Bundaberg

Bundaberg, colloquially known as Bundy, is a city of 71,000 people (2018) in Queensland, south of Rockhampton and north of Hervey Bay.

Understand


Bundaberg is closely linked to the sugar cane industry. The area is surrounded by cane fields, and the small railway lines that carry the harvested cane to the mills. The closeness to the sugar cane mills is the reason for the siting of the rum, ginger beer, and sugar industries associated with Bundaberg.

The town is 10 km from the ocean beaches, such as Bargara and Mon Repos. It is built on both sides of the Burnett River, which is crossed by two road bridges and a railway bridge. Bourbong street is the oddly named main street (originally named Bourbon Street, but historically misspelled). Parts are also known as the Isis Highway.

The town of Bargara is essentially the beachside suburb of Bundaberg. It has many modern apartments, accommodation, and resorts with ocean views. Though close to Bundaberg, it has a very different feel to the town centre. It has a small shopping and restaurant strip, and an esplanade with barbecues and picnic tables.

By car
Bundaberg is approximately 4½ hours drive by car north of Brisbane.

By bus
Buses do the journey from Brisbane in around 6 hours.

By train
Queensland Rail Travel services Bundaberg with the tilt train (4½ hours from Brisbane). The Spirit of the Outback services (6½ hours from Brisbane) also passes through the town. Adult fare $62.70 one way.

By plane
Bundaberg Airport (BDB) has four flights a day by QantasLink from Brisbane (check for specials). The airport is around 4 km west of the city centre. Car hire is available in the terminal, Avis, Budget, Hertz and Thrifty. Europcar is not in the terminal, but is at the far end of the car park. There is a cafe and an ATM in the terminal building.

Get around
Duffy's buses run mainly school buses, but there are some public routes. In particular buses run between Bargara and the Bundaberg town centre every hour or so on weekdays and every couple of hours on a Saturday.

You really need a car to get anywhere outside the city centre. A number of Backpacker hostels run shuttle minibuses for seasonal workers to local farms early in the morning and back again in the afternoon.

See

 * Turtles Return each year around December to Mon Repos to lay their eggs at night. In around February, and in December you can see the little hatchlings struggle their way into the ocean against the waves. The beach is part of a National Park, and you must be accompanied by a ranger to see the turtles. Laying and hatching is at night.
 * Turtles Return each year around December to Mon Repos to lay their eggs at night. In around February, and in December you can see the little hatchlings struggle their way into the ocean against the waves. The beach is part of a National Park, and you must be accompanied by a ranger to see the turtles. Laying and hatching is at night.
 * Turtles Return each year around December to Mon Repos to lay their eggs at night. In around February, and in December you can see the little hatchlings struggle their way into the ocean against the waves. The beach is part of a National Park, and you must be accompanied by a ranger to see the turtles. Laying and hatching is at night.
 * Turtles Return each year around December to Mon Repos to lay their eggs at night. In around February, and in December you can see the little hatchlings struggle their way into the ocean against the waves. The beach is part of a National Park, and you must be accompanied by a ranger to see the turtles. Laying and hatching is at night.
 * Turtles Return each year around December to Mon Repos to lay their eggs at night. In around February, and in December you can see the little hatchlings struggle their way into the ocean against the waves. The beach is part of a National Park, and you must be accompanied by a ranger to see the turtles. Laying and hatching is at night.
 * Turtles Return each year around December to Mon Repos to lay their eggs at night. In around February, and in December you can see the little hatchlings struggle their way into the ocean against the waves. The beach is part of a National Park, and you must be accompanied by a ranger to see the turtles. Laying and hatching is at night.


 * Tropical Fish at the Basin, Bargara. Tropical fish can be seen at the Basin, and the southern end of The Esplanade. It is possible to take bread and feed them. There is no admission charge, bring your own snorkel and mask.

Do

 * Walk along Bourbong Street and look at some of the city's old buildings.
 * Swim at Bargara beach
 * See the view from The Hummock, take the Bargara road, and follow the signs. A 100-meter-tall hill on the outskirts of Bundaberg for a good view of the city and out to the ocean. On a clear day, you can see the tip of K'gari.

Work
Seasonal work can be obtained picking tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. Check with the backpacker hostels for more info. To work legally, you require a valid work visa (not a tourist visa) and you should provide the employer with a tax file number if you do not want them to deduct 48% tax from your wages (normal non-residential tax rate 29%). It may be possible to work without a valid visa (cash-in-hand), though occasionally inspectors do checks on farms and at hostels, which could result in severe consequences.

Buy
Bourbong Street, the main drag through town, is partly a shared pedestrian zone with a variety of shops, banks, travel agents and the main post office. There are two other major shopping centres: Hinkler Central, a few blocks to the south on the corner of Maryborough and Electra Sts, and the larger Stockland in the west (Cnr Takalvan and Heidke Sts), both of which contain most of the major Australian chains between them.

Sleep
There is a variety of accommodation styles available in Bundaberg. West of the Bundaberg Railway Station there are a number of well equipped motels. In amongst these motels is a variety of food outlets ranging from cafe style food, take away, and restaurants. There are around several backpackers hostels to choose from. One is opposite the bus depot. Two others are opposite the train station. Most of these can arrange farm work and will even provide transport to the farms in the morning and back in the afternoon. For those who wish to camp, caravan and camping parks are located throughout the city.

Bargara beach offers a choice of newer apartment style accommodation closer to the beach.

In town




Go next

 * Childers – many historic colonial buildings, on the way to Maryborough and Hervey Bay (both an hour's drive south)
 * Gin Gin – inland from Bundy, has the longest unsupported tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere
 * Lady Elliot Island – barrier reef island, direct flights from Bundaberg airport
 * Lady Musgrave Island – visit the barrier reef island and enjoy scuba diving in the atoll
 * Town of 1770 and Agnes Waters – the historic birth place of Queensland, about 2 hour's drive north, named after the year that Captain Cook first landed in Queensland