Tripping to North Queensland

Starting University this year has really put a crimp on a lot of my travel plans. I did make it down to Sydney again for Supanova this year but because of one of my final exams, I missed out on doing an extra tripping around the area. It was a pure convention attendance trip.

However, I have spent the last couple of days driving from Brisbane to Mackay where I will be spending the week with family. My Mum and I were up early on Saturday morning and on the road by 7.30am. We had a pretty straight shot with a 1.5 hour trip up to Gympie where we stopped for late breakfast. I lived in Gympie for 10 years of schooling, so it was interesting to see the changes as we made our way though along the highway.

Our next stop was just a quick one at "The Peanut Van" at Childers. I pulled over so mum could get out and pick up some specialty peanuts. The van itself, is quite obvious, just keep an eye out as you hit the town at the top of the range in Childers. It's on a small side no-through-road just off the main highway. An easy stop and a thankfully quick detour on our trip.

We then started heading towards Bundaberg. It's around here that it really becomes apparent that you have started to hit Sugar Cane country.

 We hit quite a bit of road works along the way, this one in particular was for burning off. In Australia, during the colder months presents the perfect opportunity to prepare for summer when the danger of bush fire it too high for back burning. The idea is to burn out the underbrush so that it is more difficult for a bush fire to gain power.

 It wasn't until around 11.20am that we arrived in Bundaberg and made our way to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery. The plan was to take the tour. If you have never heard of Bundaberg Rum, it stands to good reason that you are not Australian. About 96% of Bundaberg Rum is sold within Australia, so it isn't well known overseas. That being said, we were informed on our tour that specialty blends have been made and presented at spirit competitions. Only last year, they won two gold awards.

Photos aren't allowed within the distillery itself as the air is quite combustable - so no batteries allowed. But I have to admit it is all very interesting to go on the tour and I do recommend it. Though, I wouldn't recommend the molasses taste test - the stuff is horrible. 

I had to laugh though, they carded me as we entered and booked our tickets. I'm ten years past needing to worry about that, so I couldn't help but be flattered. I did take a few photos throughout the museum though, where they had lots of information showcasing both the history and the evolution of Bundaberg Rum (which has been around since 1888). 

Afterwards, we picked up some lunch (if you can really call McDonalds "Lunch") before getting underway on our last leg towards Rockhampton. It was just on 2pm as we left Bundaberg. I must admit it is quite a stint of driving towards Rocky, as we didn't arrive until 5.45pm.

We found a hotel for the night and ducked out for some dinner before curling up in bed for the night. I was ready for a good night's sleep before we needed to get back onto the road for the rest of our trip to Mackay, but more on that in the next post...