Bundaberg Botanic Gardens is one of those places where you discover something new every time you visit.
Get lost, wandering along the meandering pathways. Find a secluded spot to enjoy your own company. Wrestle with the kids and family dog on the lush buffalo lawn.
If you are someone who doesn’t like to leave any stone unturned, allow yourself plenty of time to uncover its gems. Set across 27ha, the gardens alone are a splendour that can take hours to properly admire.
FOR KIDS
Located right near the main entrance is an award-winning nature-inspired playground of obstacles and imagination. It includes a water-based play area and towering tunnel slide.
Just a friendly warning – if you have kids in tow, you may not get any further than the playground. Thankfully, there are picnic tables and barbecues close by.
The Gardens surround a series of wetlands and ponds that are home to ducks, turtles, water dragons, eels and so-called bin chickens. Food is available for purchase at Café 1928.
Please do not feed the animals bread, as it can make them sick and pollutes the waterways.
FOR NATURE LOVERS
Discover the tallest Heliconia in the world. Explore the rare fruit orchard, wander through an ancient garden and enjoy the tranquillity of the Japanese and Chinese gardens. The Garden’s magnificent display of flowers, foliage and fruit changes with the seasons to provide endless beauty year-round.
The Fraser Island Vine flowers from late winter to late spring, showcasing clusters of beautiful pink flowers with white throats. You’ll find this vine near the Bundaberg Historical Museum.
Stroll across a timber bridge to find the remarkable Fan Palm. Found only in Queensland, it can take up to 20 years for these palms to reach their full potential.
Walk under the eye-catching Sandpaper Vine, which originates from Central and South America.
The delicate flowers are a stark contrast to its stiff, sandpaper textured leaves.
Pine trees like the Leichardt Pine have been planted in the Botanic Gardens to signify the local importance of the timber industry before the introduction of sugarcane. From September to January look for stunning orange blooms.
FOR HISTORY BUFFS
Tour Fairymead House Sugar History Museum to learn all about the industry Bundaberg was built on.
The Hinkler Hall of Aviation is dedicated to Bundaberg-born aviator, Bert Hinkler. The son of a sugar mill worker, Bert built many gliders and completed record-breaking solo flights.
The Hall features a number of interactive exhibits, as well as Bert’s immaculately-restored Armstrong Siddley motor vehicle. Just next door is Bert’s home, Hinkler House ‘Mon Repos’, which was painstakingly relocated from England to Bundaberg.
All aboard!
The Australian Sugarcane Railway Museum runs on a 2km circuit through the Botanic Gardens and workshop, and is maintained and operated entirely by dedicated volunteers. Tickets are available for purchase on the platform. Cash only.