Tuesday 2 April 2013

16 March 2013 – Cape Hillsborough



We actually got out of bed early today, around 5.45am to head to the beach for sunrise.  Down on the beach were 8 kangaroos which was very pretty.  We hung around trying to capture the perfect photo and watched the sunrise but unfortunately there was a fair bit of cloud around.  After about 30 minutes the kids decided that they’d had enough and headed back to the van to jump into our bed to watch cartoons – not something they get much of these days.  Josh and I stayed with the roos for at least an hour and then went for a romantic stroll north along the beach.  By the time we got back, they were both still snuggled in the bed but Sami had actually gotten her breakfast.  They started to become irritated with each other so we got them out of bed and headed over to the sun and the pool for a while.  Just after mid-morning, we were off for a drive to Eungella National Park which was around 1.5 hours away and inland from Mackay.  This destination is apparently well known for its platypus.  The drive was really pretty, past lots of sugar cane farms at Pinnacle and Finch Hatton and at one point Josh stopped to slash a piece of sugar cane for us to munch on along the way – not that it tasted very sweet to me.  Around the last 5kms of the drive was a steep climb up a mountain side and past lots of waterfalls.  Our first stop was at a small lookout and then onto another bigger one called the Sky Window” and that is really what it was.  It was very picturesque and you could see the roads that we’d just climbed along the side of the mountain!  Further along, at Broken River, there was a café and information centre so we refuelled ourselves, got some maps and headed off on our adventure which was a track called Granite Bend Circuit.  Our rainforest track was quite narrow and dense but at the same time beautiful and exciting.  About half way along our walk there was a bridge that crossed the creek and it looked really inviting.  We all stripped off and cautiously climbed into the creek, careful not to slip on our way in.  Josh and Sami headed in first and then Zoe and I stuck together.  Zoe and I were having a great giggle trying not to go too deep as it was pretty cold and then trying to get out of the slippery rocks, we kept sliding back down the rock so it took a lot of effort to get out.  Especially for Zoe who stubbornly decided that she didn’t want to wear her wet shoes.  The creek was flowing and there were spots right along with small waterfalls drifting off the end of rocks.  Upon getting out and heading back along the track, Sami spotted a pretty big goanna but it got scared off as we walked by.  After returning off the beaten track, the girls and I headed back to the platypus viewing platform while Josh began to cook some snags at a nearby park for a late lunch.  We didn’t manage to see any platypus but there were plenty of turtles and many noisy white cockatoos.  At this point Zoe had her foot in the fencing and then watched one of her thongs tumble down to the creek for the turtles to sniff at.  We didn’t try and retrieve it!  As we headed back to Josh in the park, there was some movement and scary rustling sounds on the footpath ahead.  It turned out to be a skinny green snake (maybe something like a tree snake?) which slithered away off the path and hid behind a tree.  Sami’s take on this was that “it scared the fudge out of her”.  There were a few cute kookaburras watching over at lunch ready to swoop on any remnants of food they could find.  After packing away our lunch rubbish we headed back to the platypus viewing platform one last time with our fingers crossed.  We hung around for a long time but still no platypus!!  We figured we’d just have to get on our way though as it was getting late and we didn’t want to be driving home on dusk knowing how many kangaroos are around.  Before coming back to the caravan, we drove through the nearby town of Seaforth.  It too is right on the beachfront and a really cute place.  Although it is still a quaint little town with very little nearby, quite a few homes along the beach have been renovated and/or rebuilt and it is probably becoming a more popular area.  There were a few fishermen about and catamarans out, and there is also an enclosure area on the beach for swimming.  Back at the van, we got cleaned up, had dinner and settled into our quiet night lifestyle… loving it!












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