bundaberg beer tour

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Tasting + Self-Guided Gallery Tour

The barrel tastings & self-guided gallery tour.

• Enjoy a guided Tasting of our full range of Brews
• Mix your own 6 pack
• Includes a Self-guided Gallery tour
• Adults - $20 each (incl. a Mixed 6 Pack), Under 18's - $7 each (excludes Mixed 6 Pack)

Visit the Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Barrel for a one-of-a-kind experience.

Sample every one of our brews through our fun and informative guided Tastings then select 6 of your favourites for a mix-it-yourself take home pack.

Take a self-guided walk through our Gallery to learn about how we craft and bottle our brews including our iconic Bundaberg Ginger Beer.  You’ll play ‘guess the flavour’ with our smellography wall, learn more about the real ingredients used in our brews, unlock the secret to our great taste and see the brewery in action via our 360 degree cameras.

Browse our great range of merchandise to take home as a memento of your visit or the perfect gift.  Our full range of Brews are also available for purchase.

Please allow 45 minutes - 1 hour for the full experience. You must arrive 10 minutes prior to your booking time, arriving after the booking has started will require rescheduling.

All bookings for Under 18's require the presence of an adult.

Tasting sessions are limited to 14 people max. If you require a larger group booking, please call our team on 07 4154 5480 to arrange a custom session.

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🍻GUIDE to Bundaberg Barrel Ginger Beer Tour (Brewed Drinks Factory), QLD

Bundaberg is not only the home of Bundy Rum, but also the iconic Bundaberg Barrel Brewed Drinks. Most Australians are aware of the famous Bundaberg Ginger Beer, but did you know that there are another 17 soft drink flavours?

You can’t pass through Bundaberg without doing at least one brewery tour! For spirit drinkers and over 18s, the Bundaberg Rum Distillery Tour is popular. However, for those who are looking for a more affordable factory tour, which even the kids can go on, the Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Tour is perfect.

Inside the Bundaberg Barrel you’ll find a colourful and interactive self-guided gallery tour, which includes taste testing and a FREE 6-pack at the end (for each adult paying ticket).

Here’s the full guide to the Bundaberg Ginger Beer & Brewed Drinks Tour.

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Bundaberg Ginger Beer Factory History

The Company was Born

The original Bundaberg Barrel Soft Drinks company was established.

Electra Breweries was Purchased

Neville and Gladys Flemming bought Electra Breweries (a bottling and fermenting business) with their son Cliff and daughter-in-law Lee.

Moved to Current Location

From 1968 to 1973 they operated from the Electra Street premises, before moving to its current location at 147 Bargara Road.

Hit the Supermarket Shelves

It was in the 1980s that production really kicked off as the company secured a slot throughout Australian and New Zealand supermarkets.

Original Owners Retired

Neville and Gladys retired in 1985, handing the business down to Cliff and Lee.

“Bundaberg Brewed Drinks”

It wasn’t until 1995 that the Bundaberg Brewed Drinks name, which we’ve all gown up to know and love, was developed.

First TV Ad

The year of their first television advertising campaign.

First Ginger Crops

Started growing their own ginger crops to ensure high quality and steady supply.

The Barrel was Built

The Bundaberg Barrel was built next to the ginger beer factory to attract tourists.

Claiming the International Market

Now exporting to over 30 countries worldwide.

Record Sales!

Highest recorded sales to date.

Hitting Costco Shelves

Now selling in Costco stores in the US.

Iconic Stubbies

All flavours now available in the iconic Bundaberg Brewed Drinks stubbie bottles.

Bundaberg Barrel Brewed Drinks Tour

Visitors can enjoy a fully interactive self-guided tour through the barrel. Enjoy taste testing at the end with a free 6-pack to take home.

Book Your Tour

The first step is to book your Bundaberg Barrel Brewed Drinks Tour.

As it’s a self-guided tour with only a small amount of space in the gallery, bookings are required to ensure that visitors are spread out with allocated time slots.

Here’s where you can book your Bundaberg soft drink tour .

What’s Included in the Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Tour?

The Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Tour offers a very interactive, fun and colourful experience for all ages.

Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Tour INCLUSIONS:

Self-guided Gallery Tour

• Smellography Wall – play ‘Guess the flavour’
• Touch screens with a live feed of the warehouse next door – shows different parts of the bottling & packing process
• Lots of information behind the flavours, history & creation process
• Conveyor belt transporting bottles
• Machine demonstration
• Viewfinder window into a vat to watch the brew passing through
• Taste Testing Bar with 18 flavours
• 6-pack of Bundaberg soft drinks of your choice to take home
• Huge selection of drinks available for purchase

Be sure to arrive 10 minutes before your Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Tour and check in with the staff.

You will be shown to the entry door of the Self-guided Gallery Tour. From there, you can spend the next half an hour or so wandering through at your own leisure.

See if you can guess the different Bundaberg soft drink flavours at the smellography wall.

Use the touchscreens to swap between 8 different cameras throughout the soft drink factory next door, giving a 360º view of the packing and distribution process.

Watch the production line of bottles as they pass you by along the conveyor belt, ready for boxing and delivery.

Learn about the step-by-step process, from grinding the ginger to brewing the soft drinks. Have a look at the vats and machines used along the way to create the various flavours.

Taste Testing Bar

Once you’ve wandered through and finished the Self-guided Gallery Tour, you will exit through a door which will land you at the Taste Testing Bar.

