Cape Hillsborough National Park – Where The Salty Kangaroos Live!

Kangaroos Jumping Into the Ocean And Drinking Ocean Water at Cape Hillsborough

This ruggedly scenic of the Cape Hillsborough National Park is a peninsula of volcanic origin, covered largely by rainforest and eucalyptus forest. The maximum elevation is of this national park is 267 m.

You will find beaches, rocky headlands covered in hoop pines and everywhere different volcanic rock formations.

A misty morning at Cape Hillsborough Beach:

James Cook during gave the name to this very end of the peninsula during his first trip to the Pacific in 1770. The name is in honour of Wills Hill, Earl of Hillsborough – President of Trade and Plantations 1765.

You can watch the birds, make friends with wallabies and kangaroos, and share the evening with possums.

At dawn the kangaroos make their way to the beach. In my travel book they write that Cape Hillsborough is the only spot where you can watch the kangaroos drinking from the ocean. This is to cover their salt requirements. Anyhow … I have never seen a kangaroo in the ocean before :) – Cool!!

Beneath these lovely, lonely beaches the ocean drinking kangaroos are definitively the highlight of this area. You have to wake up before sunrise to see them playing in the water. The spectacle is only lasting a few minutes. Than the wallabies and kangaroos go back hiding in the forest.

Wallaby is eating a „salty stick“ :) at the beach:

Visitors can do serval walks on the cliff or in the bush. Are you can stroll along the endless beaches.

Crains – which I had never seen before – on the way to the National Park:

Cape Hillsborough is a national park in North Queensland, about 1000 km northwest of Brisbane or 50 km north-west of Mackay.

There aren’t many tourists in this area. So it will be the perfect place if you are looking for a peaceful, lonely beach and lovely nature. The is a campground right at the end of the Cape Hillsborough peninsula.