Eungella

23 - 26 June

To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary we decided on a short break to another of our favourite spots. Eungella is in the Mackay hinterland about 5 ½ hours from Townsville. It's often cold and wet so we headed to the Broken River Mountain Resort where we have stayed a number of times. The resort has self contained cabins and is just a short walk from the National Park platypus viewing platforms and walks.

View of the Pioneer Valley from the lookout at Eungella.

As usual we managed to drag the drive out to about 7 hours with stops for some op-shopping and lunch. We found a nice park in Proserpine just as you turn off the highway. The drive through the Pioneer Valley is pleasant and the steep climb up the range to Eungella is windy but the road is wide, and only about 5 kilometres. 

According to a couple of web sites, Eungella is an aboriginal word meaning 'mountains of mist' or 'land of clouds', same thing really... anyway you get the idea, it can get wet. It can also get very cold. This mountain catches the moisture gathered over the ocean by the prevailing south east winds. That's why there is a rainforest here. The forecast indicated that the mountain would live up to its name during our visit but we decided to book anyway. We'd take a chance that the weather would allow us to venture outside some of the time. Lucky we did, it was close to perfect!

This area is the northern range limit for the Regent Bowerbird (seen last visit) and southern limit for the Lesser Sooty Owl. Although the big draw card for birders is the Eungella Honeyeater there are plenty of other highlights. On the way back from seeing the Honeyeater, we spotted three Grey Goshawks! Eastern Yellow Robins are everywhere, Little and Grey Shrike-thrush are common, you could see Noisy Pitta or Bassian Thrush. Mick.
 

Christie spotted this young Noisy Pitta.

Lewin's Honeyeater

A pair of Eastern Yellow Robins have a tub.

Little Shrike-thrush

Dusky Moorhen

Once we had settled in to our cabin we went down for a walk to see the platypus. Platypus are supposed to be nocturnal but we have seen them here at all times of day. This trip was no exception. Within a few minutes we had spotted our first platypus. Visitors are almost guaranteed a sighting. Over the course of our visit we saw playtpus every time we walked to the river.

Top platypus viewing area.

Panorama from the bottom viewing area.

There are two viewing platforms, a spot under the bridge as well as from on the bridge that all allow good opportunities to see this unique creature. It's not so easy to photograph them as they don't stay on the surface for long, and there is often glare on the water. 

One of the stars of the Broken River show.

A pair of Azure Kingfishers patrolled the river and were seen regularly.

A tortoise catches some rays.

We spent Wednesday visiting the platypus and walking close to the resort. A small cafe attached to the visitor centre serves coffee, cake and meals. We enjoyed a coffee and chat with the new owner. 

There is a new National Park "bush camping" site just across the road from the resort. This would be a beautiful spot to camp as you can sit on the riverbank and watch the wildlife. As yet there are no toilet facilities at the campsite. Campers must walk the 200 metres across the bridge to the visitor centre. This didn't seem a problem for those who had set up camp there.

Around the edge of the day use area is a great place to look for birds.

New signage and art installations were being completed. These are scattered along the riverside walkways. The park is certainly looking good. Well done Queensland National Parks.

Red-browed Finch

Brown Thornbill

We splashed out and had dinner at the resort restaurant on Wednesday night. The meals were generously sized and the service good. Possums are fed out on the deck and happily posed for photos.

We headed out on Thursday morning to drive to the edge of the national park to a birding hotspot. The end of Chelman's Road is known to be a good spot for Eungella Honeyeaters. The road is mostly unsealed but in reasonable condition for most of the way. We stayed for most of the morning and Mick was rewarded with some good photos.

Eungella Honeyeater.

The ubiquitous Eastern Yellow Robin.

Eastern Whipbird having a sunbake.

Heading home on Friday we stopped in Proserpine and enjoyed lunch at the Cane Cutter Bistro in the Metropole Hotel .What a find! Lunch specials ranging from $8 to $14, as well as a regular menu. Meals were enormous and very tasty. Think we might make this a regular stop when travelling this way.

Paluma

1 -2 January 2015

We decided on a very short break to escape the enervating heat and humidity of wet-season Townsville. Our destination was "up the range" to Paluma for an overnighter. Situated on Mount Spec, Paluma is generally much cooler than the sun baked coastal plain at its feet. At the end of 22 k's of narrow winding road, the tiny village lies surrounded by lush rainforest and is often shrouded in mist.

