On Thursday till Saturday afternoon I got to experience another state, another city and another culture. I wish I was saying that we went to France, or Japan, or Greece, or Italy…but the best part was I was still in Australia, just in another State.
I also wished that I was travelling in our Motorhome with all of my family but I was still happy that I got to experience a plane flight (like no other plane flight I have had before!) and that I can say this is my Postcard From Melbourne for you!
A week ago our second oldest son Zac asked me if I could to take him to the Wide Bay Australia International Air Show which is on this weekend. I jumped at the opportunity straight away. With an interest in aviation and the chance for a day off a team of wild horses could not keep me away. It wasn’t long before I had a couple of tickets booked for Saturday which is the first day of the two day event.
Saturday morning arrived with perfect conditions for an air show. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky and there was just enough breeze to keep it comfortable out in the sun. We departed with plenty of time to get to Bundaberg Airport where the event is being held. After the usual traffic delays that come with any large event we arrived in time for the opening sequence which involved a couple of parachutists descending with large Australian and Wide Bay Australia (the major sponsor of the Wide Bay Australia International Airshow ) flags. All the time being closely circled by a Pits Special aerobatic plane. It was going to be an entertaining day.
Being early in the day we decided to have a look at the static displays and stalls first. There was everything on offer from $20 radio controlled helicopters to $2,000 joy flights in a jet fighter on offer. Many of the local flying schools had information booths set up as well as the QLD Institute for Aviation Engineering and a university. All with plenty of information for anyone interested in a career in aviation. The one that we headed for straight away was the Defence Force Recruiting area. Zac is interested in becoming a navy helicopter pilot when he has finished his schooling. So we were after any information that we could get to help him work towards that goal.
Once we had finished getting a lot of valuable information from the Defence Force Recruiting stand we had a good look at the wide variety of aircraft on display, including many modern small aircraft including the locally made Jabiru as well as a good variety of warbirds, The RAAF Roulette’s and Matt Hall’s air racing aircraft. Many of these we were going to see perform as the day went on.
As good as all these aircraft were to look at the flying displays were what everyone was there to see. I don’t think that any one would have left disappointed. there were a couple of Pitt Specials that did a superb acrobatics display before racing an old Chevy Blitz truck and a hatchback along the runway. The truck and car won. They both have jet engines mounted in the back.
This was followed up by Matt Hall performing a spectacular airobatics display and the RAAF Roulette’s with an incredible display of there own. Most of which is done in tight formation. There were a wide variety of flying displays from the warbirds that were there also, including a couple of jets that were a lot of fun to watch. The one display that took my breath away though was the visit from one of the new Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet’s. Watching one of these aircraft performing a low level pass at 500 miles per hour or turning in an incredibly short length at high speed and so close is amazing. But it absolutely took my breath away when the pilot went from less than 100 feet to 20,000 feet in a matter of seconds vertically.
Over all Zac and I had a fantastic day out and are planing to come back for the next Wide Bay Australia International Airshow . If you have as big a love of aircraft as Zac and myself I am sure that you would have a very enjoyable and memorable day if you came along too.
Cheers,
Dave
New Life On The Road
I never realised last week when New Life On The Road visited Bundaberg Rum Distillery that they are actually called the Bond Store. But after taking a tour of Bundaberg Rum Distillery or Bond Store it makes sense!
Each Bundaberg Rum is kept in huge VATS on site. And those VATS have to be kept stored with the Rum for two years before it can be bottled and sold. I was stunned when our wonderful tour guide explained how the Rum has to sit there in the Bond Stores VATS for two years, gathering there unique flavour before the Rum can be bottled off and sold. Within those two years each VAT has to have a sample taken out every three months to be tested. Wish I could be on the Sample team!! Those Vats are huge – I mean really big. The VATS are made on site from a team of men that work for two days.
They do not use glue, nails or any staples to bind the wood together. It is all hand held together through a skilled technique that only a few men know how to do – and then tightened on the outside of the Vats with a steel frame that is like a huge circle. Each steel circle is then tighten at the ends by twisting and bolting! Each VAT is worth $6 Million in Dollars !! Yep you read right 
The Beauty of the Bond Store is that while the Rum is gathering its unique flavour there is no tax paid on any of the Rum. Actually no tax is charged on any of the Rum until it is bottled and left the premises. The Bond Store is smartly set up !
