Despite visiting Mackay many times over the years, we’d never made the trip to Eungella. We decided a couple of nights in the hills was well overdue. Luckily for us we had three days to explore.
Walks and Platypuses
First first day was about walks, there are quite a few in the area and we decided to knock a few off early in our visit. Sky Window, part of the Broken River trail, Pine Grove and a section of Cedar Grove to the Tree Arch were all done. The Tree Arch is quite spectacular and worth the effort. The damage that feral pigs can do was on show. The rangers had baiting in place and hopefully the pigs would disappear from this beautiful area soon.
Broken River was the highlight. Abby recalls swimming there as a child, but with swimming all but banned the platypus has made a remarkable comeback. We have never seen one in the wild before and were very fortunate to spot five just after lunch. They are an odd creature, but amazing to watch as they dive, fed and just generally floated in the river.
Our accommodation came with a fireplace so toasting marshmallows by the fire rounded out an amazing first day.
A taste of the future
Day two was about driving. We wanted to scope out some camp sites for when our caravan finally arrived. We also told the girls they could have a swim at the Diggings. This meant dirt, corrugations and some minor offroading was the order of the day.
We drove the Crediton Loop, stopping for a walk to the Wishing Pool, before finding our way to Crediton Hall. The loop was all but done when we turned to head out to Eungella Dam. We had our first taste of corrugations. The girls were unimpressed and were disappointed to learn this was easy compared to some of the roads we intended to travel. Eugella Dam is very pretty and the few campers there had the place almost to themselves.
The road to the Diggings was rough enough that we had 4WD engaged the whole time and a little bit of bush pinstriping was added. The steep, windy, narrow and rutted track was fun and gave us the confidence the MU-X could take us where we would want to go. The water crossing at the Diggings looked deep and was flowing hard. Hannah’s desire to enter the water was put to practical use and she walked the crossing. It was deep (almost to her butt), flowing fast enough that she had to concentrate on her footing and while not relevant to the vehicle crossing “cold”. No need for unnecessary risk to the MU-X so the girls got their swim.
We completed the day with return visit to Broken River to get even more of a platypus fix. We had almost a private show and we made the most of it, sitting and watching the platypus in the main pool until the sun began to set.
The Freezing Wheel of Fire
We decided to stop at Finch Hatton Gorge and walk to the Wheel of Fire on our way home. We were glad we made the stop at such a beautiful spot. The Araluen Cascades gave us a taste of what was to come at the top. Almost at the top, the Callistemon Crossing had been washed away and the recent rains made for an interesting crossing. We had the choice of either a shoes off wade across or a rock hopping, tree trunk balancing act. Christian did the shoes off crossing, but it proved to be too deep for the girls. Abby and the girls then took the only remaining option and carefully made their way over. It was all worth it and the Wheel of Fire was spectacular.
Hannah had heard how Abby swam there as a child and her cousins had swum there too. Despite repeated warnings of just how cold the water was she was determined to have her swim. Unfortunately for Christian, responsible parents do not let their children swim unattended in waterfall fed, boulder strewn creeks and he was forced to join her. Based purely on the looks on their faces and some colourful language from Christian, that water was cold. Their swim lasted about one minute before a hasty retreat was made.
Having completed a long overdue visit to Eungella, we left very happy. The area has a special combination of beautiful sites, some special wildlife and feels a world away from Mackay.