Platypli aplenty

We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn at Rockhampton and all stood on the “tropic”. We then headed to Mackay.

Our first day was delayed by a flat tyre incident when mum and dad had gone to get petrol really early then got stuck for two hours. After the tyre was sorted we went to Eungella (Yun-Gulla) National Park in the hinterland behind Mackay. For morning tea we stopped at Eungella’s General Store. What surprised us most were the friendly locals – a cat and a dog called Tully. The dog was huge but was really friendly whereas the cat really didn’t care that we were there at all. During morning tea the cat started grooming itself in a most peculiar way in front of us.

After lunch we went on a walk through the rainforest, it was so much cooler under the huge trees. Eungella is famous for its platypus and is regarded as the best place in Australia to see them in the wild. We were not disappointed. In the late afternoon we walked over the main bridge in the national park and saw several platypus swimming in the river. It was great fun watching them swimming up and down the river and following the air bubbles on the surface whenever they dived. We stayed until it got too dark to see them. It was a really special experience watching these unique animals.