Eungella NP and our first ever sighting of a platypus in the wild!

Well, after another nice day at Yeppoon we headed north for Mackay and Eungella National Park. We are now staying in a tiny caravan park at a town called Finch Hatton, about 60kms west of Mackay and just outside the National Park.

The reason for our diversion to this particular national park, is that my extensive travel research before we left (those of you who know me well, know just how many travel books I devoured before we set out) revealed that this is one of the best places in Australia, many say the very best, to see a platypus in the wild. Platypus are not uncommon in waterways in Australia, but they are extremely timid and therefore rarely seen. However, at Eungella National Park, which is a stunning pocket of rainforest on the ranges here, there is a regular platypus colony, which over the years has become used to human spectators and are therefore likely to be seen swimming in the river. The National Parks service has even built a special viewing platform.

Dawn and dusk are the best times for viewing the elusive platypus. Therefore after we had arrived and set up at Finch Hatton late yesterday afternoon, we jumped straight back in the car and headed for the National Park (about 25kms further west from where we are staying). We walked to the viewing platform and within about half an hour were delighted to spy our first glimpse of a platypus in the wild, foraging for food in the river below. Adam and I have turned into fairly keen wildlife watchers and we were both really excited, standing there with big grins, trying to catch a photo of the tiny little mammal in the water below us. It was smaller than we imagined too and looked really cute as it swam and dived under for food.

This morning, keen to for another viewing, and hoping to get a clearer photo, we rose, pre-dawn at about 5am and drove up the mountain back to the viewing spot. It was still dark when we got there! We listened to the forest come to life, with lots and lots of birdlife around us….and then, shortly before actual sunrise, we saw the platypus, busy in the water below. We watched for a while as it swam about and nosed in the mud and around logs on the shore. A few other people turned up to watch too. Then we saw a second one! It was really great.

We then set off on about an 8km rainforest walk (and it did actually start to rain and a heavy mist rolled in- it was pretty chilly and we actually put our beanies on!) which was nice and really pretty and eerie in the mist, before returning mid morning to the viewing platform…just in case the platypus could still be seen.

To our surprise, we once again saw two of them! We were the only people there and we stood and watched for ages. By then it was about 10.45 am….so much for normally only seeing them at dawn and dusk!

After that we were cold, wet and tired so we had a Devonshire tea at a local café, before heading back to the caravan. It’s been raining the rest of the day so it’s been a good afternoon for catching up on chores and having some much needed down time.

Hope all’s well in your part of the world. We head off soon for a coastal national park just north-east of here. Love, Emma and Adam. xx