You’ll find a friendly staff member behind the bar with the entire range of Bundaberg Brewed Drinks flavours lined up and ready to go.

Everyone will get the chance to sample all 18 Bundaberg Brewed Drinks flavours!

Once all visitors have gathered around the Taste Testing Bar, the staff member will take everyone through each soft drink flavour, one by one. Along the way, guests are encouraged to try a sample of each flavour to see if you like it or not.

At the end of the taste testing, an empty 6-pack box is handed out to each adult who paid for the tour. You will be shown to the fridge filled with Bundaberg Brewed Drinks where you can mix your own complementary 6-pack of flavours to take home with you.

You can also purchase as many soft drinks as you like from the store, as well as pick up some merchandise (key rings, bar runners, stubby coolers etc.)

Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Tour Prices

Getting to the Bundaberg Barrel

From the Bruce Highway:

• Take the Bundaberg Gin Gin Road exit & follow for 49.5 km
• At the roundabout turn left onto Bourbong Street and follow for 1 km
• Turn left onto Princess Street (which becomes Bargara Road)
• Drive for 1.6 km and look for the Big Barrel on the left

Parking at Bundaberg Barrel

There is some parking on-site for visitors to the Bundaberg Barrel.

For those who are towing a trailer or caravan, there is one long spot to cater for that. However, all other parking is along the street.

More Things to do in Bundaberg

Big bundaberg rum bottle.

While you’re visiting Bundaberg, you must head over to the famous Bundaberg Rum Distillery and get the obligatory photo of/ with the BIG Bundy Rum Bottle.

As a tribe, we love to see how many Aussie BIG Things we can tick off as we travel the country. It’s lots of fun and feels like the biggest treasure hunt we’ve ever been on!

HINT: There are 3 Big Things in the Bundaberg area to tick off the list! Download yours below.

QLD Big Things Checklist

With over 150 Big Things to find around Queensland!

• 17-page checklist
• Pre-filled with 150+ items
• Categorised into 6 regions
• QLD Regional Map
• Full street addresses
• Record finds & dates
• DIGITAL & PRINTABLE

Bundaberg Rum Distillery

The Bundaberg Rum Distillery is Australia’s most awarded distillery and is world famous for its flavour and polar bear logo. The brand has been around for 135 years and is completely home grown using local ingredients.

It all started in 1888 when seven Bundaberg locals came up with a brilliant way of using a by-product of the sugar cane industry and opened a rum distillery.

Visit the distillery and take a tour to discover the entire history and how this world-famous rum is made.

Go here to book Bundaberg Rum Distillery tours .

Mon Repos Turtle Encounter

Mon Repos is home to the largest concentration of nesting turtles on the Australian East Coast. Here you will find the only Ranger-guided tour of its kind on this side of the country.

Watch as majestic sea turtles make their journey to the shore to lay their eggs. Then see their young, hatching weeks later and making the dangerous journey down the beach and into the ocean.

Go here to book a Mon Repos Turtle Encounter .

Lady Musgrave Experience

Take a full-day cruise from Bundaberg to Lady Musgrave Island and explore the Great Barrier Reef. Enjoy snorkelling, a glass-bottom boat tour, fish feeding and a guided walking tour of the island.

Go here to book Lady Musgrave Day Cruises .

Free Camping in Bundaberg

While in Bundaberg we stayed at Hinkler Lions Park in Branyan, which offers Free Camping for 24 hours.

The rest area is in a great location, just 11 km from the Bundaberg Barrel and close to shops, which is handy for restocking your supplies.

Hinkler Lions Park Features:

💲 Cost – FREE ⏰ 24 hour stay limit 🐶 Pet friendly 🚽 Flushing toilets 💧 Drinking water ⬇️ Dump point 🍞 Covered picnic shelters ⚽️ Playground 📶 Telstra reception 🚗 2WD access ⛺️ Campers, Caravans, Motorhomes, Big Rigs ❌ NO: tents or generators allowed

Click below to see the full review with photos and a video walk-around tour.

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Visit Bundaberg Brewed Drinks

Bundaberg brewed drinks.

Age Suitability: Family friendly

Visit the Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Barrel for a one-of-a-kind experience.

Sample each one of the brews through the fun and informative guided Tastings then select 6 of your favourites for a mix-it-yourself take home pack.

Take a self-guided walk through the Gallery to learn about how they craft and bottle their brews including the iconic Bundaberg Ginger Beer. You’ll play ‘guess the flavour’ with the smellography wall, learn more about the real ingredients used in their brews, unlock the secret to the great taste and see the brewery in action via the 360 degree cameras.

Browse the great range of merchandise to take home as a memento of your visit or the perfect gift. The full range of Brews are also available for purchase.

CLOSED: Good Friday, ANZAC Day, Christmas Day & Boxing Day

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Tasting + self-guided gallery tours run daily. For more information and bookings click here .

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The Bundaberg Barrel

Things to do bundaberg east , bundaberg , queensland.

Enjoy a sensory journey on a self-guided experience through the iconic Bundaberg Barrel, learning the history of this family-owned business and sharing the stories and the craft of brewing drinks and the locally sourced produce.

Daily tours run half hourly and on arrival guests can take a self-guided tour through the gallery to learn about the rich history and processes of Ginger Beer production.

The gallery offers interactive displays including a smellography station where you will have fun guessing the secret ingredients of what makes their brews so famous. Take a trip down nostalgia lane, looking through their past Brews and archive imagery. Even take a peek inside the Brewery via the 360-degree cameras!

