Day 40: Fri 4 Aug 23 - Finch Hatton

Fri 4 Aug 23 - Finch Hatton

Weather: Overcast and 16 Deg at 6.30am, reaching 22 Deg at Finch Hatton and only 14 Deg at Eungella. It started to rain at about 9.30 and didn’t let up until after 2pm. On top of the range at Eungella, it was wet, cold and very windy with no visibility.

I started the day with a walk through the cane fields across the main road and returned for breakfast. Lyndi drove out from Mackay to meet us for a 21 km drive up to Eungella National Park with Noel and I. When we left at 1045, it had started raining steadily, the wind picked up and it was very cold. The section from Netherdale in the valley up to Eungalla at the top is 4km with an elevation change of 490m, along a very steep, narrow and windy road. The wet and slippery conditions, and no visibility made for a very cautious drive to the top. First stop on arrival was an empty Chalet for morning coffee which tunred out to be very disappointing - it was cold and tasteless. Looking out along the Pioneer Valley on a half decent day, you can see Mackay almost 80km away - but today, we could not see the back garden. We thought the weather might clear enough to go looking for platypus after our coffee - but it didn't let up so we conceited defeat, and made our way slowly back down to Finch Hatton. Back in the valley, the weather had begun clearing, so I took Noel and Lyndi out to meet Felix the bull. Lyndi’s brother is a cattle farmer near Dalby, and after showing her the photos from yesterdays' meeting with the big boy and telling his story, Lyndi was very interested to see him.

On the way back into town, we stopped at the Finch Hatton Hotel for a late lunch / early dinner. A hot and tasty homemade Pie and Chips hit the spot nicely.  We then returned to the van at about 3.30pm, and Lyndi departed for home, while we did a bit of travel planning. By now the weather had cleared nicely, so I went for another walk through the canefields - in the opposite direction to my morning walk, returning via Cattle Creek to the van for a quiet evening. The weather has been very unpredictable the past few days, so we'll wait to see what it is like in the morning before deciding what we might do.

Morning visit to Cattle Creek

Morning walk through the canefields



Morning walk through the canefields


Morning walk through the canefields. A few big bunches of Lady Finger bananas waiting to be picked!

Lady Finger bananas waiting to be picked - tempting.


Eungella Chalet waiting for coffee (and it was definitely NOT worth the wait). Ladies keeping themselves occupied

Eungella Chalet - No views down the valley today (lucky to see 20m)

Eungella Chalet - Wasn't worth the drive today

Back in the Valley on Finch Hatton Gorge road to introduce Felix, who came straight over from the other side of the paddock to say hello

Felix was keen for another nose scratch


Felix is a big boy (in many respects)

Back at the van, Zelda was annoying the chickens

A good Winter's day lunch at the Finch Hatton Hotel - Peppered Beef Pie and Chips - very tasty.

Lunch at the Finch Hatton Hotel


Cane harvest awaiting transport to the refinery


Afternoon visit

Afternoon walk through the canefields

Afternoon walk back to the van along the sugar cane tracks

Afternoon visit to Cattle Creek

Sunset over Cattle Creek - the end of Day 40 away from home


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 63: Sun 27 Aug 23 - Lightning Ridge

Image
Sun 27 Aug 23 - Lightning Ridge Weather:  3 feeling like 1 Deg and clear this morning with a steady NE wind, reaching 26 Deg, cloudy and no wind by mid afternoon.   It was a slow start to the day, but after coffee, I went out for an extra long walk, about 1.5hrs to the information centre and around town, returning to the van to grab my towel and head across to the Artesian Baths for another dip. It was very hot again this morning, at least 40 Deg, and while sitting there, I struck up a conversation with a retired Vietnamese soldier who came to Australia in 1980. He is traveling in a motorhome with his wife who is unwell, and it was great talking to him and hearing his story.   After returning to the van to get changed, Noel and I   drove into the Main Street for our morning coffee. Having visited Lightning Ridge just two years ago, there wasn’t much more that we wanted to see or do, so the rest of our day, apart from an afternoon drive along a couple of the car door ...
Read more

Day 62: Sat 26 Aug 23 - Goodooga to Lightning Ridge

Image
Sat 26 Aug 23 - Goodooga to Lightning Ridge (Towed 75km) Weather:   5 Deg at Goodooga this morning, reaching 26 Deg at Lightning Ridge. Clear and sunny all day with no wind - more perfect weather.  I ventured out for my early morning walk as the sun came up, and then returned to the thermal pool for a very warm and soothing dip. It felt warmer than yesterday afternoon, maybe closer to 45 deg, despite the fresh morning air. Unfortunately one old guy collapsed at the edge of the pool and he was unresponsive for a few moments. I was at the other end of the pool, and there were six people standing next to him just looking on, but not one did anything to help him, so I rushed over. By the time I got there, someone else from outside the pool came to help me with him, then he started to come too. We eventually got him sitting up and leaning against a pole while he gathered himself, before he was able to eventually get back to his feet and return to his van. He didn't appear to hit hi...
Read more

Day 64: Mon 28 Aug 23 - Lightning Ridge to Molong

Image
Mon 28 Aug 23 - Lightning Ridge to Molong (Towed 472km) Weather: 13 feeling like 8 Deg at 5am at Lightning Ridge, reaching 24 at  Marthaguy Rest Area  (12pm) and 13 Deg on arrival at Molong (3.30pm). We were awake early, so we packed and drove away earlier than planned at 7.20am. There was almost no traffic in either direction, but the road for the first 200km to Coonamble was simply t errible, with lots of roadkill . We drove straight through Walgett, then stopped at a gravel pit for mornos at about the 150km mark, and then continued through Coonamble as well. As we approached Coonamble, the countryside transitioned from dry and arid to more green pasture and  evidence of recent rain along the road side. We stopped at  Gulargambone (240km from Lightning Ridge) to check out the artwork around town. It's a very quiet town with not much here, I  only saw one store open. We stopped here two years ago, and a walk around the small town was just as enjoyable today. J...
Read more