I’m not a morning person. Anything before 9am for me is early, unlike the majority of Australians, it would seem (I’ve been greeted with ‘Good morning, sleepyhead!’ at 8.30). But when you’ve driven a long way to water the Cape Hillsborough kangaroos feeding on a beach while the sun rises across the ocean, are you really going to stay in bed? And by bed I mean an air mattress stuffed into the back of your car.
Of course not.
Cape Hillsborough National Park
Having decided to stay at the conveniently-located caravan park right on the beach, I was a mere fifty metres from the sand. This beautiful little national park takes up the Cape Hillsborough peninsula, and the walks around the headland give you amazing views up and down the coast. At low tide, a causeway appears between the mainland and Wedge Island, allowing you the chance to explore even more of the area.
But one of the best parts of the park is close to the caravan park and beach. You’re walking through the forest, down (or up) some steep stone steps, when a cloud of butterflies flutter from the trees around you. It gave me a fright the first time it happened. I’d been told that during the cooler winter months, there are large numbers of butterflies in the park, and had been looking out for them, although I’d only seen a few so far. Then suddenly they were everywhere, their black and blue wings glinting in the sunlight. Every time they took flight I stopped to watch. Then after they settled and I walked on, more would fly up. It was amazing and beautiful, although a female jogger didn’t seem to appreciate the sight as much as I did.
The Cape Hillsborough Kangaroos
But on to the kangaroos. I roused myself at 6am the next morning, throwing on several layers of clothing against the morning chill. Stepping out onto the beach I saw that the sky was several shades of orange, though the sun hadn’t appeared just yet. But you could still make out the silhouettes of several kangaroos down by the water, heads down as they munched on seed pods washed up overnight by the tides. I was one of the first onto the beach, and I had a few moments to simply enjoy the show.
The Cape Hillsborough kangaroos are clearly used to humans gawking at them each morning. As the crowd gathered over the next half an hour, they didn’t even look up, even coming close to us when they finished feeding. Many people in the crowd grew excited by their apparent tameness, but I’m pretty sure the animals were simply waiting politely for a gap to appear so they could hop past us and back into the bush.
The sky turned from red to orange, to pink to gold, until finally it was bright. The sun lifted above the island and shimmered across the ocean. Cape Hillsborough is definitely a place I recommend to anyone travelling the east coast of Australia. I’ve not seen many sunrises (due to the aforementioned not-being-a-morning-person-thing), but I’m pretty sure I’ll always remember this one. Although this one over a volcano in Indonesia was also pretty amazing.
Responsible Wildlife Interactions
Remember, seeing animals in their natural habitat is a wonderful experience, but the animals themselves need to be taken into consideration.
Keep your distance.
Keeping your distance is the best way to ensure that both you and the animals stay safe. Wildlife is unpredictable. Just because an animal looks calm, doesn’t mean it is. Tourists getting too close to wildlife has led to injuries, and usually leads to bad consequences for the animals as well.
A good trick I learned is to use your thumb to check your distance. Hold out your hand and if you can cover the entire animal with your thumb, then you should be safe. If you can’t, back away slowly. Obviously the safe distance depends on the animal, predators need more, etc.
Never, EVER feed wildlife.
Enticing wildlife with food not only puts yourself in danger, but can lead to wildlife learning to depend on humans to survive or becoming more aggressive – neither of which are a good thing. Human food can also be dangerous to animals, causing them to become ill or malnourished. .
Mind your food and dispose of scraps properly.
Feeding wildlife can occur accidentally too if left unattended or not thrown away correctly. When out in nature, don’t leave food lying around and store any snacks or food in proper containers. Even if you think there are no animals around, there probably are. And never leave food next to a rubbish bin. Don’t be lazy – if the bins are full or you can’t find one, take it with you!
Don’t touch.
If you’re lucky enough that an animal approaches you of their own free will, please don’t try to touch them. They’re not pets, they don’t enjoy it and it can spook them into doing something aggressive. Human touch can also be dangerous to some animals, particularly marine wildlife who have very sensitive skin. Whales, dolphins and sea turtles can be harmed by the chemicals often found on our skin from lotions, suncream and insect repellent.
Practical Information:
- Cape Hillsborough is located 50km north of Mackay in central Queensland.
- There is no free camping available in the area (and nowhere to secretly camp anyway), so I stayed at the Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park. While the rates seem a little pricey, it’s the only option in the immediate area. But it is located right at the beach, so it’s perfect for rolling out of bed to see the kangaroos. The campsite has on-site accommodation as well as laundry, internet and food facilities.
- There is also camping accommodation available nearby at Smalley’s Bay.
- The peninsula is full of beautiful walks through forest, mangroves, along the beaches, just make sure to bring plenty of fresh water and check the tide times if you decide to go along the beach or out to Wedge Island so you don’t get stranded out there.
Where was the last sunrise you saw?
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