Bundaberg North Burnett

Country charm meets coastal cool in ‘Bundy’, where it’s not unusual to feast on fresh farm-gate fare, dive the Southern Great Barrier Reef and watch baby turtles hatch all in one day.

If the Southern Great Barrier Reef was a marathon, Bundaberg would be the starting line. But there's only one pace required to explore the region's beaches, fringing coral reefs and islands, and that's slow and steady.

• Lay out a towel at Woodgate and count your fellow beachgoers on one hand.
• Cross swimming with manta rays off your list at Lady Elliot Island.
• Dive off the mainland at Bargara and play spot the reef fish.

Forget nature documentaries; witness the turtle life cycle live and unedited as the annual nesting and hatching season unfolds.

• Take part in Australia's only ranger-guided tours at Mon Repos from November to March.
• Put your best flipper forward and swim alongside resident turtles at Lady Elliot Island.

A place where roadside honesty boxes, seafood straight off the boat and paddock-to-plate dining meet; the sugar-cane framed Bundaberg North Burnett region offers a drive-through experience of the fresh food kind.

• Pick your own strawberries, figs, avocados, oranges and more from roadside stalls and farm gates.
• Chew your way through locally-sourced menus, with ingredients delivered direct to the kitchen by the farmer.

No visit to Bundaberg is complete without a road trip to discover more of the region’s best kept secrets along Australia’s Country Way.

• Head to Childers and try the creamiest homemade macadamia nut ice-cream.
• Visit citrus capitals Gayndah and Mundubbera and take an orchard tour.
• Put your hiking boots on, travel west to Cania Gorge National Park and get some perspective among the sandstone monoliths and ancient caves.