After the self-guided exploration, it’s time to head to the tasting bar with an expert Brew connoisseur, sampling the famous Bundaberg Ginger Beer and 12 other delicious flavours, before choosing 6 of your favourites to take home.

To end your visit, browse the merchandise store where you can pick up a few pieces of memorabilia. And for those completely Bundaberg lovers, the full range of Brews is available for purchase too. You even have the option to personalise your very own Ginger Beer bottles! That is right, your face on their Brews.

The Bundaberg Barrel can’t wait to show you how they brew the magic, right here in Bundaberg.

Disabled Assistance

Accreditation

A guided tasting of our full range of brews.

­ – A self-guided wander through our Gallery which showcases the Bundaberg Brewed Drinks brand, our history and how we craft our brews.

­ – a Mix-It-Yourself 6 Pack to take home and enjoy (for paying adults 18+)

Nearby Things to Do

Bundaberg Multiplex Sport and Convention Centre

Mon Repos Beach

Mon Repos, Bundaberg

Kalki Moon Distillery Tour

Svensson Heights, Bundaberg

Nudibranch Park

Bargara, Bundaberg

Bundaberg School of Arts

Monsoon Aquatics Coral Farm Tours

Burnett Heads, Bundaberg

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Bundaberg Brewed Drinks - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

The Bundaberg Rum Distillery tour

A Bundaberg Rum tour takes behind the scenes of this Aussie icon (with a tasting, of course!)

Written by Michael Turtle

Michael Turtle is the founder of Travel Australia Today. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and loves exploring different parts of Australia.

Michael Turtle is the founder of Travel Australia Today and has been a journalist for 20 years.

Taking a tour of the Bundaberg Rum Distillery

Before you visit this Queensland icon, there are a few useful things to know:

What is the Bundaberg Rum Distillery?

What do you see on a bundaberg rum tour, what else can you do at the bundaberg rum distillery, is bundaberg rum the same as bundaberg ginger beer.

Russia has its vodka, Japan has its sake, and Australia has its rum. Not just any old rum, though. One brand in particular captures the spirit of Australia: Bundaberg Rum.

Growing up in Australia, I never drank a lot of it personally, but it was everywhere you went. “A bundy and coke,” would be the order over the bar and everyone would know exactly what that meant.

Bundaberg Rum is by far Australia’s highest-selling spirit – yet it is barely known outside the country. Only about three per cent of the rum produced is exported internationally and most of that is to New Zealand.

For Australians, though, it is almost a divine elixir, an important part of the national culture even for those who never drink it. It’s why visiting the distillery where it is made is a form of pilgrimage.

And the site is right in the middle of – you guessed it – Bundaberg, here on the Queensland coast. For visitors, it’s one of the best things to do in Bundaberg , and I think it has just as much to offer international travellers as domestic visitors.

Are there tours of the Bundaberg Rum Distillery?

Yes, there are regular Bundaberg Rum tours that will take you behind the scenes of the distillery. I recommend booking in advance to guarantee a spot.

Before I get into some of the details of what you’ll see at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery, let’s have a look at its story.

This part of Queensland, about five hours’ drive north of Brisbane, is an important agricultural region, and one of the main products here is sugarcane.

The leftover product from the sugar extraction is called molasses and it used to literally flow through the streets when production was at its peak. The people of Bundaberg needed to work out what to do with it all and, being Australians, they decided to make booze.

The Bundaberg Rum Distillery was founded in 1888, although back then it only had five people working on it.

The first batch of the dark liquor was ready to drink a year later, in 1889, and it proved to be quite popular straight away. Within a couple more years, it was being sent for sale in Sydney, Melbourne, and even Perth.

Although the distillery has faced everything from fires and floods over the years, requiring it to be rebuilt, it has perserved to become one of the most famous Aussie drinks, with a whole range of products now, including aged spiced rum and a banana and toffee liqueur.

Obviously things have modernised since 1888, but there’s still a lot about the process that has stayed the same. On a behind-the-scenes Bun

The first rum was produced in Bundaberg in 1888 and although the process has been modernised over the years, it’s remarkably similar today to how it all started out. On a behind-the-scenes tour of the Bundaberg Rum Distillery, it’s interesting to see how basic the whole operation is for such a big brand.

The pit of molasses is huge — almost the size of an Olympic swimming pool… although you wouldn’t want to go swimming in it. The tour guide warns me that it’s so thick you would basically sink and have trouble moving. Like a huge pit of quicksand.

It’s just one of the stops on the Bundaberg Rum tour, that takes us from the historic reception building, back into the large warehouse and factory structures behind.

Each step of the process to make the rum can be seen in the different areas. Although extracting the alcohol from the molasses can be quite technical (hence the required expertise), it’s done in just a few large containers.

There’s the fermentation to start and then a few procedures to get it to the right level. Pipes connect the various tanks where the distilling occurs.

The tour is not just about seeing – it’s also about learning, of course, and there are good explanations about what you’re seeing (which is important, considering a lot of it just looks like tanks and pipes). If you’re interested in this side of things, you’ll get a lot out of the tour.

And there’s also the factory where a small and carefully automated production line cleans bottles, fills and closes them, labels are applied and the bottles are packed into boxes.

A few workers oversee this step but, in theory, the robots and machines do the whole job. It’s strange to see the whole length of the production line take up just the space of a tennis court. Considering so much Bundaberg Rum is drunk every day, you would expect much more.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take any photos inside the distillery. Because the alcohol is so flammable, anything that could cause a spark (including electronics like phones and cameras) has to be left outside in a locker.

