Blogs from Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Oceania

Mackay is known as the sugar capital of Australia, with the region producing more than a third of the nation’s sugar output. Take a drive in any direction from the city, and you will come across an ageing sugar refinery belching smoke in the air, surrounded by endless fields of sugar cane. Mackay is also the gateway to the Bowen Basin coal mines, which has the largest output of any coal region in Australia. There are currently thirty four operational coal mines from the Bowen Basin feeding China and Japan’s appetite for coal. It is reasonable to categorise Mackay as an industrial city, with much of the foreshore geared for export and associated industries. Whilst not our first choice as a destination for its attractions, it was the location where our daughter and family flew into ... read more

We left Broken Hill about 7-30 am on Sunday morning to drive to Bourke. It was another sunny morning and there were not many other cars on the road.We were listening to Peter Fitzsimons' Gallipoli on CD. We were headed to Wilcannia and had been warned to watch out for wild goats on the road. The country side was very green and puddles of water were on the side of the road but the road itself was fine. We did see many goats, but they ran away from us as we passed by. They were all colours and there were many kids with their nannies.At Wilcannia, we stopped and had an icecream and a drink and then pushed on. The next major town was Cobar. Here we parked and went looking for some lunch. It was ... read more

an uneventful drive south. Once again Alex uses the phones google to find our motel. Once we get there the washing machine is broken but the receptionist allows us to use the staff one. The WiFi will not connect and the hair dryer does not work. We pay the full $70 for the room and do not get any refund. I went over to Barra Jacks fishing shop and got a great shirt and we went out across the road to a nice little Mexican restaurant for dinner.... read more

Townsville to The Leap Hotel, South Mackay. Took off at 0839hrs, odometer 95849, temperature 20 degrees celsius. Another drive down 'The Strand' and a visit to information in Townsville and on our way. Our first stop Ayr, a sleepy little town on the Burdekin River in tropical North Queensland. Here we visited the Ayr Nature Display. A unique and rare display of more than 60,000 native fauna butterflies, shells and rocks. An example on display is the map of Australia made. A lunch stop in the Ayr Plantation Park and a visit to information and we drove onto Bowen. Bowen is on the top end of the Whitsundays, it is well known for it's diverse industries, mining, fishing and agriculture. Most famous for the Kensington Pride Mango. We visited the Big Mango structure that is symbolic ... read more

Monday 1 December We didn't leave the room again last night and had sandwiches and fruit from our provisions. Another good nights sleep, but woke early. The objective today was to put some miles on the clock and get a little nearer to Brisbane. We readied and packed stuff and took everything down to the car. Out of the underground car park and round to the front. Walked up to reception and checked out. Two nights AUS$ 181. 9 am 30℃ and on the road. We found our way out of Townsville easily and we were on the A1 Bruce highway for most of the day. We alternated driving today, changing roughly hourly. Our stop for lunch was going to be Bowen and we arrived at 11.45 am. This is also about halfway. We drove down ... read more