Bundaberg Botanic Garden

For regular readers you know we love to see Australian native plants so visiting Bundaberg’s Botanic Gardens was a must. So off we went on our last day in Bundaberg. After finding a car park we checked out a map of the gardens at the entrance. By the way it’s free to enter. First up we headed off along the path into a section of rainforest.

Along the way we spotted the first of many water dragons along the edge of the feature lake.

At the end of the path we came to a section of boardwalk where we had a good view of the lake.

Following this we came to a place where there was a view of an island in the lake. They don’t enjoy a great reputation (commonly called bin chickens,) but we could see a number of ibis nesting safely in the trees on the lake.

Just near us some ducks paddled by.

A number of solitary birds could be seen in the trees, an eagle, who was too far away to photograph and this egret.

As well as the wildlife we did see some Aussie native plants in bloom so here’s a selection of snaps I took. First up some bottlebrushes (Callistemon).

Here’s some Acacia. You know winter is coming to an end when you see them in bloom.

We weren’t the only ones interested in this Callistemon.

This row of paperbarks was quite well reflected in the water.

By far the most stunning plant in bloom that we saw this Golden Penda (Chamelaucium uncinatum). A bee was also enjoying it being in bloom but for a different reason to its beauty.

As we made our way around we came to a small Japanese garden.

From there we made our way along a path near the lake to towards the Chinese garden. As we went I heard a movement to our left so I investigated. Here was an ibis casually walking in the water. I’m really happy with the photo I took of it and its reflection.

Now the entry to the Chinese garden is through a grand gateway

and over a bridge.

Apparently Bundaberg shares a sister city relationship with Nanning in China.

After passing through the Chinese garden we made our way towards the large lake. We heard some unexpected noise and there was a steam engine backing into a shed, presumably after receiving some regular maintenance.

Walking along the edge of the lake we had Mel begin to pull on her lead. Sure enough we noticed the object of her interest, another one of the water dragons which we had seen along the way. This was probably the largest one though.

Making our way back up some steps towards the carpark we came to this building.

The information board on the side wall detailed its history. Originally it’s home was in Southampton in England. In 1925 famous aviator Bert Hinkler bought it and resided in it with his wife. When he died in 1933 she continued to live in it until 1952. Then 1982 it was listed to be demolished. However in the end it was saved and brought to Australia in 1984 and sited in the botanic gardens near to where Bert Hinkler had flown gliders on the beach at Mon Repos.

After reading the information board we headed back to our car and drove back for late lunch, well satisfied with an interesting and varied visit to the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens. It is well recommended to visit in our opinion/

Macadamias Australia

After lunch we drove out to Macadamias Australia. Karen and I took it in turns to go in and look around and enjoy their guided free tasting, while the other one of us stayed in the car with Mel, as not surprisingly dogs weren’t permitted. In the end we purchased some bags of plain roasted, salted macadamias and some lemon scented myrtle flavoured ones which were really nice.

Tinaberries Strawberry Farm

Next stop was Tinaberries strawberry farm. The lady in the tourist information centre had recommended their strawberry ice cream so off we drove.

It too wasn’t a dog friendly location so Karen stayed in the car and I went in and bought two strawberry ice creams. Delicious. From there we drove the short distance to Bargara again for a quick dog walk. Sadly it was cool and very shady

so we didn’t stay out very long before deciding to go back to the caravan to warm up and eat dinner.

Distance travelled – 45 kms

Next post we head further south to the Sunshine Coast.