Platypus Drive

After a good nights sleep at the Ibis it was time for Jane to be released back into the big, wide world. I’d introduced her to the joys of the Ibis buffet breakfast and given her a big plate (Alan) to load up with the plentiful supplies. We then had a restful morning.

We decided that maybe instead of just sitting round the Ibis, we could hire a car for a few days and venture out. However, here in Mackay car hire was extortionate and so we decided we could only afford one for 24 hours, noon til noon.

We asked Svetlana on reception, what we could do and where to go. Her first suggestion was to drive up to Eungella and see the platypus in the wild. Well, we didn’t need any further encouragement but she mentioned that we could stop on the way at Pinnacle Pies so we knew we were onto a winner!

I picked up the car from the airport at noon and was served by the nice man from Guildford and I was soon walking away with the keys. Waiting for me was a brand new Mazda Automatic. I got in and realised that I had absolutely no idea how to drive it, as it’s been ages since I’ve rented an Automatic! Luckily, Jane, who has never driven an automatic in her life, was able to tell me what I needed to do and I eventually managed to turn it on. I put it in Drive and off we went.

The roads in Mackay on a Saturday were very quiet and we drove a short distance to our first stop, the World’s Smallest Roundabout. Don’t tell me Mackay hasn’t got anything to offer tourists! It’s actually in a very nice residential area close to the beach and most importantly, getting here gave me the chance to practice driving the car.

Now we were ready for the main trip. This was to drive up what’s known as ‘Pioneer Valley’ apparently one of the most beautiful valleys in Australia. Or did they say ‘in Mackay’? 🤣

We drove through the pretty villages of Marion, Mirani, Gargett, Finch Hatton and finally Eungella following the mighty Pioneer River. The valley is known for its sugar cane production and there are vast fields of the stuff all along the route as well as several huge mills and lots of railway lines for transporting the crop. It is like a scene from a movie probably starring Sidney Poitier.

We failed to stop at Melba House (Home of Dame Nellie Peach Melba) but couldn’t resist the signs for Platypus Beach. This turned out to be just a rough track down to the river underneath the road bridge. It’s apparently a popular bathing spot but the jokers in the car leaving as we arrived, said that there was a croc down there but it would probably be ok!!! Very funny, mate. Of course, there were no crocs or platypus to be seen.

We did also stop for a famous pie at Pinnacle Pies which is a busy, family run place in the middle of nowhere. We chose the famous Steak and Potato pie which came covered in the famous mushy peas , as is the tradition. It was really good!

The scenery was stunning with the ever changing weather and light. Classically Australian (gum trees, farm tracks and sugar cane). However, at Netherdale we suddenly started to get warning signs. No petrol for 500 km, sharp bends, steep road, blind bends on narrow road, skidding risk, rockfalls, unsuitable for caravans, dips in the road. Svetlana hadn’t mentioned this part of the journey. As we started to climb up the escarpment and out of the valley, it got hot and steamy and then rainy. Oh great, but it was too late to turn back now….we were only 5km from the platypus!

At least it was very quiet…I think the only vehicle I met was a car trailling a caravan. So much for the signs…. This road was definitely on a par with other scary ones like The Bealach na Ba in Scotland or the road to Thrypti in Crete. But here the Aussie’s forget to mention it and don’t even give it a name.

At the top of the pass we stopped to look at the views from Goodes Viewpoint. They were only rated as ‘Goode’ because they need to do some hedge clearance to open up the view a bit which looks straight back down the valley we’d driven through. The other thing Jane spotted here was a kookaburra sitting in a branch minding its own business. Hurrah.

Then we drove onto our final destination Broken River. Here we are definitely up in the tropics. It’s very wet but there is just a 40metre walk from the car park to the viewing platform by the river. There are just a handful of people here and straight away we spot a platypus. They are very small and cute. You spot some bubbles, they surface, then in 30seconds- they’re gone again. As everyone else wandered off we stayed patiently and we were rewarded with a second little platypus who surfaced right beneath us. As we got back to the car we felt smug that we’d followed advice and worn our trainers and socks as we watched people in crocs and flip flops trying to remove leeches from between their toes! Very happy with our day, we retraced our steps and got home just in time for our meal out!

Tonight we left the Ibis behind once more and I drove us into Mackay centre where Jane had booked us in to the very trendy Indian Restaurant ‘Roshin by Raj’. The centre of town looked lovely all lit up in the evening glow and a warm drizzle. The glow was actually coming from the Gelateria on the corner which provided a tasty pudding to finish our meal.

The Indian food was really tasty and just what the Doctor had ordered. We were all done and off to bed by 8-30 as we had a big (relaxed) day ahead of us.😉🦘🌅