Bundaberg

Peregrina's Journey
Peter and Margie Benziger
Thu 20 Jan 2011 05:45
Position Report - 24:45.614S  152:23.270E  


Our last general email left off in Pancake Creek.  From there, we sailed about 60 miles south to the Bundaberg Port Marina which lies at the mouth of the Burnett River.  (We’re still on the southeast coast of Australia for those without a map)  The actual city of Bundaberg is further inland about 9 miles down the river but we decided to stay at the easily accessible Port Marina since they had excellent facilities, a great restaurant and a courtesy bus that would take us into town upon request.
 
What’s more, we were now on a mission to get to Brisbane in time to meet Amy, who would arrive on December 12th so we didn’t want to stray too far inland.  Little did we know, we’d be spending a week in Bundaberg!  You see, this was to be our “no holds barred” introduction to the summer “rainy season” here in Australia and, after several years of unprecedented drought, it turns out this one is going to be a doosey!!!  La Nina has arrived with a vengeance, it appears…

A week in Bundaberg really wasn’t’ all that bad – aside from the rain and winds gusting up to 40 knots.  We celebrated Thanksgiving there with a wonderful group of newfound friends, including a couple from our old hometown of Boca Raton, Florida!  (Small world, yet again…) 
And, we discovered Bundaberg Ginger Beer!

An acquired taste to be sure…Bundaberg Ginger Beer features pungent ginger pieces floating in a cloudy liquid base of carbonated water and sugar cane.  While Bundaberg is probably better known for its hometown rum, we found the non-alcoholic ginger beer more to our liking – SERIOUSLY!!!  You can tour the family-run business which is smack dab in downtown Bundaberg in a factory shaped like a HUMUNGEOUS wooden barrel.  The Bundaberg Barrel offers “True Brew” tours daily including free samples.  It’s open Monday to Saturday 9am to 4.30pm and Sunday 10am to 3pm.

Bundaberg (“Bundy” to the locals) has a Wild West feel to it – an old “outback” cowboy town reminiscent of the 1800’s with wooden structures lining the wide boulevards in the center of town – very Victorian in architecture.  There’s a huge backpacker community here – mainly because they can find temporary work picking fruit in the orchards nearby.  It’s a touchy-feely back-to-nature atmosphere with the farms practicing sustainable “fair trade” policies and young people coming together from all over the world in an eco-friendly environment.

Speaking of eco-friendly, one of the best turtle sanctuaries in Australia is located right outside of Bundaberg.  It’s called the Mon Repos Rookery and between November and March, hundreds of turtles, mainly loggerheads, drag themselves up the beach to lay their eggs, referred to as a “clutch.”  In fact, Mon Repos hosts the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the Eastern Australian mainland and is one of the two largest Loggerhead turtle rookeries in the South Pacific Ocean.

We learned a lot on our tour at the Rookery.  Among the many things I didn’t know….Female turtles nest in the same area where they were born.  As hatchlings, they become aligned with the Earth’s magnetic field, and perhaps also the smell, current and wave direction of the waters near their nesting beach. They use these cues and a ‘magnetic compass’ in their brain to navigate their way back home when it’s time to procreate.  Some lay up to six clutches before departing for their feeding grounds, which can be up to 3,000 km away!  They won’t return to nest again for another three to five years but, somehow, they will find their way back to the exact same place!

Once the mother digs her nest and deposits her eggs, usually around 120 per “clutch”, the good people at this wildlife sanctuary cordon off the area and monitor the eggs during incubation.  After 45-70 days, depending on the temperature, the hatchlings emerge from the shell and make a mad dash back to the sea in the dark of night.  The sex of the hatchling is determined by incubation temperature, with warmer beaches producing mostly female hatchlings.

Unfortunately, only 1 in 1000 will survive to adulthood so you begin to realize what an important job it is to provide them with the best possible start in life.  Marine turtles worldwide are in danger of extinction from a host of predators.Birds, iguanas, crabs and foxes snatch many turtle hatchlings before they can even reach the water. Once at sea, they face marine predators and other dangers – mostly in human form.  Each year, turtles drown in fishing nets, are hooked in longlines, struck by boats, strangled or choked by rubbish and slaughtered for leather, meat and shells.  In some places, coastal developments such as marinas and high-rise buildings damage turtles’ nesting areas.  On some beaches, the turtles risk being crushed by 4WDs.  It’s a miracle anyone of them survive!  At least, these little guys here at Mon Repos have a fighting chance…

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image