Our first stop was at Little Crystal Creek - a popular swimming and picnic spot. Being New Year's Day there were lots of people about enjoying a dip in the cool rainforest creek. We had morning tea and Mick spotted a couple of Noisy Pittas hanging around the picnic area.

The single arch concrete bridge spanning the creek was constructed in the 1930's and is faced in natural stone.

The beautiful Noisy Pitta forages on the ground for snails and worms but this one has added picnic scraps to the menu.

Only an hour or so from Townsville, Paluma offers more than just a cool change. The high altitude rainforest is home to a great variety of birds not usually seen in the dry tropics below. Besides the Golden Bowerbird, documented below, Satin and Tooth-billed Bowerbirds are also found here. Crimson Rosella and Australian King Parrot aren't hard to find. Grey-headed Robin and Little Shrike-thrush are quite common. Early in the morning Chowchilla will be heard calling from rainforest gullies but finding them can be difficult. I have also seen Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher on the way up to the village. Mick.

Next we drove up to the top of the range and beyond towards the Paluma Dam. The unsealed road was in fairly good condition (and doesn't require a 4WD when it's dry - not sure about driving it in the wet). We travelled the 6.8km to Birthday Creek Falls where there is a decent sized parking area and a track down to the creek where you can swim. Half-way down the track is a known Golden Bowerbird bower. It has been there for many years, and we have been there before to photograph the bird but without any luck.

This time Mick was certain his efforts would be rewarded - and he was right. We had only been there a couple of minutes when the gorgeous creature obligingly posed for some photos at the bower and in the trees. At the start of the track we has met some fellow birders from Birdlife Townsville who were waiting for others in their group to arrive so we only stayed a short while at the bower, then walked down the the creek, but not all the way to the swimming hole. The track is reasonably easy, but downhill and then uphill on the way back, with a few steps. It was a hot day, and without our water bottles we did need a couple of rests.

My main aim this time was to photograph the Golden Bowerbird. On our first visit to the bower I only saw the bird flying in the distance and on the second visit did not see the bird at all. Third time lucky. The stunning male was actively decorating his bower with moss, twigs and flowers. This was a very special encounter for us. I should have concentrated on getting a great shot and tried different camera settings but instead I felt like we were intruding and hurried to leave the bird in peace. Low light is always difficult to contend with but a couple shots turned out OK. Mick.

Golden Bowerbird. Note the decoration of moss and flowers.

The male Golden Bowerbird posturing on a branch close to his bower.

Once back at the carpark we chatted with the club members - who were still waiting for the rest to arrive - then had a picnic lunch. There are no facilities there so it was a stand-up lunch at the back of the car. Just as we were finishing a few spots of rain started to fall. Fortunately the worst of the rain didn't start until we were back on the bitumen road to Paluma village. It absolutely poured down on the drive back.

If you don't like rain and mist, don't go to Paluma.

We had booked into the Rainforest Inn for the night, so had a coffee and checked in while we waited for the rain to ease. After a couple of hours it did stop so we headed off for the short walk to McClelland's Lookout and then along the road to the "H Track". Over came the rain again - oh well - we were in the rainforest. We got completely soaked by heavy, wind driven rain while hurrying back to our room. Mental notes were made about packing raincoats.

Later in the afternoon, the rain had stopped but the cloud came in - Paluma is sometimes known at "the village in the clouds" and it certainly lived up to its reputation!

The Rainforest Inn is only open from Thursday to Sunday and the restaurant only opens at night on Saturdays and only if there are bookings but we were able to have a meal provided to our room. There are no other dining options in Paluma at this time. The menu is small but the meals were well presented, tasty and reasonably priced.

After a hearty breakfast we packed up and set off once again for the "H Track" which runs along the alignment of a former logging track. This time the weather held out for us with only a few spots of rain along the way. This track is 1.3km long and starts near the Pottery and ends near the old Police Station. It is gravel, covered in leaf litter with a few uphill sections and some stairs. It is used by the Paluma Environmental Education Centre, so some seating is provided in a couple of outdoor classrooms.

Bracket Fungi stands out in the gloom of the rainforest.

Looking much better than it did a couple of years ago, the forest here is recovering from cyclone damage.

Back down the range with a short stop at Little Crystal Creek again and then home - back to the heat.

Blue Quandong fruit and leaves on the rocks. Fruit Pigeons and Cassowaries eat the fruit and spread the seeds.