I was going through some photos today and found some (ummm, a lot!) that I haven’t shown here, so this update is a mix of stuff we’ve seen or done over the last couple of weeks/months.
Like the rest of the eastern half of the country, we’ve had so much rain here we’ve started to feel waterlogged ourselves – and that’s not an exaggeration! With the humidity here my body has decided to try and suck up as much moisture as it can, fluid retention is a bitch! But it’s not just us (ok, me) that’s suffering. These butcher bird babies and their mother have been trying to find somewhere to keep out of the rain and by the looks of them they aren’t doing very well in finding a dry spot.
I’ve been watching this little family since the babies first left the nest. They used to hang around the picnic table just outside the van. Talk about kids carrying on at meal times – these 2 babies gave their mother hell when she brought food to them. She used to really push the food down their throats, probably to shut them up! They are very cute though.
Finch Hatton
A few weeks after we got to Mackay we found out that Sue and Colin, friends from Roma, were also in the area, staying at Finch Hatton where Colin was working the sugar and Sue worked in the local pub.
Sue and I got to catch up a few times for lunch and we also managed for the 4 of us to visit the Finch Hatton Gorge, which is between the Eungella National Park and Mackay.
There are a couple of really good walking trails within the gorge, and we did the shorter walk (just over 3km return) which takes you through the rainforest to a really pretty water hole at Araluen Falls. The day we were there the weather was perfect for both walking and a swim, but unfortunately we didn’t have our swimmers, and I think everyone else had the same idea so it was pretty busy. I’d like to do the longer walk which takes you to the wheel of Fire Falls and we’ll do that another day, preferably on a weekday when it isn’t so busy. There’s a huge variety of trees and shrubs as well as fungi. Here’s a few photos from the walk.
After the walk we drove up the range to the town of Eungella (pronounced young-galah) and had a couple of cold ones and lunch at the Chalet which also boasts great views over the Pioneer Valley.
The Gooseponds
A few days before I broke my arm, I took the camera and went to the Gooseponds, a waterbird sanctuary. It was a really warm sunny day, and midweek so I had the place to myself which was great. I was really surprised at the variety of birdlife – there were heaps of different types of ducks, egrets, herons, turtles, and dragonflies.
Cape Hillsborough and Surrounds
We went out for a drive to Cape Hillsborough one day – it’s less than an hour up the road and it’s a beautiful area. The road in to the Cape also takes in the seaside villages of Seaforth, Ball Bay and Halliday Bay. There’s a great caravan park with accommodation and van sites and I think we’ll head there for a weekend once the weather is a bit better.
Queens Park and the Orchid House
Queens Park in Mackay is part of the Botanical Gardens and there is also The Ken Burgess Display House there (usually referred to as the Orchid House). There are roughly 600 varieties of orchids or a rotational display there – oh, and because it’s a very moist environment, lots of mozzies!! I love this place (despite the mozzies) and have been there a couple of times already. Here are just a few photos of the park and the orchids on display. The photos of the orchids could be a lot better, I’m really surprised at how difficult it is to take a decent photo of something so beautiful.
