It can be a bit dangerous this far north, as the palm trees actually have coconuts on them. This one however was no match for us...

Arrived Airlie Beach. Rain delaying tent assembly, so have dropped into local tavern for a look...

Platypus spotting at the viewing platform, Broken River (near Eungella, ~100km west of Mackay). The few people already there trotted off fairly soon after we arrived, apparently assuming small children were unlikely to provide the essential still/quiet combo for good viewing. Despite Oliver's attempts to scare everything away by dropping a toy train several (!!) times, we managed to observe a couple of platypuseses and some turtles. Still left on the 'must see' ...

Great walk at Finch Hatton Gorge (about 80km west of Mackay) through the rainforest to waterfall. Bit of a gamble with Oliver, who's a pretty good walker generally, but wanted to be carried most of the way back (about 3km round trip).

Arrived Mackay, QLD...