Grey Nomads at Cape Hillsborough

There is a comfortable caravan park in the most beautiful place I know in the whole of Australia. It is at Cape Hillsborough, surrounded by National Park. The nearest little town is Seaforth, and that is around 40 kms north of MacKay, Queensland. And yet there has been a falling off in the number of Grey Nomads that are enjoying this place.

Perhaps some think that the area has been too much damaged by cyclones Marcia and Debby. But if Cape Hillsborough was knocked about, it has recovered, and again, is the most beautiful place that I know.

These days, while the Grey Nomads are comparatively few, on the weekends it fills up with young families. Many of them are young men working in the mines, and enjoying the high incomes they earn from their hard work. They tend to have big, new vans, powerful towing vehicles - and that is fine - but what sometimes irks us is that they invariably back in, quite fast, and always exactly right first time. Most of us, of course, take a few tries and adjustments before the van is lined up exactly next to the cement slab (or near enough.)

But aside from that flaw, they are nice people, friendly and the children reasonably well behaved.







All the same, I think that owners Ben and Renee would be very happy to see more wonderful, trouble-free Grey Nomads (like us) that stay for weeks rather than just a couple of days.


Features:

* The best beach, great for walking, good for swimming (in non Stinger season.) If you are there at dawn, you will see kangaroos and wallabies on the beach. There are rocks, where you can spot the occasional crab quickly disappearing into a crack, and rock pools, where you see tiny fish darting about. On the sand, there are soldier crabs. These are the tiny ones who make patterns on the beach when they push little balls of sand out when the tide recedes. There are shells. There are caves for children to explore. There is a certain rock that makes a good backrest for a grey headed lady to sit and wonder if a certain blue blur is one of the islands or maybe a ship standing out to sea.

* there are palm trees and almost-jungle. There are the constant calls of birds. There are Hibiscus flowers that are visited by the most gorgeous little birds known as sunbirds. Tiny, colourful, and they hover like a humming bird.









* walking tracks.

View from one of the walking tracks

View from the most challenging of the tracks

* There is a kiosk that stocks holiday clothing, souvenirs, some basic groceries, plus a hot food service. I particularly recommend the 'stone-fired' pizza.




*There is a particularly nice swimming pool, plus all the usual amenities of a well run caravan park.








Drawbacks:

There is just one drawback, and then only for those of us who have a particularly nice taste. The tiny midgies referred to as sandflies are prevalent, so some of us have to take care to avoid too much exposed skin in the late afternoons and evenings. The rotters are invisible, you don't feel them bite, but you do feel the effects afterwards in the form of itchy red bumps. So if you are a particularly tasty human being, pack long-sleeved shirts, long slacks and socks.

But this only applies to some of us. Most have not the slightest trouble, my husband, for instance. It reminds me of a story I read once, a vampire story. The humans were held like pets, but they were valued, some more than others. As I recall, they had grades of tastes. Some were especially desired, but some were nasty, occasionally used just for a change. I think my own taste must be especially nice, but (luckily) for sandflies, not vampires.

Molly:

Molly is a half grown kangaroo rescued from the pouch of its dead mother. She was not found immediately, and her ears have been attacked by crows, so are scalloped. Ben, Renee and the staff are looking after her until she is big enough to be released.

Other kangaroos and wallabies wander the park, but Molly is special. Even when fully grown, we will know her by her scalloped ears.


 I do not know another place as truly lovely as Cape Hillsborough. I recommend it.