The contrast could not have been bigger between yesterday’s sailing and today’s visit at Eungella National Park in the misty mountains.

We started off at Arlie Beach and drove through sugar cane country for a long time. As we had picked the shortest route to our next stop we left the main road and drove up and down the hills on roads with only a single paved lane in the middle. As long as there was no car coming from the opposite direction you could use the paved strip. As soon as the road needed to be shared each car moved to the left driving on dirt with two wheels until the road was clear again.

Through the following Pioneer Valley traffic remained light and we enjoyed seeing the farms on either side of the road until we reached the foot of the mountain that would take us up to “Broken River Mountain Resort” on a steep slope.

[Pioneer Valley]

When we had left Arlie Beach the temperatures were at around 26 degrees, in the Mackay region they had dropped down to about 18 degrees and it was raining slightly and fog began to rise. So as soon as we stopped the car we got out some warmer clothes and started layering up again.

At reception of the “Broken River Mountain Resort” we were greeted by a crackling fire place and our little hut was equipped with an iron stove and a basket of logs which we immediately put to good use.

The Eungella National Park is home to the platypus. Around the resort there are several viewing platforms where you can spot platypus feeding in the water. With a bit of patience we were able to watch several of them come up for air and for chewing up their prey before diving down again. We also saw turtles paddling through the river.

To our big surprise K knew immediately what a platypus was and that they layed eggs in their nesting burrows and hetch them but then feed the young ones from milk glands for a few months. Smart girl!

Though the huts were equipped with a small kitchen we ate dinner at the resort’s restaurant. Right outside the dining area there was a deck with a small platform in a tree trunk. While we were enjoying dessert we watched a boy put fruit and vegetable leftovers out there. Soon it became evident why he had done so. Just minutes later two possums were enjoying dinner as well. One of them was red (as we would later learn, it inhabited the eucalyptus forest to one side of the ressort) thr other one was brownish/ gray (native of the rainforest to the other side of the ressort).

The girls were thrilled by the cute little creatures and immediately wanted to adopt one- along with all of the koalas and kangaroos they wanted to tame in our backyard…

The little red possum would greet us again a bit later when we joined a night walk with a guide around the ressort and down by the neighboring river. With a big flash light he would point out nocturnal wildlife and plants in the rainforest. We saw a wallaby as well as a frog and spiders. The highlight of the walk, however, was a female platypus that was gathering leaves in her tail for nest building. With the strong flash light we could see her much better than at daytime. She was adorable!

PS: Eungella is another spot on the planet without cell phone reception!

PPS: Would we do the trip to Eungella again?  Probably not, certainly not in winter time with the rain and fog. But seeing the cute platypus and the python (you will hear more about it tomorrow) was a fantastic experience nonetheless.