However, it’s a thorough tour, run every hour each day, with lots to discover. The guides are energetic and well-informed and happy to answer any questions.

At the end, there’s an opportunity to taste some of the top shelf rums, to get a hands-on (mouths-on?) chance to see how it comes together. You really do come away from the visit with a much better understanding of the textures of the drink.

For many people visiting the Bundaberg Rum Distillery, the tour of the factory area will be the highlight – but there are actually a few other things to do here.

Museum exhibition

The other main section for visitors is the museum experience, which runs you through the history of the drink and some of the interesting moments in its story.

Located in an old bondstore, the museum is self-guided and has exhibits you can touch, smell, and taste. There are some cool examples of advertising and packaging over the years.

If you’re taking the distillery tour, then the museum is included in your ticket price. Or you can pay just to see the museum if you don’t want to do the tour (or you haven’t booked in advance and it’s full).

Blend your own rum

The other cool opportunity is the ‘blend your own rum experience’, which lets you make some rum by yourself, mixing together some of the different types that are being aged here.

You’ll spend an hour with a guide tasting rum straight from the barrel, choosing your favourites, and then blending them into your own personal style. You’ll even go home with two large bottles of it.

The blending experience is quite expensive ($250 per person, adults only) but it’s quite good value seeing as you’ll also have plenty to drink.

For more information, have a look at the official website of Bundaberg Rum .

Where is the Bundaberg Rum Distillery?

The distillery is in the east of the city, about three kilometres from central Bundaberg. The address is Hills Street, Bundaberg QLD 4670.

You can see it on a map here .

How do you get to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery?

The distillery is a short drive from most parts of Bundaberg and there is parking on site. If you’re takin public transport, catch the number 4 bus to Princess Street and it’s a 10-minute walk from there.

The bus timetable and route is here .

When is the Bundaberg Rum Distillery open?

The museum experience at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery is open at the following times:

Monday to Friday: 09:30 – 15:30

Weekends/public holidays: 09:30 – 14:30

The distillery tours run on the hour every hour at these times:

Monday to Friday: 10:00 – 15:00

Weekends/public holidays: 10:00 – 14:00

How much does it cost to visit the Bundaberg Rum Distillery?

The combined ticket for the distillery tour and museum experience costs $30 for an adult, $25 for a senior, $15 for a child, and $75 for a family (two adults and up to three children).

The ticket for just the museum experience costs $20 for an adult, $15 for a senior, $10 for a child, and $50 for a family.

IMPORTANT: Although you should be able to join a tour if there’s space on one when you arrive, I would definitely recommend booking in advance to make sure you’ve got a spot guaranteed. You can book a Bundaberg Rum tour here .

Something that can be very confusing for visitors to Bundaberg is that there are two drinks companies with very similar names.

There’s obviously Bundaberg Rum, which we’ve just been talking about. But there’s also Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, which makes the famous Bundaberg Ginger Beer (along with a whole range of other soft drinks).

The two companies are completely different, but they both offer experiences for people visiting Bundaberg.

Bundaberg Brewed Drinks was founded in the 1960s as a family company but expanded in the 1980s and its products can now be found around the world. Made from real fruit, the drinks are really popular and worth trying!

To learn more about it, you can visit The Barrel , where there are guided tastings, a self-guided tour of the gallery, and plenty of opportunities to buy some drinks (you can even put your face on the labels!).

Just like the distillery, I would recommend booking in advance, and you can do that here .

THE BEST ACCOMMODATION IN BUNDABERG

You won’t really find any fancy hotels here, but there’s a solid selection of motels and other friendly accommodation options.

The new capsule-style beds at the Bunk Inn Hostel mean lots more privacy at a fantastic price.

There are lots of motels in Bundaberg, but Golden Palms Motor Inn is clean, comfortable, and has the best value, I reckon.

BED & BREAKFAST

For a more personal experience, the Bluegrass BnB has a warm welcome and fantastic breakfast (but it’s slightly out of town).

SELF-CONTAINED

If you’re travelling as a family or a group, the 2 and 3 bedroom options at Alexandra Apartments give you plenty of space.

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15 Fun Things To Do In Bundaberg (It’s Not All Rum & Ginger Beer)

by Jub | Apr 25, 2018

I spent 57 days in Bundaberg working on various farms (read: digging potatoes). When I wasn’t working I was looking to do experience all of the things to do in Bundaberg (for free prefrebly).

Everyone knows about the ginger beer and rum roots in Bundaberg, but there are some cool parks and while many of attractions aren’t jaw breaking, you can easily spend two to three days sightseeing in Bundaberg.

And of course, the day trips from Bundaberg are world class making the town a great place to base yourself.

15 Interesting Things To Do In Bundaberg

1. have fun at the bundaberg ginger beer factory tour.

Bundaberg Ginger Beer is sold to 40 odd countries around the world making the bottle familiar to millions. While you can’t go into the factory itself (safety regulations), there’s a site next door housed in a large barrel shaped building.

There’s plenty of merchandise for sale (and cheap bottles of Bundaberg), but I was there to check out the tour.

The tour is fun! It’s interactive and comes with a audio tour which is great for those who prefer not to read. You’ll learn how they make ginger beer and then you can test your skills on an interactive screen. There’s an aroma section to test how clever your nose is and a cool 15 minute holographic screening.

