Finch Hattan/ Eungella

After trying to wish some lovely sunshine down to poor old wet and wild Newcastle, we found ourselves in rain!  OK Homard family – start wishing it back again!   We stopped at Finch Hattan showground for a night – and were able to park right on the edge of a shelter.  So despite the wet (strange) stuff falling out of the grey sky, we still had a scooter playground, outdoor dining, and school room, not to mention the view of constant moving sugar trains and trucks.  (munching on the stray bits of sugar cane was another unexpected treat.)

Early the next morning we pulled the kids out of bed and drove up a winding road through the clouds to Broken River, arriving before 7am to view the platypus.  Yay – we saw a stack – all playing around much to our delight.  We hung around as long as possible, and then tried to see the amazing view over the valley – which was difficult given the cloud we were in.  Never mind, breakfast time anyway.  

tried to catch a photo of this one - you'll have to zoom!

 That afternoon, we took a brisk walk through Finch Hattan Gorge.  Brisk, because we started the track wearing thongs, no water or snacks and at 3:30 in the afternoon .  After walking through the rainforest for some time, we passed a man travelling the other direction who informed us that we still had quite a way to go.  Ben and I did a quick calculation, and decided that if Larina received a shoulder ride, and we picked up speed, we could make it to the cascades and back in around an hour.  Ok – mission.  I did not wish to be out on dusk without our repellent.  Oh Bec, Andrew and Alex – where were you today???   

Well we made it – although we were not really able to stick around and play with the tadpoles at the cascades too long.   On the way out we got chatting to another walker – who was also unaware of the distance to be travelled.  Turns out she is an author and illustrator of children’s books, and so we purchased one of her lovely books from her boot – called “Paddles the Platypus”.  As I read the story to the children at bedtime, Nick recognised the special significance; “Wow mum, when we got up this morning we saw platypus, and now as we go back to bed, we are reading about them.”  Ahhh, it’s like a Sienfield episode – when everything ties together at the end.