Author: Mel

Living aboard a sailboat, blogging about the places we visit and the adventures we have. Love hiking, cycling, scuba, animals and adventure.

Best of Bundaberg

We stopped into the Bundaberg Port Marina thinking it would only be for a weekend. We had work to do, which took so long, we spent over a week in Bundaberg. The good news is we got important boat jobs done, and experienced the best of Bundaberg, Australia.

About Bundaberg

Bundaberg, or “Bundy” for short, is an industrial town of about 100,000 people. Located up the Burnett River, north of Hervey Bay, it was our stop after K’Gari. Upon arriving, we noticed a lot of smokestacks and water tanks. Famous for making rum, the land is primarily sugar cane farms, with little trains moving the supplies between.

iconic Bundaberg scenery, smokestacks and sugar train
Bundaberg smokestacks and sugar train

The downtown is surprising, though, with boarded up buildings interspersed with lovely churches and heritage architecture. It’s nowhere near as exciting as Brisbane, but we had some fun finding the best of Bundaberg.

Bundy CBD buildings
The CBD has some heritage architecture
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Nature’s Paradise K’Gari Island

One of our Queensland highlights is the nature’s paradise K’gari Island, a huge island a few miles off the coast. K’gari is the recently readopted Aboriginal name for Fraser Island. The name means paradise, which we found highly appropriate for this beautiful place.

About K’gari Island

K’gari is the world’s largest sand island, 122km long. It’s been called Fraser Island for generations, but the name is shifting back to K’Gari Island.

The unique geography makes it one of Australia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Not only is it the largest sand island, it’s also the only one where tropical rainforests grow in the sand. And they grow! Some of the trees on the island are towering and hundreds of years old. Add to that perched freshwater lakes and miles upon miles of sandy beaches that you can drive on, and the name Paradise really resonates.

ancient trees, K'Gari island rain forest
Ancient trees grow in sand on K’gari Island

Accessing K’Gari Island

This natural treasure is a popular day trip from the mainland. The common way to get to K’gari is the ferry from Hervey Bay, south of Bundaberg. We sailed from Mooloolaba, after Brisbane, happily stopping in a couple anchorages on the way north up the protected west coast of K’gari Island.

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A Weekend in Brisbane

Brisbane is not nearly as famous as Sydney or Melbourne, but we loved Australia’s third largest city. Known as Brissie for short (Aussies love nicknames), it has a great climate and lots to do. With amazing outdoor spaces, and a huge selection of restaurants, we thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in Brisbane. We want to go back!

About Brisbane

The capital of Queensland, Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia. It’s the biggest city we’ve sailed to in our five plus years living aboard, and we loved being anchored in such a cosmopolitan place. The population is more than 2.5 million, way more than Auckland’s 1.6m, our previous biggest port.

Brisbane city sign, weekend in Brisbane
The Brisbane City sign along the park filled South bank

Brisbane has everything a city should have. It’s got tall buildings and bridges, lots of public art, great dining, and outdoor parks. The population is big, but compared to North American cities, didn’t feel crowded. In fact, everything feels spacious and spread out. Even the bars and restaurants have loads of space.

Felons Brewery
Felons Brewery, a huge brewery on the river in Brisbane
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