Once the screening is over, one of the lovely staff (the two I interacted with, Reegan and Katerina, were awesome fun) will provide a sample of the dozen or so different flavours of Bundaberg drinks you can try.

More info on prices on the Bundaberg Ginger Beer website .

2. Take A Quick Stroll At Sharon Gorge Nature Reserve

The Sharon Gorge is better known as a spot for freedom campers looking for (free) cheap accommodation in Bundaberg. It does sport a hidden jungle walk though. Stretching 1km through the bush and finishing up on the edge of the Burnett River. The walk is easy and while it isn’t a must do Bundaberg attraction, pop into the gorge if you decide to see the Mystery Craters.

3. Enjoy A Slice Of Kakadu At Baldwin Swamp Environment Park

Bundaberg’s ‘slice of Kakadu’ is a relaxing area with a few boardwalks and paths navigating you through the wetlands. Given its proximity to town, it’s great to go and simply hangout for a couple hours. Ideally with a picnic.

4. Visit The Beaches Near Bundaberg

Kelly’s Beach, Bargara

Bundaberg is roughly 10km inland from the ocean. While you can’t walk from your Bundaberg accommodation to the beach (easily), you have plenty of beaches to choose from less than a 20 minute drive away. Starting from the north is Mon Repos a popular spot in turtle season. Heading south you’ll pass through the Bargara beaches and finishing up to the south is Elliot Heads.

I jumped on the bus to Bargara and checked out Kelly’s beach, Bargara beach and Neilson’s beach, all awesome for their own reasons.

For more information about the beaches near Bundaberg check out this page .

5. Take A Walk Along The Burnett River

A peaceful evening on the Burnett river

Bundaberg is divided by the Burnett River, with North Bundarberg separated from south, east, west and central Bundaberg. River access for fishing is possible on both sides (don’t swim in the river).

I liked the walkway along the southern side of the river. You can go for a good kilometer or so, with benches scattered along the path. Beautiful at sunset.

6. Visit The Art Gallery

The Art Gallery was the first on the list of things to do in Bundaberg I checked off. It’s free to enter and the exhibitions I saw were interesting. When I visited Amsterdam, I didn’t check out Anne Frank’s house (long queues) so was stoked when a Anne Frank exhibition was opening up at the Gallery.

There are three exhibition rooms, it’s definitely one of the best free things to do in Bundaberg.

Jub’s Pro Tip: check out their Facebook page . If they have a new exhibition opening up they probably have an opening party where you can pop along, check out the exhibition, drink some wine, meet some locals and overall have a great evening out.

7. Wander The Botanical Gardens

Awesome nature going on at Bundaberg Botanical Gardens

The Bundaberg Botanical Gardens are epic! They’re one of the underrated places to visit in Bundaberg (maybe I’m over optimistic but I loved coming here). Whether you’re a garden person or not they’re worth checking out. There’s a Japanese Garden and Chinese Garden which are okay, but I had the most fun walking around the lake.

There are plenty of birds to keep you entertained (read: PELICANS!) and keep an eye out for surface movement on the lake, you might just spot yourself a turtle.

With the art gallery, Baldwin Swamp, beaches and the botanical gardens the list of free things to do in Bundaberg will keep you busy for a couple days at least. No one should be asking themselves what to do in Bundaberg regardless of your budget.

There are a couple other Bundaberg attractions you can checkout while at the Botanical Gardens too:

• The Sugarmead Fairy House: Tours leave most days from the house at 11am, $6.
• The Hinkler Aviation Museum

I got lazy and didn’t visit the both the fairy house or aviation museum!

8. Seek The Highest Point In Bundaberg: The Hummock

Views from The Hummock

If I was a Pokemon, you’d definitely capture me near the mountains, not water. Unfortunately the Bundaberg region is flat with the Hummock claiming the title of highest elevation in Bundaberg.

It’s not easy to get public transport here, you’ll have to walk at least a few kilometres but with minimal incline anyone can reach the top and take in the 360 degree views of the area. You can spot different vegetables growing, get a glimpse of the city and you can see the ocean a few kilometres away.

Apparently it’s a very romantic spot at sunset!

9. Taste The Best Rum In The World At The Bundaberg Rum Distillery

Image courtesy of spalti via flickr

You’re likely familiar with Bundaberg Rum, with the memorable polar bear logo. I kept delaying visiting the Bundaberg Distillery but visited one of the most iconic tourist attractions in Bundaberg on my last day.

Like the Bundy Barrel you aren’t able to go into the factory yourself, but there’s a tour which you can go through on yourself or with a guide (I was too late for a guided tour).

The Ginger Beer Tour was more fun in my opinion, maybe it was the lack of an audio tour or more likely knowing you’ll have rum tastings waiting for you at the end of the tour. The tour talks mainly about the history of Bundaberg Rum. I’ll give them credit, the story behind how they kept the business running is impressive. They could have told the story better though.

With your entry fee you get two tastings which is cool. Little did I know you get to try some of the premium rum they make! The two I tried were both epic, including the World’s Best Rum 2015.

Book your tickets online here on the Bundy Rum website for a 5% discount.

10. Enjoy Sugarcane Juice Straight From The Source

Bundaberg is a sugarcane growing machine. In the months leading up to the harvest which starts in late-June, you should grab some sugarcane and drink the juice straight from the source. If you’ve not had sugarcane juice, it’s sweet as you would expect. Getting into the sugarcane isn’t easy though, so satisfactory when you do though.

11. Have Fun At River Feast

Bundaberg Riverfeast didn’t register on my radar until the last couple of weeks but I investigated and it’s obviously one of the top things to do in Bundaberg at night (there isn’t much to do!) To see a couple hundred people enjoying beers and food at the festival alongside the river surprised me. It seemed to advertise itself, little did us backpackers know about it and we were 1km down the road.

I recall seeing food from Germany, Thailand, Hungary and The Netherlands and more I’ve forgotten. There was definitely a handful of others and all reasonably priced from 5-10$. With beers around $7 each, its good value with live music throughout the evening.

Open: Fridays 4-10pm ( website )

12. Purchase Fruit And Veg Roadside

In a time warp back to what I would imagine it was like 20 years ago all over the country, Bundaberg employs the honesty box system. Given so many people are growing fruit and veg, many of them set up road side stalls where you can get a bag of fruit for a couple bucks. Great concept!

Although one farmer accused me of stealing the money from his zucchini stall (above). Even taking a photo of me before I realised why he was doing so.

13. Get Your Thinking Cap On At Mystery Craters

is it a dinosaur foot?

This is a hit or miss site depending on your mindset. The site itself isn’t spectacular but you really need to get into the story behind why the craters became a tourist site. The craters were randomly discovered in 1971 and no one has been able to explain how they turned up.

The Mystery Craters site is up for sale (June 2016), which may be why I didn’t feel that enthusiastic about it after staying there for 90 minutes. Have the current owners let it run down? Whoever takes over the site can definitely bring a magical aura to the story back to the spot and make it one of the more unusual things to see in Bundaberg.

Cost of entry: $10 adults

RELATED POST: MY MYSTERY CRATERS EXPERIENCE

14. Pop Into The Visitor Center

The Bundaberg visitor center is on the way into ‘downtown’ and has friendly staff who can help you with any questions you have in addition to helping you with any bookings required. You can also pick up some brochures. Take a scan through the booklets for any vouchers you can use during your stay.

15. The Zoo

This was one of the more bizarre places to go in Bundaberg. It’s not exactly a zoo as advertused but worth a mention. It doesn’t cost and there’s only a handful of animals, dingoes, monkeys, birds and an emu to see. Check it out while your doing the river walk.

I’m still not sure what to think of this. It’s not exactly ethical…I don’t know why it’s there!

Bonus: Mon Repos Conversation Park (And To See Sea Turtles Nesting/Hatching)

I didn’t go to do this as I wasn’t in Bundaberg in from November to March when the main event occurs. During November, december, and January, sea turtles come to the beach to nest with the hatchings happening from January to March. You aren’t allowed on the beach here for obvious times during this period, but you can book a tour to get a glimpse of nature at its finest. Tour spots are limited!

The conservation park is open year round.

Things To Do Near Bundaberg

As the Southern Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, there are some epic day trips with the days trips to Lady Elliot Island and Lady Musgrave Island day popular.

What I Didn’t Like About Bundaberg

Overall Bundaberg would be an ideal spot to spend 2-3 days. The staff members at retail outlets and tourist stops were always nice, but it was hard to know if they were genuine or not.

On the street, locals weren’t exactly welcoming. This may seem harsh, and may simply be a cultural thing, but with so many backpackers and tourists coming to town, you’d think the locals would welcome them with open arms.

I wasn’t the only one who said this, many others mentioned this that I interacted with agreed it felt like being in Eastern Europe with people very closed off. Given most backpackers don’t expect to leave Australia with extra money saved up, a little bit of effort could see the money they make in Bundaberg spent in Bundaberg rather than other places on the east coast.

How To Get Around Bundaberg

While Bundaberg is walkable and public transit is available, you’ll be much better off with a car.

Bundaberg public transport is reasonably priced and you can get most places with buses passing through each route at least once an hour. Except on Sundays! In a perfect world, there would be more buses available on Sundays and they’d go until later in the evening. You can see the timetables here .

Hitching was reasonably easy in Bundaberg to get short distances such as to the craters, Sharon Gorge and Bargara. All those who picked me up seemed really nice. Which of course contradicts what I say above. That’s the deal with those who pick up hitch hikers though, they’re on the nicer end of the scale. Simply wanting some company or happy to help strangers out.

Rental cars are another option. Depending on how many of you there are, they can be really affordable. I joined some friends for a weekend trip to Hervey Bay and we rented a cheap car from Bundaberg Car Hire . No complaints whatsoever.

Where To Go After Bundaberg?

Whale watching in Hervey Bay. Photo courtesy of centophobia via Flickr.

You have lots of options, from heading north to Rockhampton via 1770 or south towards Brisbane with Hervey Bay the gateway to Fraser Island before you hit the Sunshine Coast and eventually Noosa.

Bundaberg is a decent place to live, but is lacking that something to make it a thriving tourist destination you talk about long after you visit. There’s no shortage of things to do in Queensland, let alone Australia. If your trip is a few months long, stick it on the list. If you’re looking for a weekend get away, put Bundaberg on the list of options. Ultimately, it’s a nice spot but don’t feel bad if you have to skip past.

10 Comments

I like the idea of drinking sugarcane juice direct from the source! Sounds like a fun trip

Hey Suze, It was definitely something different. Thankfully there was no dirt taste 🙂

Cheers for reading. Jub

Hi Bundaberg is my home town and it’s been a long time since I visited. Your article brings back many memories. I think it’s a hidden gem of a city that’s missed by many tourists to the Wide Bay Area. The beaches are world class and it makes the best Rum in the world. Well I thing so anyway. 🙂

Thanks again for sharing. Alan

Not that you’re biased right 😉 Thank god the Rum is there, otherwise so many other people would miss the charm! Cheers, Jub

It must really be fun to visit this place, I will recommend this to my friends so when we visit Australia we can add this to our itinerary.

