My life in Australia started way back in 2005. Dad and Mum arrived in 2009. Since my late husband and I arrived, we visited Cairns a couple of times, Sydney twice, Melbourne, Perth, and a few other places. But it’s the little places in between, the ones off the beaten track that we knew nothing about. It’s those ones that I am now starting to be introduced to.
Woodgate was the first trip after Mum. Dad and I knew that we needed to be away from the house. Just to take a breath and re-evaluate ourselves and life in general. We`d lost Mark in 2019 and Mum in 2021, so life was dismal in that respect. We were in desperate need of a break, a breather to gather thoughts.
Dad suggested Woodgate. He had been there with Mum and sold it to me with “there’s not much there, nothing to do really and well, that’s it.” The decision taken, accommodation booked and away we went.
Where is Woodgate?
Woodgate is north of the Sunshine Coast in what is termed the Bundaberg Region.
Distance from Buderim
Google maps will tell you that Woodgate is 260km from Buderim, which equates to about a 3-hour drive if you go straight up the M1. There are a couple of routes you can take from here. We spent an extra 1 ½ hours on the road and toured a little before getting there.
Distance from Brisbane
Just over 4 hours and 343km from Brisbane and you will find yourself at Woodgate. Again, dependent on whether you take direct routes or duck off here and there.
Accommodation
There is accommodation for all at Woodgate. Caravans, tents, cabins, and beach houses. Dad and I chose the latter. Woodgate Beach houses was our choice and we booked ourselves in for 6 nights and 7 days.
They are described online as self-contained, 4-star luxury houses. They were self-contained 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom units. If I am honest, I am not entirely sure a ‘beach house’ was the accurate description.
How was our stay? Well, the units were comfortable and had everything that we would need. We had a power cut on the first night and had problems trying to get hold of someone to fix it. Several phone calls and a wander around the complex, and we managed to find the right person.
To give them their dues, we were offered a late checkout or extra night due to the inconvenience, but we didn’t need nor want this. In fact, we did leave a day early.
The accommodation was situated pretty much midway between the two eateries and main roads in and out so all in all, that worked well.
Where to eat/drink
Eating and drinking turned out to be consistent for us. Woodgate Tavern served our purpose. It was a kilometre from the accommodation so we could walk or drive. The food was lovely and very reasonably priced. What more do you need?
For breakfast one morning, we did a 4km return walk along the seafront to the NRMA camping and caravan site café. We had a beautiful (BIG!) breakfast and were kept company by the resident honeyeaters that stayed by our table.
What to see
Near Woodgate, there are lots of little parks and inlets that you can find. Innes Park, Life Savers Park, Jack Strathdee Memorial Park and more. While there we headed to Elliot River and walked the shore. We drove to Burrum Heads to the conservation reserve. We checked out the Burnett River.
We spent time at Theodolite Creek and just simply relaxed. Woodgate is not a place to go if you want to run around shopping and seeing different sights all day. Woodgate is your relaxing holiday. Woodgate is your go for a drive holiday. It’s your ‘walk the beach’ holiday.
Bad points?
If you are on Vodafone, your internet signal will be abysmal. That may be a bad point if you need your phone. I logged on through Dads phone once a day to check messages and after that…..it was off!
If you are not one to relax, then I would say this is not the place for you. There is little ‘action’ so if you choose to come to this location, maybe just a couple of days to see how you like it.
Good points?
For me, I loved the nothing to do part. Having had several years caring for Mark and losing Mum before we went away, the stopping and re-evaluating was a good thing.
The other good point for me was making new memories as well as hearing old ones. Listening to Dad talk of him being here with Mum is beautiful. Making new memories with him as a father and daughter holiday partners – priceless.
Would I come back?
Yes I would go back but I would stay somewhere different.
