We departed Hervey Bay early this morning, but only after Andy had completed his daily 10km run ritual. He made it down to the Esplanade at 6.30am, which even at that time the temperature was 25 Celsius.

Our plan today was to head up the coast to Woodgate, a small beach town we’d been recommended by our friends Paul and Naomi. Despite being just 25 miles up the coast, ‘as the crow fly’, due to a number of rivers that flow out to the ocean, we had a detour drive of almost 50 miles. We are pleased to confirm it was well worth it, as Woodgate and its beach are stunning. A white sandy beach that stretches for miles and with only a handful of locals joining us for a relaxing morning.

Our first success was finding the Woodgate Beach general store which offered up fantastic coffee along with a nearby bakery selling pasties and cool Bundaberg traditional lemonade.

After our midmorning snack it was time to try out the beach and catch up with some reading and swimming.

We spent the first hour or so just ‘chillaxing’, before going for a stroll along the beach and a spot of star jumping…!!

This was one of the most beautiful & unspoilt beaches we’ve visited to date on the East Coast and is well worth a visit if you’re ever in this part of Queensland!

After 3hrs at Woodgate, we made the decision to drive on to Bundaberg, where we are staying at Riverdale Caravan Park for the evening.

Before departing Woodgate we managed to grab a final photo on the sands, and had a little ice lolly intermission before getting back into the car.

We arrived at the caravan park bang on 2pm, the earliest check in time, so we could leave our bags and food safe and cool before we headed to our 3pm tour at The Bundaberg Barrel for a spot of brew tasting.

Our abode tonight is basic to say the least and very Country Aussie – even the van makes it clear – Made in Australia by Aussie blokes and Sheilas. Seemed very fitting, as Michelle’s mum was a ‘Sheila’.

Our tour of the barrel to witness the Bundaberg brewing business proved very interesting and we soon immersed ourselves in their brewing history.

Bundaberg is a Queensland soft drink institution and can now be found around the world.

After the walk around the store, we then had a chance to taste all the twelve flavours.

Souvenirs anyone…Andy got close to buying himself another hat…thankfully he decided against it!

The tasting session was led by a local who chatted us through the history of the drink and the first and most famous drink, ginger ale.

One by one we tried lemonade, lemon and lime bitters, pineapple, mango even Sarsaparilla.

After the taste session, we then helped ourselves to six drinks of our choosing – well that’s the next few days of ice cold drinks sorted.

It was then time to visit the coastal beach of Bargara, a family friendly area with some great cafes and ideal spots for us to picnic, along with an esplanade along the coastal strip.

With a few hours before the sun started to set, we spent the first half snoozing near Moneys Creek, then went for a wander along the beach to The Basin, a makeshift swimming pool sculptured from rocks placed around the beach edges.

Along the way we witnessed a small eagle with a fish in its claws happily dinning on the rocks.

We strolled on along the Esplanade past a number of bays and an ANZAC commemoration plaque for those Australians who lost their lives in the two World Wars.

We finished the day with a final stroll to Woolworths and then dinner down at the beach looking out across the ocean. A great way to finish.

Tomorrow we head to Agnes Waters and Seventeen Seventy, areas famed for their pristine beaches, headlands for hiking and wildlife spotting. It’s also the gateway to the Southern Great Barrier Reef so we may try our hand at some kayaking and catch some sunsets over at the infamous Bustard Bay.