Finch Hatton Gorge

Today the Friends group from our Botanic Gardens went on an excursion to a local National Park, Finch Hatton Gorge. This is a really lovely rainforest area about an hour's drive west of Mackay.Many of the plants growing in the area have been propagated and are now growing in our Gardens. We had a lovely day, first walking along paths like this through the rain forest.

This is the creek bed, filled with boulders. Unfortunately it is now barricaded off because too many people had been dumping rubbish in it and destroying the habitat of a tinkling frog (don't know its proper name), sad that a few can spoil it for the majority, but I suppose that is life!

When our children were little, we camped at the Gorge several times and the boys used to love splashing about in the water in the creek. There was even a spot where it was deep enough to swim in. In those days you could only get in to the park in a 4 wheel drive, and even then had to take it very carefully. I think that was a really good idea, it was only after the road was improved and widened and made easily accessible in conventional vehicles that all the damage started to occur.

After the walk, we returned to the picnic area to have a BBQ lunch. We were watched closely by these kookaburras - and some of their other friends in other trees.

A little later the kookaburras got really game. The photo below was taken sitting on my chair in the middle of a group of people. This fellow was totally unconcerned. Fortunately we had taken a marquee with us and we set out all the food underneat it - quite a deterrent to marauding birds.

As well as the kookaburras, we were visited by about half a dozen goannas like the one below. They were equally unconcerned and were wandering around among everyone's chairs and legs! A bit disconcerting to say the least! they ranged in size from half a metre tip to tail to nearly 2 metres tip to tail. There have always been goannas at the park, but I have never seen so many so close before. I suspect many tourists are feeding them.

All in all, a very successful day, just a shame that much of the remains of the picnic is still sitting in my garage waiting to be tidied and sorted before being returned to the Gardens for storage - that will be tomorrow's job.

After this I think I have a window of opportunity for about 10 days to try to complete Dale's embellishing course! Then I will have to pack up the sewing room to fit in all the family to stay for a day or too before they move into their own house up here. That will be exciting!