If Burrum Heads is sleepy, Elliott Heads is in a coma! A small costal town south of Bundaberg, Elliott Heads is a curious place, with only one small run down general store/post office on the outskirts and no prominent or obvious sense of centre, it's a sprawling mish mash. It does however have a stunning beach.
The three days we spent in Elliott Heads it rained, A LOT. It should be said that in the four and a bit weeks since leaving home we have only had four days without any rain. Two of those were in Dubbo!
But let's move on. In Agnes Water I read an absorbing book by James Nestor called 'Breath'.In one of the chapters he talks extensively about the value of nose breathing, a value I share. To ensure he continued to nose breathe at night he taped his mouth shut. Not completely mind you, just a small piece of tape mimicking a Charlie Chaplin moustache gone south a smidge. His experiment with taping his mouth had me intrigued. I had to try it. The kids were pleased, as apparently I snore. I'm pretty sure I don't. ;0
After recovering from the thought of how ridiculous I looked with my mouth taped shut, trying to laugh with my mouth taped shut and overcoming the feeling of having my mouth taped shut (a fantasy of my family at times I'm sure), I fell asleep with my mouth taped shut. I'm never going back. It's great. Apparently the snoring problem I don't have, has improved as well.
Bundaberg is much larger than I expected. It's like a bigger version of Shepparton with humidity and sugar cane instead of scorching dry heat and fruit trees.
When in Bundy what does one do? Visit the distillery of course. Having not been able to stomach the smell of the amber spirit since an unfortunate over indulgence incident some 3 decades ago, we set off to tour the Bundaberg Rum Distillery.
Bundaberg Rum is made from only three ingredients: Molasses, Water and Yeast. At Bundy Rum they have been sourced from the same suppliers since the original bottle was made in 1889. Bundaberg grow and process epic amounts of sugar. Molasses is a by-product of sugar production. Bundy Rum was originally produced to solve a molasses problem. It was being dumped in the paddocks and running into the river. Turn it into rum - problem solved. The second ingredient, water, comes filtered directly from the nearby Burnett River, third and most secret ingredient, the yeast. Cultured on sight, with a control sample kept in England at the centre for National Collection of Yeast Cultures. Yes that is an actual place. The distillery has been rebuilt twice after fire and suffered heavy flooding in 2011. It seems you can't knock the spirit out of the Bundy Rum Distillery. Like a yobbo at the bar full of rum, they just keep getting up and they just keep on fighting. Call it Bundy Spirit or call it Rum Rage, they just might look a little bit the same!
Much to Hugo's delight, slings shots are not illegal in the great State of Queensland. You can buy them in any decent camping shop. Armed with a brand new sling, a pocket FULL of shot and a tin can, we set off to play. So much fun.
Caravan life has been a wonderful and sometimes challenging experience. However, four grown humans in 12 m2 is bound to present the occasional test. Add threedays of constant rain into the mix, slightly wet bedding (oops did I forget to shut the windows?) and the confined space eventually brings you undone. Let's just say for the first time during our trip so far, the wheels fell off in Elliott Heads. Sometimes the bright side seems a long way off and a shitty mood is hard to shake.
However.... we recovered. The best part about the wheels falling off is when you get them back on, pick up the pieces, smile, apologise, forgive, share and start again.
Next stop, Fraser Island K’gari and catching up with the Oster crew.