Mozzies Around Australia: Day 45 Bowen to Finch Hatton

Finch Hatton sits about 60kms west of Mackay in the Pioneer Valley and my sister and brother-in-law happen to have a block of land that backs onto to Cattle Creek. This little slice of paradise is where we ended up after leaving Bowen. We did consider going towards Cape Hillsborough way, but a quite country retreat won us over and we are really glad we did.

At the moment Finch Hatton is a quite little town but has quite good amenities. It is on Wiki camps and the showgrounds are very popular with travelers and they are planning to develop the area for mountain bikes much the same as they have done in Derby in Tasmania so if that takes off, it won't be such a quiet place anymore. Great for the town in some ways though some of old timers might not be real keen on the idea.

We set ourselves up on the block with power and water (Thanks Trev) which made things very comfortable. Beautiful green grass and the sound of the creek bubbling away. In the late afternoon, you could sit on the bank and watch the platypus swimming around.

We had a few days so Day one was a drive into Mackay as Russ needed a new oil filter and a quick look around as we will be spending a week in Mackay catching up with family.

That afternoon we went out to Finch Hatton Gorge - nice walk up into the rain forest and as usual lots of steps to get to the best bits. We did both the Cascades and the Wheel of Fire. These are named because the water cascades over a cliff and into a deep pool. It's a popular swimming spot for those who would like to take a dip.

The Wheel of Fire named after the Queensland Firewheel Trees that surround the pool which flower a fiery red kin spring and summer.

Our next stop was Eungella National Park - a place we have visited many times. It is still a very beautiful part of the world and gives you a fantastic view down the valley towards Mackay. We stopped in at Broken River where there are more platy pus but again you ahve to be there at the right time of the day. None to be seen but plenty of turtles! Back to the chalet for a coffee and to see how things have changed, not much really except that the pool has been filled in.