Wednesday 24th February 2021
We had a bad night. Madeline woke up with a significant night terror at 1145am. She was screaming and thrashing so much she kicked her toe. She settled to sleep within an hour, but it’s left us all pretty shaken.
Australian Sugar Cane Railway
Today we went to the Australian Sugar Cane Railway in Bundaberg Botanical Gardens.
It is run as a not for profit society that restores and maintains locomotives that were used in the Bundaberg Sugar Cane industry.
Most of them are coal powered trains, but diesel trains were also used.
The train drove us around the 2km track past lakes, under canopies, over bridges and even through the locomotive shed.
It was an awesome experience.
Bundaberg Botanic Gardens
It is free to enter and The Botanic Gardens cover over 27 hectares of land and feature a variety of over 10,000 trees and shrubs.
At the time of the original survey in 1881, 29 acres (11.6 hectares) was set aside for School Reserve and Botanic Gardens. The land was leased out and some areas were planted with sugar cane. Other areas now gazetted “Botanic Gardens” were water reserves and grazing leases.
A lagoon, that is now part of the botanic garden landscape, was a water supply for the Railways Department steam trains until the advent of diesel locomotives. The lagoons were also used by early settlers as a fresh water supply and a resting and watering place for cattle using the stock route.
On the 9th June, 1894 the land was proclaimed and gazetted Botanical Gardens
The afternoon
We left the gardens and spent sometime cleaning the car. We removed sand from Fraser Island and bat poop from Harvey Bay.
Back at the caravan we had lunch and rested. We then went to chuck a line in at the Burnett River.
Jason and Madeline both caught a catfish each.
Tomorrow
We are planning a relaxing morning and possibly some beach swimming in the afternoon.
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