ST LAWRENCE, MACKAY and EUNGELLA

2^nd July, 2015

We are on the road again and headed back to the Sunshine Coast for a quick visit. Warwick's sister (Beryl) is turning 80 and her son Greg is hosting a birthday b-b-q at his home in Gympie. We will catch up with some family while we are there and then quickly head north again for the warmer weather. It is very dry out in the outback areas of Queensland and it is no surprise when we come across some drovers moving a large mob of cattle along the grass verge beside the highway.

Droving in outback Queensland

Many cattlemen are forced to travel 'the Long Paddock' during years of drought to keep their stock alive.

Many cows 'calve' as they travel the road

Outback Queensland is in desperate need of life giving rain – the paddocks are devoid of grass. It is not until we reach the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range that we start to see a change in the vegetation. It is as if someone has drawn a line across the land with one side receiving rain and the other side no rain. It's a tough life on the land.

We spend an enjoyable week on the Sunshine Coast and then scoot back north up the highway – stopping overnight at a rest area near Calliope and then free camping a few nights at a reserve in St Lawrence. The reserve is adjacent to a large wetlands area and many different types of waterbirds can be seen from the paths and viewing areas. The sunsets weren't too bad either.

Sunset at St Lawrence

St Lawrence is a small town about 5 kilometres off the highway – very quiet. The main railway line runs through here but there is very little movement along the tracks. The original railway bridge that spanned the estuary has been replaced and two of the old bridge stanchions stand in a park beside the water.

Wok checks out the old bridge stanchions in the park at St Lawrence

An information board has a display of photos and a history of the area and its bridges. It's a great place to spend a couple of days and we enjoyed exploring all the little tracks around the area.

It's a busy time on the road right now with caravans, camper trailers, fifth wheelers and motor homes making up the bulk of the traffic. With coastal caravan parks full to the brim we decide to go a little inland away from the hustle and bustle and find a lovely little council run caravan park at Mirani (about 30 klms west of Mackay). There are only about ten other caravans camped here and is a great place to base ourselves while we explore the area. We are right in the midst of the sugar cane harvesting season and there are sugar cane trains and sugar cane trucks plying up and down every road. We spend a couple of days relaxing and then take a drive into Mackay. We pass a couple of sugar cane mills along the way and that old familiar sickly sweet smell of molasses fills the air. It has been quite a long time since we last visited Mackay and nothing looks familiar. The main business centre has grown significantly and the small little seaside villages have now become upmarket urban sprawl. We check out the southern beaches and then cross the river to tour around the northern beaches.

Wok surveys a beach north of Mackay

There are some lovely spots along here and new subdivisions seem to be springing up everywhere. We continue north to Seaforth where we have a late 'hamburger and chips' lunch in the park on the beach before heading back to Mirani via an inland route. A couple of days later we pack a picnic lunch and head west along the valley and then climb the range into Eungella National Park. We stop to take a stroll along one of the rainforest walks.

Wok walks along a rainforest track at Eungella National Park

At the first viewing area we can see the winding road climbing up the range that we came up with the small village of Eungella perched at the top.

Road winding up the mountain to Eungella

Further along we come to the 'Sky Window' – a perfect name for the spectacular view down the valley to Mackay.

View down the valley towards Mackay from Eungella National Park

There is a lot of haze in the distance which is steam/smoke coming from the sugar cane mills and stops us from seeing the waters of the Pacific Ocean. We continue along the rainforest walk which loops back to the parking lot. Our next stop is at Eungella Creek which has two platypus viewing areas.

Wok is searching for the elusive platypus

The best time of day to see platypus (according to the rangers) is at dawn and dusk and as it was nearly noon the chance of us happening upon a time mis-managed platypus was pretty well zero. We did however see a couple of turtles and a snake that slithered across the path in front of us and plopped into the water. The walk beside the creek was quite picturesque and although this killer fig will eventually overwhelm its host tree the patterns it is creating on the trunk is strikingly beautiful.

Killer Fig in Eungella National Park

The road continues along the ridge and then turns west out of the national park. Thirty kilometres further on we come to Eungella Dam.

Eungella Dam

The lake was created by damming the Broken River and there is a large picnic area with numerous camp spots along the shore. A family of ducks happily paddle about and keep us entertained while we enjoy our picnic lunch beside the water. Soon it was time to hop in the Jeep and make our way back down the range. A great day was had by all!