What to do when you find yourself in Northern Queensland for a few
weeks? Go exploring of course!
Northern Queensland is probably the furthest in Australia you can travel
from Perth. It’s a whole day of travelling by plane, but it sure is worth it.
Top attractions in Queensland are the beaches, islands, rainforests, and the
Great Barrier Reef. There are some special National Parks with some great
wildlife too.
Justin has done a lot of travelling for work this year and this time he
has been seconded to the port in MacKay (pronounced Mac-Kai) in Northern
Queensland for a few weeks and since it is a longer time, Bron was able to join
him. The work weeks were pretty standard but the weekends were crammed with
exploring.
MacKay is located on the banks of the Pioneer River about 1000 km north
of Brisbane and has a population of about 120 000 people. MacKay is the
sugar capital of Australia growing more than a third of the country’s sugar
cane. One doesn’t have to go far out of the city to see fields and fields of
cane at every stage of growth and the farms stretched all the way to Airlie
Beach and Eungella, as far north and west as we went. It gave us a very South
Coast of Durban feel with the humidity and all the cane. MacKay is also the
gateway to the Bowen Basin coal mining reserves with two bulk coal terminals at
Hay Point just south of MacKay.
The view from our apartment at high and low tide
Highlights of things we did in MacKay itself are:
The Bluewater Trail – a ~20 km pedestrian and cycle path circling the
city including paths along the river, through the botanical garden and along
the ocean front. Bron enjoyed walking an 8 km stretch from the apartment on
weekday afternoons.
Queen’s Gardens – Apart from the Orchid House we didn’t see much
happening here, mostly seemed to be centred around a cricket oval with no game
on that day.
Orchid House – Located in the Queen’s Gardens and the most beautiful and
diverse collection of orchids we have seen. Every size, shape, and colour you
can imagine. It helped that they were mostly all still in flower. We were
pleasantly surprised by this great find in the city.
Farmer’s Market – All of 6 stalls on a Wednesday afternoon but great for
fresh local produce.
Northern Beaches – Specifically the 6 km Black’s Beach we frequented on
the weekends (well, the ones we were actually in town for, lol) and Town Beach,
right next to the port and marina. Bron would drop Justin at the marina in the
morning and then enjoy an 8 km walk (return) on Town Beach 3 to 4 times a week.
The Pioneer River at Finch Hatton
Ring of Fire Cascades at Finch Hatton Gorge
Boibs at Finch Hatton
View of the Pioneer Valley
Exploring outside of the city started in the Pioneer Valley at Finch
Hatton Gorge about an hours drive west of MacKay where the swimming holes are
popular with locals in the summer. A 1.6 km path through sub-tropical forest
leads to the Araluen Cascades and a further 1.4 km ends at the Wheel of Fire
Cascades so named for the red flowers that bloom here in the spring. A swim
after the walk would have been very welcome however the water was still really
cold given how hot it was outside. The rocks were also super slippery, getting
in and out accident free would be a challenge.
Further down the track from Finch Hatton is Eungella National Park
(pronounced young-gella). We were hoping to do some of the walking trails here
as well but they seemed closed off and didn’t correlate with the map we had.
Instead we settled down for some wild platypus spotting.
Walking in Eungella National Park
Australian Brush Turkey
(with about the same amount of brain as a guinea fowl)
Real wild platypus!!
The Broken River than runs through the park is one of the most reliable
places to spot wild platypus in Australia. Platypus along with 4 species of
echidna are the only 5 living species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs.
Platypus may seem a little confused with a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver
and feet like an otter, but these features give them great advantage in the
water. Platypus are great swimmers and we enjoyed watching one dive and swim
fast to the bottom to forage and then bob back up to the surface again. Male
platypus grow to around 50 cm and weigh between 1.2 and 2.4 kg while female
platypus grow to around 40 cm and weigh between 0.7 and 1.6 kg. They also have
a venom-injecting spur on the hind foot making them one of few venomous mammals.
The platypus we saw was about 30 cm long and looked very sweet and friendly. Platypus
are very shy animals and we feel privileged to have spotted one in the wild. There
were also a few fresh-water turtles of various sizes swimming and floating around
that were fun to watch.
Kangaroos and wallabies on the beach at Cape Hillsborough National Park
Cape Hillsborough National Park is about 45 min drive north of MacKay
and is the perfect spot to snag that iconic Australian photo of kangaroos on
the beach. Only catch is you have to be there at sunrise which can be somewhat
of a challenge if you are not camping in the park. The first time we arrived 10
min before sunrise at 05:30 only to discover the kangaroos all left the beach at sunrise. Fail. The second time we
arrived on the beach at 04:50 in complete darkness (yes, we were are
crazy enough to go twice). The Roos are so quiet, you don’t know they are there
at all until it starts to get light. The smaller wallabies were very skittish
but the larger kangaroos were very chilled and stayed around much longer. They
appear to forage in the sand looking for snacks and also eat the vegetation on
the edge of the beach.
Views from the lookouts at Cape Hillsborough
Boibs at Cape Hillsborough
The incoming rain
After the roos all left we enjoyed a long walk on the beach and along a
trail to lookouts over the bay where we spotted turtles in the water below. The
second time the tide was low enough to walk across to the nearby island. There
was also fresh turtle tracks and a turtle nest on the beach the second time,
their fifth nest of the season, we were so excited to see it. It was wonderful
to enjoy the beach mostly to ourselves and so early in the morning before it
got too hot. After the beach it was tea and scones time at the Old Station
Teahouse near the park followed by a long afternoon nap!
See you next time for more MacKay adventures!
The beach at Cape Hillsborough National Park
Boibs at Cape Hillsborough
Box Jellyfish are a real concern here in Queensland and all the beaches have a sign like this.
Please don't get stung by a box jelly!
