Day 15

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Day 15
So today we had another looooong drive down to Hervey Bay!
We left the not quite so nice hotel at 6:50am to get on the road, we stopped off at the Tropic of Capricorn most easterly point - in Rockhampton! That was cool! I can confirm their sun dial works teehee!
We then carried on, stopping at the big giraffe cafe for a spot of brekkie!
I was then given the keys to Gerty to resume our road trip! We got to bunderburg at 12:15 a bit too late for the 12 tour so we looked round he museum etc, the distillery has been burned down twice and was flooded in 2001 (I think)! The cooper (chap who makes barrels) who was an apprentice there in the 70's as the trade was dying out as he learnt it, ended up setting up on his own and now has a huge company that now supplies the distillery (and others). Each barrel or cask they class as a work of art costs between $100k!! And is about 20ft high and 12ft across!! And should last 80-100 years. After the fires their oldest is 80 years old about now! It isn't nailed or bolted together just held by the steel rings! Quite amazing!
Anyway, At 1 we joined the tour and were taken around the huge site where they make the Rum! We had a taste of the molasses stuff that they ferment in an enormous barn like construction that is painted black so it keeps its self hot! - bleurgh that wasn't nice! I don't know how I can find so many things (foody/drink) nice to smell but hate to taste them! I know, I'm weird! It tasted a lot like liquorish nasty!
The tour takes place inside huge electric fences as they currently have $2.1 billon worth of Rum maturing away and they bottle everything that's not carbonated on site!
Their master distiller range has one lots of awards, one year, I think the 2014 won double gold in a competition in San Francisco! Which means that each of the 33 judges gave it a rating of 10/10 in a blind tasting, which is quite something I reckon!
I was the driver so I didn't really try anything - except a smidgy taste of the coffee and chocolate one which was good, they said it goes really well with/in desserts like cheesecake! They've just started a new tropical range that includes pineapple and coconut rum and mango and passion fruit rum! (My favourites! But it's so popular it had sold out!) so I couldn't try it anyway!
Hubster tried the pineapple and coconut and said it was nice! Sadly none of it is shipped to the UK and we can't bring enough back on the internal flights (international would be fine!) but we were close on the last flight!! See what they have at duty free!
We left the distillery to carry on our journey to Hervey Bay! Not sure when we arrived! But this hotel is lovely and we have a swim up room too teehee! Was blooming cold when I stuck my toe in the water though so that'll have to wait for tomorrow after we go to Fraser Island!
Nunite zZz

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