I thought Bundaberg would be just another town we just happened to pass through where there are loads of small, quiet independent shops to serve the local community. But I was wrong.

Bundaberg is famous for many things and surprisingly kept us busy during our time there. The main reason for our stop in Bundaberg was to gain our PADI scuba diving licence. Not only is it one of the cheapest places you can do this in Australia, but it is also the start of the Great Barrier Reef. We spent 4 days to complete the course which involved one day in the classroom and another day at the local swimming pool to practice what we have learnt in controlled conditions. On the last two days, we went diving in the ocean and got our first glimpse of the Great Barrier Reef.

I loved the practical side of things of the course, but the classroom and reading we had to do was tedious and took a long time to complete. We had an exam at the end of the course which is the first exam I have had for about 2 years. Not staying in a hostel and in our van made things a bit harder as by the time we found a place to settle and had dinner it was already late. Then we had things to read and exercises to complete. Space and light was not good in Sandy the van. Despite the pain suffered it was worth it in the end as we all passed with flying colours.

Apart from scuba diving, we visited Mon Repos which is famous for its turtle watching. Fortunately, we were in Bundaberg at the correct season for when the turtles lay their clutches of eggs on the beach and for when the eggs hatch. We arrived about 7pm at Mon Repos turtle centre and it wasn’t long after until it a loggerhead turtle is spotted on the beach for us to go and see. By the time we got to it, she was already burying the eggs and running off back to the sea. But a second one turned up while the other one was leaving and we got to see her dig a deep chamber and lay her eggs into it. It was an amazing sight and I was surprised to see how close we could get. The rangers were even took two of the freshly laid eggs for people to touch and hold. We watch the second turtle bury the eggs and then watch her crawl back to the sea. A final count of the egg was taken and that was at 129.

The eggs of the last turtle were in a bad position which means that they were in danger of being damaged or destroyed. The rangers decided to move them to a better location. So the rangers along with some of the audience helped to move the 129 eggs to a safer location. It ended up to be a good night of turtle watching, depsite ending at around midnight.

On other days in Bundaberg we visited the well known Bundaberg rum distillery which was interesting, but the best part was the 2 free mixer drinks we got at their bar.

We also managed to visit the Bundaberg Barrel which is famous for its ginger beer. Obviously, we got our free taster of it at the end of the tour.

We had a great time in Bundaberg but it’s not a place I would stay in for much longer when seen all the major attractions as the town itself is rather quiet during the day and night. We wave goodbye to Bundaberg and head to Airlie Beach for our sailing adventure around the Whitsundays.