It was Platypus duty on our final day at Takarraka and we decked the boys in camouflage gear and gave them strict instructions to be quiet and not move. We weren't disappointed and one of the little critters came out and gave us a great show right in front of where we were sitting. It was hard to explain to the boys how rare it is to see a Platypus but they are of the opinion now that they are as common as flies around a dropped lolly.

In the car again and we trooped off for a trek to German Creek Dam on the way to Mackay. This was a free campsite and we almost missed it, as there was no obvious signage. After some time quietly discussing who should be looking at the satnav we pulled into a beautiful place, which clearly was on the radar for the grey nomads. About 20 caravans parked end-to-end had taken every waters edge spot and we were banished to the big tree next to the exit track. Not a problem as we were only staying one night. As we unpacked, Pam and Clive from Brisbane came over and asked if we wanted their spot as they were leaving the next day. We declined as we were happy where we were and not sure of the protocol but Pam smelled that we were newbies and started talking. She took a deep breath and proceeded to talk non stop until the sun had almost set by giving us the full run-down on how to score free Wi-Fi in local libraries or Bunnings stores, when to visit local bakeries for the cheap bread, how to save money by not doing the touristy things and going to the information centres to drill them about all the free stuff etc etc. They were keen to tell us that they had only spent $5 in 7 months on accommodation. When we looked over her shoulder at the McMansion she was towing behind her $150k Landcruiser I was surprised she even paid that much. The bloody thing was bigger than our house in London…..

The boys headed to the creek and set about putting the yabbie net in. We were apparently using the wrong bait according to the king of the patch whose caravan had clearly been parked in the best spot and had been there for some months. The chap who lived there suggested mandarin skins as opposed to the cat food, which we'd previously been told was the best bait. If anyone has any other suggestions I'd be interested because we didn't catch a damn thing, again…

It was then onto Mackay the next day, after what we hoped would be our last night in thermals, and we landed at Hillsborough National Park in the afternoon. The waves were breaking no more than 30 meters from our campsite. We had finally made it to the other side of Australia in less than 3 weeks… We were happy as Jeff the birdman catching a glimpse of a couple of Blue t***!! The boys tumbled out of the car and hit the beach, Fi disappeared to put 5 loads of washing on and I got stuck putting up a tent, which requires two people, all by myself…. Weetbix for dinner in protest.

The 4 days at Hillsborough were great. The beach looked like we were in Thailand and there was near on nobody there. Each morning we would get up around 6:15am, take the 5 metre walk through the trees to the beach and watch Kangaroos hopping about as the sun rose before going for an hour long walk along to the rocky point about 2 km north. We would spend most of the time watching the roos and the rest staring at the German tourists taking photos of them at close range, facing away from the beach with peoples legs as the background view….odd. In fact there were loads of Germans there, which was a bit strange, but they were all very nice and friendly. We had a van pull up next to us one afternoon and Harry and Bailey made quick work of making friends with the 3 German girls who piled out. It was clear they were as nervous as a 5 year old at Rolf Harris's house with all the creatures crawling about in the trees and the bush Turkeys scratching around the tents. Within about 5 minutes of arriving the boys dragged them trembling to the camp kitchen to shine a light into the tree and show them a possum they had found. The girls, who were about 18, thought our boys were little bush kids and were instantly enamoured. The following day when we found a massive starfish on the beach the boys asked if they could show them a picture. I mentioned to Bailey and Harry that when they ask they should see if the girls wanted to see their chocolate starfish but the joke was lost on the boys and Fiona called me immature again.

The fishing rods came out twice during the 4 days we were there. We knew something was up so we rushed down to the beach when we saw Craig and Phil (a couple of chaps we met in the camp kitchin) pile into the surf and start casting their rods when they apparently saw something jumping out from the waves. Alas, after asking what rig and bait they were using we got our stuff, copied them in every way and caught nothing. Phil kept telling us he had caught so many fish the day before that his esky was full. Full of something else I think, based on the fact none of us got a nibble…

Hillsborough was a wonderful place and the first time we got to really relax so far on the tour. Fi got the running shoes out and started jogging and I managed to get a few longish swims in. The hiking through the semi-tropical forest, the butterflies which were everywhere and the history (There was an awesome ancient aboriginal fishing ground near the camp) were all really nice. The sand on the beach was filled with mica so when the morning sun came up it looked like the beach was covered with gold dust. It was very very pretty. We are looking forward to the next few weeks. With the huge hills and peaks and the forest meeting the ocean wherever we turn you certainly understand why people call this gods country. We were finally feeling like we were unwinding. What was also nice was meeting up with Rebina, who my folks know and who is managing the park we were staying at. She sat down with us and brought along some of her world famous dip and gave us the full run down of where to go, what to see and what to pass by. Super helpful. We've decided to pop back to Hillsborough on the way down and may even join up with her at Fraser Island if she can swing some holidays at the same time as we are there. This would be great as a second 4WD would be useful there. We head up the coast now towards Cairns but stopping at the Whitsundays (in a place called Hideaway Bay) to check out the scene before returning in a couple of weeks time and then Townsville for a couple of days. It's all a bit pleasant now that we are not cold and I've managed to bust out the blue singlet on more than one occasion, much to Fi's displeasure….