Towering sandstone cliffs are the backdrop of an incredibly beautiful region around Cania Gorge, a couple of hours west of Bundaberg. It’s worth exploring the dams, walking through the National Park and visiting the surrounding small towns offering good old fashioned country hospitality.
Eidsvold is known as the beef capital of the North Burnett so it’s a fitting home for The Reginald Murray Williams Australian Bush Learning Centre. Visitors see the life story of RM, the swagman turned entrepreneur, who designed the clothing and footwear brand recognisable across the globe. RM spent the latter part of his life on a cattle property near Eidsvold.
Wuruma Dam is Eidsvold’s playground. Activities include fishing, waterskiing and kayaking on the flat freshwater. Sunwater operates the dam and urges you to check conditions before heading out. Hazards include submerged rocks and dead trees in the water, especially after a flood. Sunwater also runs a free camp on the dam.
As well as recreation the water from Wuruma Dam is essential for supplying the surrounding towns and irrigating farmland. Smart Berries at nearby Mundubbera draws it’s water from the dam. The producer has one hundred acres of blueberries under nets, room for half a million plants! Hundreds of workers hand pick the berries during harvest time before they are sorted and shipped to capital cities for packaging. Did you know water quality affects how blueberries taste? Too high in salt results in a soft flavourless berry, so it’s essential to get the water right. The water has a flow on affect through the community. From the dam to the blueberry farm to the baker and the butcher! Fresh local blueberries are used in the Mundubbera Bakery’s yummy goods AND in the Mudubbera Butchering Co’s pork, maple and blueberry sausages!
There are some stunning walks through Cania Gorge National Park. Watching sunrise over the cliffs at the Giant’s Chair is a truly spectacular experience. Some of the most scenic walks are Dripping Rock and the Overhang which take you deep into the gorge and to some ancient, interesting rock formations. Cania Dam is at the heart of the area. But under the water is the site of the old gold mining town of Cania. North Burnett Mayor Les Hotz remembers it from when he was a child and has a property right on the picturesque dam. Gravestones from the ghost town were moved to the dam’s lookout before it was flooded in 1982. Rumour has it that a large deposit of gold was found while the dam wall was under construction but the project powered on ahead regardless.
Cania Dam is stocked with saratoga, Australian bass, golden and silver perch and it’s a top spot to chuck in a line. You do need to get a stocked impoundment permit though – head online or to Australia Post. Red claw is also bountiful if you throw in some pots. Sunwater operates Cania Dam too and urges you to check their app, website and Facebook page before heading out. They regularly monitor for subsidence and blue-green algae levels too. Check the surrounding signs, stick to the speed limit and away from exclusion zones.
Cania Gorge Tourist Park is a great place to base yourself when exploring the area. They have cabins, camp and caravan sites and daily native bird feeding.
