Day 217 - Wednesday 2 August - Bundy Rum

Day 217

Wednesday

2 August 2017 –  Finished Sycamore Row by John Grisham. This was another well rounded, easy to read, courtroom drama highlighting the race divides of the early 1900’s.

Bargara – Mon Repos – Bundaberg

A 6am wake up call from Paul as he left the van to go to the loo, it was almost sunrise. I got up, gathered my camera gear and set myself up outside as the sky began to gather a peach glow. The sun did take its time to show. The great orange disc slowly rising, setting the sky on fire as it emerged from the low horizon cloud. Once I was happy with what I had seen, it was back to bed to warm up and read my book, which I finally finished.

We got out just after 8am, but we were in no real hurry. I went for a shower and Paul followed. We ate our lunch at the wooden table outside our van where we could enjoy the ocean views.

The next job was to defrost the damn freezer AGAIN!. I am really getting sick of this job, my hands always end up frozen. Lucky for me though, Paul did most of the chiselling and I did the scooping of the ice. I reckon there was enough to make an igloo!

When that job was out of the way we were ready make a move. We drove out to Mon Repos Beach. This beach is a conservation area. During the months of October to March, it is closed to the public as the turtles come here to nest. Unfortunately for us it isn’t turtle season, but we walked along the front any way, being harassed by a determined magpie.

From the beach, we made our way to Bunnings to change a gas bottle and then we returned to Kalki Moon Distillery to buy a bottle of their choc hazelnut liqueur. Channel 7 was in to do a report on them winning medal at a recent London event and Paul was interviewed as part of the package. We will post a link if it comes up online.

We then returned to the Sugarland shop to do a quick browse before driving into the city, parking and stopping by Bargara Brewing. Paul was promised some oak chips, but the brewer had forgotten and promised to have them for tomorrow. Pau thought it was a good excuse to stop for a beer anyway.

We took the opportunity to walk along the Burnett River, a juvenile humpback was spotted yesterday but I didn’t see one today. We made our way along the footpath, before returning to town and having a pub lunch.

At 1.45pm we drove to the Bundaberg Rum facility so that we could take part in their tour. The cost was a bit steep at $30 a head, but we were there and being such an icon of the region, you couldn’t really not take part.

We checked out the museum that had many interesting bits on display, a timeline of the company’s history and a brief run down on rum creation. It also had the famous Bundy Rum Bear locked in a glass cage for us to admire.

The tour went from 2 until 3pm. We weren’t allowed to take anything with batteries, so cameras, phones, watches and keys were all stowed in lockers before we set foot behind the scenes. We were taken into the workings of the factory, smelling molasses and getting a taste, checking out the fermenters and the distillery. We ended the main tour in the barrel room, where we were given a run down of the products they make and the types of barrels they age their rum in.

Following the tour we were given a choice of one liqueur and one rum drink each. I wasn’t particularly interested in the rum, but did enjoy the coffee chocolate and the banana toffee liqueurs. Paul had the single batch and solera rum.

When we had finished our drinks, we made our way to the car and then drove to the Hummock Lookout. The view from the top of this hill is quite good, you are able to see Bargara and the South Pacific Ocean as well as the city of Bundaberg. It also gave a great view of the nearby fields, some that had been recently ploughed and others in varying shades of patchwork green.

We made our way back to the park for 4pm. People were gathered at the waterfront and I jumped out of the car when I spotted whales in the distance. They were too far for any effective photos, but I enjoyed watching the spray of water and the flick of a tail as they continued on their way.

Paul began loading up the car, while I sat at the little table to load photos and keep an eye out for more whales. I then came in and began getting dinner organised. We ate and then we were off for our evening stroll. We commented on the number of people in this general area of Bundaberg who just seem a little strange and pondered whether it was the effects of too much rum.

On our return, Paul loaded up the hood of my jacket with free passionfruit and I walked back to the van feeling like an African woman loaded with food that is precariously balanced on the head. 

I dumped the passionfruit in the van, grabbed the computer and made my way to the camp kitchen, where I could pick up the Internet and load on the photos for the last few days. I had a text conversation with Marcello about the tornado through Balga and his impending trip to OZ.

Once I had completed my work, I returned to the van, glad to be out of the cool wind. Paul was already in bed. I finished off what I had to do and then joined him, eager to get stuck into my next novel.