Continuing the migration northward - Bargara Beach 21st and 22nd June.

All Trish's research has done it again and she has found us another little gem. Bargara Beach which is 15km east of Bundaberg Queensland and located in a small village-like atmosphere on the beach front. For a change we took the highway option straight up to Bargara. At only 198km it was an easy trip and after a short lunch break in Childers we arrived early afternoon to beautiful weather and a leisurely tent set up. We are expecting the numbers to grow in the caravan park as the Queensland school holidays start after today.

A short walk along the beachfront took us into town and time to stock up on food for the night. The well situated and equipped campers kitchen along with some friendly conversation with other kitchen cooks rounded out the evening. Possible showers have been forecast but we are always well prepared nowadays. Time to get a few more zzzzzzzzzz's.

22nd June

A small amount of rain through the evening was still hanging around in the morning but by the time we ate breakfast, showered and chatted with the neighbours it started to clear. The old couple next door have been coming here from Melbourne for years, rebooking the same site year after year. They admitted that they don't go anywhere much, he plays bowls and she sits around the van and reads. Yawn! Even the thought of that made me yearn to get out and explore. I must admit that they are cute though. I hope family point it out to us if we ever get that slowed down. Anyway after tearing ourselves away from an offer of a cup of tea next door we headed out as Trish had a desire to visit the Bundaberg Brewing Company who make all that lovely Bundaberg Ginger Beer etc.

GPS took us around the block a couple of time as there was a traffic island in the way but all's well when we finally pulled up. Photo opportunity of me as the building is in the shape of a big barrel. One more to add to my collection of "Bigs" . For a group that were trying to get you to buy their product they wanted $12.50 per adult to view an interactive display behind a wall not much bigger than a modern family room. It didn't go anywhere near the factory floor. To pricey for us so it was on to the Bundaberg Rum distillery. We couldn't work out why they were setting up large tents in the driveway along with a very long zigzagging queuing rat race. It still didn't twig when we saw people queuing along a wall like they were waiting to buy tickets to an AFL Grand Final. Even though this tour was more expensive at $20 each for us poor old seniors card holders we felt this was worthwhile.

A charming young tour guide took us on an interesting tour of the distillation process then back to the bar area where you could have up to two samples of any of the products. There was also a self-guided tour on the history of the company which we did after the tasting. Curiosity finally got the better of me and I asked about the goings on outside with all the queuing. Turns out that a new bottle is going to be released the following day and they are there to be the first to get it. The guy at the front of the line explained that he will have been camping out in the queue for 5 days by the time it opens. FIVE days ? ? ? ? The difference between dedication and stupidity is a very fine line but he was not alone there were about 50 others there. My obsession was resolved very easily with a photo of the BIG Bundy bottle.

A ride to the Tourist Information Centre was the final plan for the day. We have both been hanging out for a roast meal for some time now and it just happened that Nanna's Home Cooked meals had only been open for a couple of weeks across the road. A bit of a wait it turned out to be a great roast; tough a bit late in the day.

Dave