I’d booked a week in Bundaberg because I thought it would be easier to use that as a jumping spot to the beaches and distilleries etc in the region rather than moving around. When I told some people on our roadtrip that we were staying in Bundaberg for a week the reaction was “oh – are you?” My first impressions of the town itself weren’t great, but I was ready to have an open mind.

After we returned from Lady Musgrave Island we still had a quite a few days.

First stop: Botanical Gardens to go for a run after our two days of indulging at Lady Musgrave Island. There are many good reviews for the Gardens on google. I asked Chris how he would describe the gardens and he said ‘quaint.’ I would say that is a good description but I feel a bit mean typing that. Other people love the gardens so don’t go by Chris and me.

It was a nice to go there for a run. There is nowhere nice around our caravan park to walk / run.

Second stop: Information Centre Again great people there and it was right next to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery.

Third stop: Bundaberg Rum Distillery. It’s not possible to go to Bundaberg without visiting Bundaberg Rum. We booked into the 11.00 tour. I was a bit anxious because the cafe there was shut and I had been counting on it for a caffeine hit before the tour. I told myself Larni, just put your big girl pants on there will be alcohol soon.

The tour went for about 40 minutes. We enjoyed the information and tour. I came out really wanting to love rum at the end of it. Two drinks are included in the tour so I tried one of the liquors and a rum with dry ginger. Sadly, turns out I am still not a rum drinker and also lucky I wasn’t driving because after those drinks Chris said I was slurring.

Fourth stop: Macadamia Farm. Another big attraction in Bundaberg is the macadamia farm.

I was excited to have to stop on the way for the sugar train. I have seen so many sugar trains on the trip but not had to wait yet.

The Macadamia Australia farm has new and very impressive visitor experience centre. The tour was $44 and we decided not to do it. We ate at the cafe which has tables outside in a lovely green grassed garden that I forgot to take photos of. I had a macadamia ice cream and Chris had chocolate caramel macadamia slice. I have to say there seemed to be very little macadamia in the ice cream. I was surprised that there were so many things on the menu that didn’t seem to have macadamia in the recipe.

The shop had heaps of different flavours you could buy, but there was no tasting offered. I would have been happy to buy a tasting plate of macadamias to try all the flavours, but that wasn’t available. Maybe it was a one off as other reviews have mentioned the opportunity to taste.

The rest of the day we spent visiting caravan places Jayco and New Age and dreaming of what we would upgrade to if were were going to upgrade. We didn’t see any that we wanted to so that saved us a lot of money. We are very happy with our van but at some point I would like to upgrade to a van with shower and toilet. And maybe washing machine.

I have struggled a bit with what to say about Bundaberg. I don’t like to write anything negative and if I have a bad experience at a restaurant I will email or tell them directly not post a bad review. However if I’m writing a blog I should really give my honest opinion. There is a lot to see in the Bundaberg region but we found the town from a tourist perspective very sprawled out, the CBD wasn’t as nice as other towns / cities we have seen along the way, the river area didn’t compare to Rockhampton. It feels like the tourism industry is trying really hard, but it doesn’t feel like anything has been done to improve Bundaberg itself to make it more attractive for visitors. The caravan park had a lot of permanent people which gives a different vibe. The town felt old but more in a 70s or 80s way rather than a heritage way.