We needed to pass some time before we got to Mackay as we were waiting for some post. We looked at the map and the “Lono” and decided that we would explore the area West of Mackay as recommended. This area is a large national park with rainforest and gorges. Although we had seen some of these already it sounded nice so we went to give it a go. We didn’t really know much about the area before we arrived. Rockampton to Eungella is a bit of a drive and so we arrived in Eungella at sunset. To our surprise, after driving on some single lane minor roads that could only just be called sealed, we were met by a rather large steep hill.
Road to Eungella, in daylight!
Leading up the hill was a very long, winding road which we discovered was the road to our campsite. Luckily for me Jo was driving! The road was an adventure all of its own with a sheer drop on one side and only enough room for one car in places. We made it safely to the top though and were relieved to pitch up at the campsite.
The campsite was very different to any of the ones we had stayed in so far. There weren’t pitches and there was no reception just an honesty box with prices. We found a spot and set up camp in the dark. The next morning on opening our tent the view was breathtaking. We were indeed on the top of a very big hill with a view out over the valley. It was stunning.
Pioneer Valley - The view from the campsite
Eungella itself is a tiny town with a school and one shop. This made it extremely difficult with the upcoming birthday celebrations! Around the corner was a spot called Broken River. We arrived at Broken River for lunch having spent some time taking in the valley view on the skywalk. We knew that the area was a good place to spot Platypus but didn’t think that we would get to see one as it was the wrong time of the day. Before I could open up the rucksack to get the sandwiches out, up popped a platty. He was lovely and swam around for some time near us. We remembered all the old tricks of looking for the bubbles and not moving once he was on the surface. It was great watching him. We also spent some time viewing him and his friend on the official viewing platform a bit further down stream and were fortunate enough to see them going into the burrow. Whilst platty watching we also saw some freshwater turtles and striking azure kingfishers. Around the platty viewing place was a very scenic walking track with some great vines to swing on which we enjoyed. That night back at base we were admiring the view as the sun set when all of a sudden a huge blaze could be seen alight in the valley. It remained well contained so we guessed it must be a controlled burn or something similar. It lasted for about 10 mins and was very bright, then all of a sudden it was gone.
The next morning it was Jo’s birthday and the festivities started.
