For a true taste of Bundaberg, and we don’t mean its famous rum, take a journey through its colourful countryside.
Measuring some 350km long, take your time on this drive and enjoy a country weekend from Bundaberg winding your way through towns such as Biggenden, Gayndah and Mundubbera before you arrive in Childers. Along the way you’ll experience cane fields, bush walks, history and heritage.
Start your journey in Bundaberg, which is one of the Southern Great Barrier Reef’s most progressive, modern cities. Best known for its Bundaberg Rum, derived from the surrounding sugar cane, it’s also considered a great launch pad to Lady Musgrave Island and the Great Barrier Reef. Another highlight of a visit to Bundaberg is Mon Repos beach where the loggerhead turtles migrate each year to lay their eggs. If you return a few months later you will witness the miracle as the tiny hatchlings make the perilous journey to the ocean. Bundaberg is also home to museums, regional galleries and the historic homestead of aviator Bert Hinkler.
From Bundaberg, follow the Isis Highway past Childers and towards Biggenden. Nicknamed the “Rose of the Burnett”, beautiful Biggenden is surrounding by open pastures, which offer views of the area’s blue mountain ranges. Join a Heritage Walking Trail which takes in a number of gold mining sites and the Biggenden Historical Museum. Before you continue your journey, grab a seat on the verandah of this historic pub and have a drink with the locals.
Keep following the Isis Highway and you’ll arrive in Gayndah which was founded in 1849 and is regarded as one of the oldest towns in Australia. A quirky highlight here is a visit to Mellors Drapery which is believed to be Australia’s only remaining building which uses an old-fashioned flying fox to deal with transactions. There are a number of other heritage-listed buildings here including the old section of the State School, Gayndah Soldier’s Memorial Hall, the racecourse and several rail bridges. In fact, you’ll find a blend of Edwardian Federation and Art Deco style architecture along the main street. The Gayndah Historical Museum on Simon Street tells more of the story of this historic spot. For a view of the surrounding countryside, drive to Archer’s Lookout, Binjour Lookout and Mt Gayndah.
Onwards to Mundubbera which is dubbed the “Citrus Capital of Queensland” for its variety of grapes and stone fruits. Nuts are also grown here and there are dairies and piggeries which feature in a range of agricultural and horticultural tours of the area. Check out the Historical Museum and pause for a selfie at the Meeting Place of Waters 360 degree mural.
Considered the southernmost township of Central Queensland, Childers is a charming town whose heritage buildings dating back to Queensland’s early pioneering days. A highlight here is the Bakers Military Memorabilia Museum which is believed to possess the largest display of military memorabilia outside of the Canberra War Memorial. Also, check out the Childers Art Space.
Explore national parks, get up-close-and-personal with wildlife, swing through the trees like Tarzan and chill out with some fun in the city for the whole family. Here are a few examples why you should book your next family holiday in Mackay.
Taste the tropics both literally and metaphorically along one of Queensland’s most scenic routes which winds for 140kms between Cairns and Cape Tribulation in Tropical North Queensland. Known as the 'Great Barrier Reef drive', the road winds between two World Heritage icons, the Wet Tropics Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.
Drive west from Townsville and you’re in the gold rush era, drive north, and you’ll hit the southern gateway of the Wet Tropics World Heritage-listed rainforests. In whichever direction you decide to travel, start in Townsville, home to the famous Strand – a 2.5km stretch of inner-city beach and playgrounds – and museums which pay homage to the Great Barrier Reef. Once you’ve experienced the reef for real, head to Townsville’s Reef HQ Aquarium touted as the world’s largest coral reef aquarium which is also home to a Turtle Hospital. At the Museum of Tropical Queensland, right next door, you can learn the story of the HMS Pandora which sank on the Great Barrier Reef.
There are 31 beaches in Mackay, one for every day of the month, but why not head inland and discover the Pioneer Valley instead?
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