Things to Do in Australia And The Pacific

A rare and intriguing insight into the remote Aboriginal communities of the north, Beagle Bay was a Catholic mission started by French monks in the late 1800s.

The Broome Courthouse Markets offer an exciting array of local arts and crafts. There are clothes by local designers and many jewelry stores selling unique wares fashioned from local metal and local stones.

The food stalls are great and offer treats from freshly brewed coffee to Thai fish cakes, to frozen mangoes which are a perfect morning tea in the tropics.

Local animal preservation groups also have stalls here so you might have a chance to cuddle a baby koala or nurse a joey (a baby kangaroo).

The market is held in the grounds of the old courthouse which was built to house staff who worked for the telecommunications companies that owned the cable connecting Australia to Indonesia, which came ashore at Cable Beach and ran across town to the Courthouse.

A popular tourist attraction, Eli Creek features a serene beauty with its crystal clear fresh waters and pearly white sand bottom. With over four million liters of water pouring from its mouth every hour, it is one of Fraser Island’s largest freshwater streams. Along with its beautiful beach location people enjoy visiting Eli Creek for a relaxing float down its pure waters. Its gentle current makes it a safe option for both adults and children. For those not interested in getting wet a scenic boardwalk allows you to walk around the creek on land.

As Eli Creek is located along Seventy-Five Mile Beach, visitors to Eli Creek can enjoy other attractions onsite. Along with off-roading, fishing and sunbathing there’s the onshore Maheno wreck, which was once one of the fastest ships in the world and was used by the Australian Airforce for target practice during WWII. Additionally, the Champagne Pools provide safe saltwater swimming in an enclosed natural rock pool with foaming Champagne-like bubbles when the waves crash. Make sure to also go to Indian Head to see the many sharks, dolphins, stingrays and fish swimming through the water.

Bruny Island has a reputation as an Australian foodie paradise, and the Bruny Island Berry Farm is part of the reason why. Here on this family-owned berry farm near the shores of Adventure Bay, locally-grown berries are deliciously transformed into ice cream, scones, jams, cheesecakes, and a wide assortment of desserts. If some of the farm’s 7,000 strawberry plants happen to be in season, visitors have the chance to wander the fields and pick their own berries from the vines. Blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, and youngberries all sweeten a visit to the farm, and even if the berries aren’t currently in season, the rural café is a relaxing spot for a coffee, tea, or scone.

Bundaberg is most known for its sugar cane fields, rum production and outdoor recreation. Because of its subtropical climate, sugar cane grows in abundance, which creates the bi-product of molasses for their famous Bundaberg Rum. Visitors can tour the distillery to see how the delicious product is made firsthand before sampling some for themselves.

Bundaberg is also the home to The Bundaberg Barrel, one of "Australia's Big Things," and which houses Bundaberg Brewed Drinks known internationally for their ginger beer.

Bundaberg’s subtropical weather also allows for an array of fresh local produce and ingredients, some of which include avocados, macadamia nuts, pineapples, mangoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, cherry tomatoes, watermelons, citrus and much more. In terms of outdoor recreation the Burnett River is lined with parks, while sting ray-free beaches litter the coast. From August through October Bundaberg is a great place to go whale-watching, while November through March brings Giant Turtles to Mon Repos Beach.

Bundaberg is a great starting point for visiting Fraser Island, as you can take the Bruce Highway south to Torbanlea and follow the sign to Hervey Bay. You can take a ferry to Fraser Island from River Heads, located just south of Hervey Bay. Bundaberg is part of the Fraser Island district, and essentially runs parallel to Fraser Island’s northern tip.

Central Station Rainforest, once the central hub for the forestry department on Fraser Island, is a stunning and lush forest located on Wanggoolba Creek of Fraser Island - one of the most scenic areas on the island!

Since the logging industry's departure in the late 1950s, Central Station is a popular picnic and camping spot for tourists with an information center which provides a history of the island and tips on the flora and fauna in the area.

Home to many specifies of plants, Central Station rainforest houses the massive Angiopteris ferns, which has the largest fern fronds in the world. Giant satinay and kauri trees also grow around the forest

The massive kauris have a soaring trunk and branches only start at the very top; these trees were prized as masts in the days of sailing boats. Satinay trees are regarded as biological marvels since the sand they grow in contain very little nutrients.

The area around Wanggoolba Creek not far from Central Station is one of the loveliest swathes of rainforest. There are paths in the surrounding rainforest where you can get up close to the palms and learn about the creatures and plants that inhabit the area.

A colorful history accompanies Broome's Chinatown. During the heyday of Broome's pearling industry, the pearlers (many from China, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Europe) would arrive back on shore cashed up and head to the opium dens and billiard halls of Chinatown.

Things have changed. You won’t find opium dens; however, you will still find corrugated sheds alongside some fascinating Chinese architecture and delicious food. The area is filled with pearl shops selling pearls and mother-of-pearl products many of which come from local waters.

Stroll around, soak up the atmosphere and learn about Broome's exciting history from the great storyboards on the shops along Johnny Chi Lane.