Cape Hillsborough National Park

Cape Hillsborough National Park is a coastal protected area in Queensland, Australia, preserving beaches, mangroves and pockets of rainforest on a headland about 40 km north of Mackay. It is noted locally for its shoreline wildlife and coastal scenery.

A short drive leads to clifftop lookouts and several small beaches. The park is well known for the early-morning appearance of wallabies and kangaroos on the beach at sunrise, and for short walking tracks through coastal rainforest and along the headland.

The area is part of the region’s coastal environment and has long been used for fishing and small-scale recreation; it was later set aside for conservation as a national park. Management aims to protect the coastal ecosystems and visitor access points while conserving shorebird and marine habitats.

The park sits on a headland that juts into the Coral Sea, with mangrove-fringed estuaries behind the beaches. The nearest regional centre is Mackay to the south, and the coastline is a mix of sandy bays and rocky platforms.

• Beach wildlife: Often seen feeding on the beach at dawn are small wallabies and kangaroos which are a distinctive wildlife attraction at sunrise.
• Best time to visit: Best light for viewing and photography is at dawn when animals move onto exposed tidal flats and beaches.

What to See #

• Beaches and shoreline: Shoreline and dunes with the bay and beach where early-morning marsupials are commonly seen, plus small rock platforms used for fishing and tidepooling.
• Rainforest walking tracks: Coastal rainforest and headland walking tracks that run through eucalyptus and vine forest and link several viewpoints.
• Mangrove estuaries: Mangrove-fringed estuaries and tidal flats that support shorebirds and marine life and separate the headland from inland sugarcane country.