Hey Wilcox,

Sounds like a great idea to me 🙂

Cheers, jub

Wow, this is great. I definitely do these things when I visit Bundaberg. Thank you for sharing.

Hope you had a great time in Bundy if you made it.

Cheers, Jub

Nice, I’m gonna use this real version rather than other guides! Honest humble comments. Keep travelling and keep it up!

Thanks Sabine 🙂

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Heyya, Jub here.

I hope Tiki Touring Kiwi isn't making your day too miserable.

If you ever spot a man with a cat shirt and a beard, it's probably me :)

• Food & Drink

Bundaberg Distillery and Brewery Tours to Enjoy

If you are travelling up Australia’s east coast for a holiday in Queensland’s tropical north, there’s lots of great places to see on the way, but if you are interested in learning about how different alcoholic drinks are made, there’s no better place than Bundaberg to stop over for an interesting distillery or brewery tour.

Bundaberg is the home of Queensland’s most popular rum as well as several boutique distilleries producing their own rums, gins and other spirits. The small city is surrounded by sugar cane fields (molasses from the sugar mills is the main ingredient of the rum), macadamia nut plantations and fields of red volcanic soil producing a wide variety of vegetables.

You will need to take a diversion from the main Bruce Highway at Apple Tree Creek, just after Childers, about three and a half hours before you reach the Tropic of Capricorn, but it’s a good road from the main highway into the city, and you can rejoin the Bruce Highway further north at Gin Gin, so the diversion will only add about 40 minutes driving time to your trip.

Most visitors head straight for the Bundaberg Rum distillery on the other side of the city centre. It’s just off the road to Bargara and easy to spot because it’s right next to the sugar cane mill (with its two tall chimney stacks) from which it receives its supplies of molasses. It’s well signed and there’s plenty of car parking space available.

You can visit the museum and retail centre anytime between 10am and 5pm (closes at 4pm on weekends and public holidays) but to join a tour you’ll need to book online in advance. Tickets are $28.50 (with discounts for seniors, families and children) and there are tours every hour up to 3pm on weekdays and 2 pm on weekends and public holidays.

The actual tour takes about 45 minutes and you’ll be taken into the distillery to see one of the molasses wells (which for me was the most interesting part of the tour) and where the distillery processes take place. You’ll be given a small sample of the raw molasses to taste (it tastes like caramel syrup with a slight liquorice flavour in case you are wondering) but aside from that it’s mainly just looking at distillery equipment, large vats and the barrels where the rum is aged.

Two guides will provide a commentary on the tour explaining the production processes and a little of the history of the distillery. Sometimes the guides are hard to hear over the noise inside the distillery, but you can ask them questions afterwards if you miss anything.

You won’t be able to take any photographs inside the actual distillery because anything with a battery has to be left in a locker in the visitor centre (that includes phones, watches and car keys). The guides said that was because there are a lots of highly inflammable fumes within the distillery, and the battery restriction is to minimise the risk of ignition.

The guides also warn visitors not to touch the perimeter fence around the distillery as it is electrified with a very high voltage current. Why the electric fence? Well, with millions of litres of rum being aged in the vats and barrels for two years, and more in the bond stores, that’s billions of dollars of product in storage (according to the guides) so security is very tight.

At the end of the tour, you’ll be taken to a tasting area where you can sample one of the rums and a rum liqueur. As the tours accommodate up to 60 people, queuing for the tasting may take a little while, so it’s best to allow an hour and a half in total so you have time to look through the museum at the start and relax over your two drinks at the end.

For the really serious rum drinker, there is an add-on tour where you can learn how to blend rums straight from the barrel to your own taste. That tour is only conducted once on Fridays and Saturdays and is limited to eight people. Therefore advance bookings are a must (which can be made up to six months in advance). The blending tour is $237.50. The reason the price is high is because it includes two full bottles of your own blended rum as well as the rum tasting that is included on the regular tour.

Although the Bundaberg Rum distillery is by far the biggest in the city, it’s not the only one. Kalki Moon Distilling & Brewing is a family-owned distillery established by a former master distiller from Bundaberg Rum. It operates out of a warehouse in Commercial Street, not far from the airport.

Tours at Kalki Moon are conducted at 11am and 1pm each day and cost only $10. There is no need to book in advance (unless you are a large group) as the number of visitors is usually smaller than at Bundaberg Rum.

As well as rum, Kalki Moon produces about half a dozen gins and a couple of vodkas, so if you are interested to learn about how other spirits are made, you’ll benefit from visiting Kalki Moon as well. You’ll also be shown how they bottle and label their products, which are all done by hand.

Although Kalki Moon is much smaller than Bundaberg Rum, I found the visit informative because I learned a little more about rum-making and also discovered that gin is not much more than vodka with botanical flavourings (one of those flavourings has to be juniper berries in order for it to be called gin).

Another small distillery is the Waterville Distillery that operates out of a warehouse in the same road as Bundaberg Rum. They are not operating tours currently because they are planning to relocate to larger premises nearby. The owner told me that he expected the relocation to be complete by mid-2022 and tours would resume then.

