#26 Typical Australian - one is rare, the other world-famous

When traveling along the east coast of Australia from south to north, Agnes Water is the last place where you can surf and swim in the sea.

The reason for this is that further north there are both saltwater crocodiles and painful and even deadly jellyfish in the sea. In addition, the waves are blocked by the Great Barrier Reef, so the sea is not suitable for surfing. There are isolated beaches that are monitored and crocodiles and jellyfish are kept out with nets.

Although we have a pool at our housesitting job in Mackay, we wanted to cool off somewhere else. That's why we drove to Finch Hatton. There are beautiful waterfalls there where you can also swim at the end.

The way there was not as easy as we thought. We were driving with the navigation system as usual when suddenly we were standing in front of a river flowing across the road.

There was no other way. So we closed our eyes and went through. The first time we were a little worried, but the following rivers we had to cross with our car were fun.

From the parking lot, it is about 2 km walk to the waterfalls. First, we went to the Araluen Cascades. As often in Australia, we didn't meet any other tourists and were alone there.

After that, we continued to the so-called Wheel of Fire. And here again the road suddenly ended and a river had to be crossed. However, this time on foot. So we took off our shoes and waded barefoot through the water.

Fortunately, we met a woman who gave us the tip to cross the river using the tree trunk, and in retrospect, it really seemed to be the easiest way.

If you research the waterfalls on the internet beforehand, you will come across numerous warnings about how dangerous it is there.

Unfortunately, five people have already died here since 1976, many others have been injured or nearly drowned. The problem is the currents as well as extremely slippery rocks and cliffs, some of which seem to think they have to jump down. There were further warning signs on-site.

Nothing happened when we were there, but it is still not completely safe but beautiful.

We stayed here for a while, took some souvenir photos, and then continued to Broken River. Now a little wish of Meykel's was finally going to come true here.

In Australia, the so-called platypus is native. So many times we hoped to see it (which is really rare). The platypus is very shy, lives in rivers, and only comes to the water's surface for a short time. It is one of only two animals in the whole world that lays eggs but is a mammal! Both of these animals naturally live in Australia. The other egg-laying mammal is the echidna.

The platypus looks really cute. Like a beaver but with a beak, as the name suggests.

They are not completely safe. The males have a poisonous spike on their hind legs.

To be able to see the platypus, one thing is very important: silence. The animals are very shy and do not come to the surface if they hear human noises. So we sat down at the edge of the river, kept quiet, and watched the water's surface. And indeed, after only ten minutes, we saw the first platypus.

Unfortunately, none of these animals came close to us, so we couldn't take good pictures of them. Nevertheless, another item we can check off our list.

On the way back to Mackay, we stopped in Pinnacle for dinner. Here, there are gold award-winning pies. Pies are as typical Australian as Vegemite.

We have been in Australia for 6 months now and have not even tried a pie yet, even though you can buy them everywhere. But these pies never really appealed to us.

But we had heard about the Pinnacle Pie so often, so we had to stop. They are well-known beyond the country's borders and are considered the best in the country.

If I had to describe pies, I would say it is meat that has been pureed with other ingredients such as bacon or mushrooms and gravy in a blender and then put into puff pastry. It doesn't sound particularly appetizing, but you can't say anything for 8 dollars per piece. It was really delicious but as expected, very meat-heavy.