East Coast Cruising 2020: Mary River to Bundaberg (Burnett Heads). 24 46'16" S, 152 24'51"E Episode 1

Have received feedback that some would like a map showing our route - so here for those not able to operate Google Maps is our track since leaving Mooloolaba.

After leaving the mouth of the Mary River, we called into the beach near Kingfisher Resort on Fraser Island and spent a night anchored there. Lots of history - timber industry in the early 1900's, and the commando training school during WW-II.

Relics of the timber industry include a large rusted out boiler in the beach .

A very crusty orifice

Nice colours in rusty iron.

I'll have to be very careful here - almost doesn't require any comment.

Jo on the beach.

Further up the great Sandy Straits is Big Woodie Island. 2 days of strong westerly winds made this a safe anchorage, enough time to go ashore and explore the restored wooden lighthouse - erected 1880's.


With view across Hervey Bay -

Big Woodie lighthouse with support

Unfortunately, the weather was too windy and rough to go whale watching in Hervey Bay.

And so the winds became favourable and we sailed up Hervey Bay to the Burnett River, the town of Burnett Heads where the marina is located and the provincial town of Bundaberg about 15km away. This is a sugar town, surrounded by sugar cane as far as the eye can see, with the sugar mills right in town. Nice.

Bundy CBD anchorage. Note the sugar mill.

Its claim to fame is to use waste from the sugar industry (molasses) to make a type of rum - which every Queenslander loves but for others all I can say is its'an aquired taste. Horrible stuff.


Not the town hall, but the Bundaberg Post Office - let Trump try to demolish this.

There is a very good Sunday market at the unusually named Shalom College - definitely not a catholic /jewish joint venture. Reprovisioned there for the next few legs going north. The market has everything locally produced - trailers full of loose mandarins, and stalls selling salami, tools, large locally caught fish and not a lace doily in sight.