurf gun that shoots two different size bullets, a remote control Ferrari and a darth vadar lego clock. It was a celebratory few days on the farm as Father’s Day fell the day before Jesse’s birthday. We don’t normally do much on these commercially motivated ‘John Sands’ days but the kids and I did lash out and buy Michael an electronic dart board for the occasion. It was obviously a winner, providing hours of fun (and possibly therapy) for ‘daddy’!

We broke up our stay in Bundaberg for 3 days of adventure on the incredible Fraser Island. We kept our van at Binnowee Farm whilst we headed over to Fraser for a fleeting but highly enjoyable visit (see next post). It was reassuring to know our belongings were safe and that we could rely on the good travel advice of locals for our first visit to the beautiful Island.

As we headed to the ferry at Hervey Bay, we passed through a few regional towns including Childers, the site of the terrible back-packers fire in 2000 where 15 people died. The region is governed by the Bundaberg Regional Council but up until 2008 was separated into four Shires including the Shire of ISIS! One might expect that Bundaberg Regional Council would be rather keen to remove any link to the unfortunate association with the ISIS name but, on the contrary, there were reminders everywhere! It gave us a giggle – I took a few pics that may make you smile too.