From Honolulu, we flew to Brisbane, where we rented a car and drove to Bundaberg, on Australia's Sunshine Coast. Bundaberg is a charming small city, situated on the Burnett River. Bundaberg is famous (in the southern hemisphere) for its ginger beer and its rum. One of the primary crops in the area is sugar cane. One of the primary attractions is miles and miles of glorious coastline and beaches.

We stayed in Coral Cove, a small community just south of Bundaberg. Our Airbnb was this lovely little villa, where we relaxed to the sounds of the surf and drank wine on the patio.

Afterward, we'd go walking along the shoreline, communing with flora and fauna!

And investigating intriguing structures along the path!

We had no end of interesting neighbors. Kangas were ubiquitous -- bopping around in our front yard cropping the grass . . .

. . . while cheeky galahs decorated the trees overhead . . .

. . . and dignified water dragons ambled along at water's edge.

Jacarandas abounded here. This lovely specimen can be found in Bundaberg's expansive Botanical Garden . . .

. . . as well as armies of fruit bats inhabiting the trees overhead . . .

. . . and, of course, kangaroos!

One of Cindy's lifelong wishes was to visit the Great Barrier Reef. We took the opportunity in Bundaberg to take a day trip to Lady Musgrave Island, at the southern end of the GBR.

We snorkeled, swam, rode in a glass-bottomed boat, and explored the island. A wonderful day!

The Bundaberg Company has their main distillery in the town. They conduct a fun and informative tour. And you get a nice rum tasting at the conclusion. I never knew there were so many flavors of rum!

The Bundy Belle has been cruising the waters of the Burnett River for just shy of a quarter century . . .

. . . we had a nice cruise of Bundaberg's shoreline and the river, up past Fairymead and Flying Fox Island, before returning to dock. A lovely evening!

We never know what to expect when we go on our adventures. And it's usually tough for us to pick a place that we would call the best place we've been in our travells.

But this quiet place in Coral Cove really captured our hearts. We hope to make it back!