In the meantime, they are selling their products from their cellar door which is trading as the Bundaberg Cooperage. They have a similar range of products to Kalki Moon but also whiskies and bourbons and many moonshines with unusual flavours such as peanut butter.

The owner of the Waterview Distillery also told me his new premises would be “bigger and better than Kalki Moon”. I recalled that the guide at Kalki Moon told me that they would be expanding soon too, so it sounds like there is going to be some feisty competition among the smaller distilleries in Bundaberg in the coming years.

A few blocks back from the road where Bundaberg Rum and Waterview Distillery are located is a place called the Ohana Cider House & Tropical Winery. I initially ended up there by mistake because Apple Maps was still showing that as the location of Waterview Distillery (they moved from there a couple of years ago) which may be of interest to those not into spirits.

I went back a couple of days later to sample their ciders. Ohana is not a distillery, but they ferment apples and tropical fruits on site to make a wide range of craft ciders under the brand name Cheeky Tiki , two fruit wines, and a tawny port. They also produce a cold drip coffee liqueur.

For $18 you can have a tasting paddle of six large sample drinks (you can share them with others if you are driving) or if you only want to taste a few sips of those that you might be interested to buy, you can have some free samples.

I tried some of the ciders and bought packs of the dry apple cider and the kiwi fruit and ginger cider (which has an apple cider base). I was also impressed with their coffee liqueur (it tasted similar to Bundaberg Rum’s Royal Liqueur but without the slight rum background flavour), so I bought a bottle of that too.

They are open from 12 noon every weekday except Monday, and 10.30am on weekends,

For beer drinkers, the Bargara Brewing Company advertises tours of its brewery located in the CBD on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1pm, followed by tastings of its range of craft beers such as its Thirsty Turtle Lager and Rusty Roo Red Ale.

Unfortunately, I can’t describe the tour because when I turned up with my pre-booked ticket on a Saturday afternoon, they had no record of my booking. I’d booked online through Eventbrite and I had been instructed to pay my $25 at the bar upon arrival. But the girl behind the bar said there was no record of my booking.

She looked for my booking in what looked like an old-fashioned office diary, so I would assume from that they enter their bookings manually. I asked if I could still join that day’s tour, but she said there was no tour scheduled for that Saturday because “the dude who does the tours is not here today”.

She suggested I rebook for a future date, but I explained I would be moving on within a few days. She said the best way to book is either to call in or phone them direct.

There is one other brewery in Bundaberg which is quite a large operation. It’s located on the road to Bargara a few kilometres past the turnoff to Bundaberg Rum, and you can’t miss it because their retail outlet is in a large barrel shaped building and the brewery is right behind it.

It’s called Bundaberg Brewed Drinks and the building is called the Bundaberg Barrel. But it’s not a beer brewery. They brew only soft drinks including a ginger beer which is sold throughout Australia and exported overseas.

Brewed soft drinks are different to most other soft drinks because they are fermented using yeast and maturated so that the flavouring comes from the natural ingredients. They are still high in sugar content, but don’t use chemicals to flavour the drinks. That arguably makes them slightly more healthy than ‘ordinary’ soft drinks.

There’s a wide range of drinks on offer at the Bundaberg Barrel and tastings can be booked to help you decide which ones to take home. There are no tours of the brewery, but there is a walk-through area with audio-visual displays that explains how the drinks are brewed.

All images: © David Astley

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Gin. Rum. Liquör. Sensational.

Gin. Rum. Vodka. Liqueur.

A family owned, premium Australian distillery comprising local ingredients and produce. This is Kalki Moon, the brand Australians think when asked, “Gin?”

The true taste of the Bundaberg region.

Bundaberg is a stunning and expansive slice of this country. There’s flowing sugarcane and red soil in one direction and the peaceful ocean shores of Bargara in the other. It’s what makes this region so appealing to tourists and such a key part of Australia’s agricultural space.

Kalki Moon comprises the best of Bundaberg and its produce. Using locally sourced ingredients, like our lemon and cinnamon myrtle, Kalki Moon creates gin and rum that reflects the quality of our agricultural landscape.

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Join in on one of Bundaberg’s Must-do Tour experiences.

Or Enjoy a tasting or two of Kalki Moon’s Small Batch Spirits.

Tours & Tastings available 7 days a week.

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A Bundaberg local investing in home.

Our Founder and Head Distiller, Rick Prosser grew up around the glorious cane fields of Bundaberg and they’re what inspired him to create Kalki Moon. He’d been perfecting his distillation technique and his knack for alcohol for over 16 years.

But in March of 2017, he decided it was time to create the Bundaberg Gin: a premium drink that would define the region. That’s when Kalki Moon was born.

Where can you find us?

You can pick up a bottle of Kalki Moon’s fine liquor at most Australian bottle shops.

Born in the cane fields of Bundaberg.

Next time you’re pining for a drop of premium gin, liquor or liqueur, think Kalki Moon. Developed by our artisan distillers here in Bundy, we create a premium drop for the everyday Australian.

Kalki Moon is a premium artisan distillery. You can pick up our bottles of gin, vodka, and liqueurs online, in one of our distributors’ stores, or by dropping into our distillery here in Bundaberg.

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Next time you’re pining for a drop of gin, rum, vodka or liqueurs, think Kalki Moon. Developed by our artisan distillers here in Bundy, we create a premium drop for the everyday Australian.

Kalki Moon is a premium artisan distillery. You can pick up our bottles of gin, rum, vodka, and liqueurs online, in one of our distributors’ stores, or by dropping into our distillery here in Bundaberg.

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