Spyder Road trip Day 4: Bundaberg to Gympie

 

By the numbers

200.8 kms travel

2 hour and 52 mins

10.66 km walking

14,597 steps

 

The day looked really nice by the time we tried to leave. Before leaving we had breakfast at the place across the road and found the eftpos machines were down. Luckily I had some cash money on me and was able to buy the food that would set up us as breakfast for the morning. Nigel needed fuel before leaving and I waited for him to do that little bit as we were leaving early enough that we would not have too much traffic on the road. On the way to Childers we stopped at the Bundaberg cemetery for a little look and were then on our way knowing the day was only just warming up. The road became busier when we entered Childers for a drink at Maccas and a little look around. I was going to get fuel in town as I had ridden further enough that I needed some or else I would never make Gympie.

 

Just outside of Childers I had a little lizard type goanna thing cross in front of me. It did make the other side of the road. The day had really heated up and I was happy to make my way. One stop I was wanting to make was the cemetery in Tiaro. Once I spotted that I pulled over as it was also a rest spot that didn’t have a toilet. I had a look around the cemetery. They had its first burial in 1876 and had been around since then. It was small, but I was happy to have seen it. We were going to have a look around town, but decided that we were going to keep going after a brief pit stop especially looking at the traffic on the main road. Part way to Gympie I had a truck with a wide load behind me and I was about to overtake the caravan in front and in my mirror, I seen truck and just let him past as he just wanted to go. I wasn’t going to stop him and I was able to pass the caravan before the lane ended. I ended up following the truck all the way into Gympie. I have never driven this road before the trip away, so it was interesting.

 

Once in Gympie we stopped for lunch as we had a little bit of time to kill before heading to the motel where we will be staying. We did stay in some shade in the local park, which I thought waws great and then we were off. We did check in and went to the room that was right on the edge of the highway and found it was only one bed, not two. Luckily we were able to sort that out and get the room with two separate beds. Turns out to avoid embarrassment, the lady didn’t ask. That was a first for me and at least it was able to be sorted out. I ended up going for a walk to the nearby cemetery and then into town, which was slightly further as we are not anywhere near the CBD. I found the local Drakes supermarket, where I got a meal for that night. For a Saturday afternoon the town itself was actually really quiet with not very much happening other than a few drunks around.

 

The morning we are planning on leaving early as we want to beat the traffic once we get into Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Clothes are becoming a little on the nose especially as I have been wearing the same trousers on the bike since the beginning. Everything is starting to get on the nose a little bit so that would be a little entertaining when I do arrive home. Just not up or down wind.

 

Spyder Road trip Day 3: 1770 to Bundaberg

 

By the numbers

10.26kms walking

13723 steps

141.4 kms riding

2hrs and 13 mins

 

The sleep in the caravan park was not very bad at all in 1770. With the amounts of children floating around the day before it was very quiet overnight. I found that to be very good as we know it would be a nice place to stay. People were packing up to leave not long after we started packing up to leave. We just were not totally sure about the weather as it was cloudy. The first stop was at the cafe right next door to the Rust Pelican fish and chip shop we had the night before. From there we headed to the end of the road where there were the lookouts and two things I wanted to see. The monument to the landing of James Cook in 1770 and the anchor to Countess Russel, a ship of some sort.

 

We stopped off at Agnes Water where we both got fuel before heading towards Bundaberg. The ride was really good especially for half of it when there was no one behind us on the way back. There were plenty of people coming into the area from the other direction. I was following and happy to do so, although there were several stones that flicked up and hit my helmet and visor, which gave me a little shock. Half way to Bundaberg, we did stop at the town of Rosedale for a quick break, where we had a drink and a wander. I didn’t mind the little wooden bridge we had crossed to get into the town. It was actually pretty dry out here too.

 

By the time we made it to Bundaberg, we still had plenty of time before we could check into the motel. We had a drink from, the servo and headed to the  Bundaberg Rum factory. That was easy to find when we had a GPS and there was an information centre behind it as well. We stopped there for a look and knowing we had to apparently book online for the tour, we just rocked up and asked if there were any afternoon tours available. We were able to get into the 1pm tour and leave our helmet and jacket behind the counter. We walked through the museum before the tour started. We found the factory had burnt to the ground twice and one of them was due to a lightning strike. The rest went through the processes and also showed the different types of rum they made over the years. Once we were sitting at the cinema watching the Mega Factories episode of the Bundy Rum factory, the tour began. They took us through the distillery with the molasses and the fermentation, before going to the sampling. Nigel and I took off before the sampling as we didn’t want to drink and ride especially when the drinks were 1 standard each. I went through the shop.

 

By the time we headed to the motel and could check in, we had a little bit of a rest before I went for a wander. I found a monument to the local aviator, Hinkler. Though I wasn’t able to visit his museum, I was happy to find this one.. I wandered the local streets as I kept finding artwork on street corners and the art deco facades on the buildings. I watched a train cross the river with plenty of carriages, which was at least a kilometre in length. Where I had gotten stuck watching the train was next to a local park that had a zoo, which at that time was closed. There was the next best thing as the park had three colonial guns on display. I walked back to the hotel, where I cleaned up before heading out for a feed just down the road.

Once we were back, we made plans to head to Gympie as our next stop before heading home on Sunday. At least now we know what happens when we are pushed and that the heat doesn’t help either. Learning experiences and all that. We are staying right across the road from a local hostel, so shall see how quiet that is.