CAPE HILLSBOROUGH
Cape Hillsborough with its 816 hectare coastal National Park about 20 kilometres north of Mackay is renowned for its rugged scenery, walking tracks and native wildlife. The closest thing to a crowd on a beachfront stroll in this neck of the woods is likely to be a friendly family of wallabies.
The park is scattered with walking trails, the most popular being the 1.6 kilometres Juipera Plants Trail. This trail illustrates the way the Juipera Aboriginals used the parks native plants for survival. Other walks include the Diversity Boardwalk, Beachcomber Cover Track and Andrew Points walking track which passes six lookouts offering spectacular views make the climb up numerous steps at the beginning of this track worthwhile.
At low tide a causeway links the end of the track to Wedge Island. Check tide times before embarking on this track and only attempt the crossing to Wedge Island on a falling tide. At low tide, walker may return to the picnic area along the beach; this route is inaccessible at high tide.
Over 150 species of bird life and tropical butterflies live amongst the parks eucalypt forests, hoop pines, creeks, mangroves and headlands. The park includes a picnic and barbeque area and public toilets. Nearby Cape Hillsborough Nature Resort offers a variety of accommodation options from caravan and camping, beachfront huts and motel units.
