We left Ingham in the rain but arrived at Finch Hatton in bright sunshine. The caretaker at the Show Grounds was complaining about the heat and we were pleased to take advantage of the shade offered by some large fig trees. Cane harvesting was under way with trucks bringing in cages of cut cane for transfer to the trains which are such an interesting feature of the sugar country.
Finch Hatton is a good base to visit Eungella National Park, Eungella Dam, Kinchant Dam, Finch Hatton Gorge and a new find for us, De Moleyns Lagoon. If you search Google Maps for it you will find it in two places. Being a lagoon the one with the blue patch associated with it is the one you want which didn’t stop my in-car navigation system from directing me straight across a cane field to the other one. I ignored the advice. The one true lagoon can be found by taking Brand Road to what appears to be its end at the Council Tip. Keep the tip on your right and continue on a gravel track to a locked gate. The astute bird watcher will quickly solve the problem posed by the gate and drive on to the water’s edge. It is worth the effort.
That night we went to bed to the sound of a raucous argument between a Little Red Flyingfox and a Ring-tailed Possum over who owned the figs above our heads. We woke the next morning to the equally raucous and persistent calls of a Channel-billed Cuckoo.
The next camp site was 213km south at St. Lawrence adjacent to another excellent wetland birding place.
Today we made another step down the Bruce Highway, crossed the Tropic of Capricorn near Rockhampton and tonight we are are camped at Tannum Sands near Gladstone. It feels so urban after our sojourn in the less densely populated north and northeast of the country.
bobmcgee 