There are about 15 Bond Stores on the premises and each one holds any where between 10 Vats to 15 Vats (I am not sure what the larger Bond Store can hold) and each Vat can hold 69,000 litres (on average) depending on their size!! The new standard is 75,00o litres and the oldest VAT is 67 years old!
The Vats cost from $75,000 to about $100,00 and should last anywhere up to 85-100 years. Theyhave not tested that theory out yet due to the fire in 1936. Once the VATS are no longer suitable to hold the Rum (and they have taken a few of them out of service) due to leaking or due to the Rum taste not meeting the standards then the VATS are pulled apart and recycled. Nothing is wasted in the Bundaberg Rum Distillery.
Once a VAT is taken out of service, it is cut down to make keyrings, Bar Signs, Bar Benches, Wooden decorations and anything that can be made as a souvenirs.
The making of the Rum Process….. the Molasses is combined with water and yeast where it is fermented and then goes into a “Low Wines Still” where it goes through its first distillation. In that process 44,000 litres is made but only 4,000 litres containing 50%alcohol is suitable for further distillation into Bundaberg Rum. The 40,000 litres that is left is a by product called Dunder and is sold of as a fertilizer back to the farms. Here is how the process of making Bundaberg Rum works – its amazing how it goes from Molasses to the end product of Bundaberg Rum and then sits in the Bond Store for two years! Here are some of the photos that we took from Bundaberg Rum Distillery Or Bond Store !
There are a lot more photos and even on our Youtube Channel you can see what fun we had at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery or Bond Store! If you are ever in the Bundaberg area or thinking about visiting Bundaberg then make sure you check out the Bundaberg Rum Distillery or Bond Store and have a drink or two thinking about how much fun New Life On The Road had!
Cheers
Lisa Wood
PS:- I almost forgot…..about a dozen people try to break into the Bond Stores every year….they have to get over the high walls which are electric fences, and then break into the Bond Stores which have huge doors that are padlocked. No one has succeed….but what would they do if they passed the fences? How would they get the Bundaberg Rum out of those VATS – remember there is no bottles of rum stored there
Today New Life on the Road visited the most famous Tourist attraction in Bundaberg…well it is what everyone thinks of when you mention “Bundy” – Bundaberg Rum Distillery. We took three of our boys….Nicholas, Cameron and Kyle. Amazing the older two did not want to go – well after sharing what a great time we all had during the Tour of Bundaberg Rum and learning how the Rum is made; I think they would love me to go again and take them along this time!!
Driving up the car park I realised what I had learnt when we went there briefly on the weekend before….that you must be wearing enclosed shoes. I was the only one not wearing shoes that covered all of my feet! David had thongs on but they had the strap at the back so that was fine I had ladies slip on shoes…oh OK they are thongs, but they are Dress Thongs! Still not good enough, so I had to hire shoes….which sounds gross but they assured me that the shoes are dry cleaned after each use – gee I sure hope so Anyway after paying the shoe deposit and paying the entry fee we set off. I had the camera ready so I was able to take lots and lots of photos (check our our Facebook Fan Page) of Bundaberg Rum Distillery - at least up to the point of where the guide takes us on a tour and explains how the Rum is made.
Today New Life on the Road took a day out from homeschooling (well the book work at least!). I took four of our five boys to The Bundaberg Barrel – Bundaberg Brewed Drinks.
Upon arriving at The Bundaberg Barrel I was blown away by how friendly all the staff were. They greeted us warmly, and explained how the tour of the Bundaberg Barrel worked. Then they let us explore the store before we decided to take the tour. Each of us was given a black little device that looks like a phone. It had a chain so I was reassured that the younger two boys would not drop them! Each different room has a different number, when we entered the tour we were told to press one (and then each room after had the next number!)
We are at Bundaberg for the time being (as many of you are aware!) as we are trying like mad to get Rose The Lifestyle Challenge Bus finished off so that we can continue to travel around Australia.
Today I took the boys to the Botanic Gardens in Bundaberg so that they could run off their excess energy!
There are some really great tourist attractions in Bundaberg and some amazing parks. The boys were keen to feed the ducks today, and walk all over the Botanic Gardens so we spent the morning there.
Here is our postcard from Bundaberg for today!
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube