Blogs from Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 9

Well, 3 months after arriving back home, it's finally time to start writing about our adventures in Oz. I'm not sure where the time has gone - eaten away by catching up with good friends, visiting family and adjusting to life back home, I guess. I'm now in Ireland, having just got a job (the first in 14 months!) to get me back on my feet again - no longer living out of a bag but at the same time, enjoying immensely learning about a new country - it feels like I'm still travelling, whilst earning money and making the most of being in one place - I guess, having the best of both worlds! So then back to our adventures Down Under! Australia marked the destination of our travels - 18 years in the dreaming ... read more

After a leisurely morning we stopped off for tea and coffee at Coffee Club in Mackay with the Kirrilee and her girls. Then we drove to Salonika, about 30k south, to visit Justin’s parents for the day. He was helping his father to go pick up and then attach a new canopy to his fishing boat. Whilst the guys worked, Kirrilee, his mother and I played with the girls and had a nice lunch of roast chicken, beet root, salads, eggs, avocados, fresh cukes and tomatoes. Later when they came in from working on the boat and had their lunch, we all settled in and had a nice a chocolate dessert. The area was nice, homes centered around url="http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/mackay/places-to-visit/salonika-beach/" target="_blank"Salonika beach area and the Hay Point Coal Terminal, the largest coal export facility i... read more

In 1860 John Mackay ventured north from Brisbane found the Pioneer river and its natural deep water anchorage and travelled in land and built himself a homestead which is now called Greenmount on the edge of the town of Walkerston which is close to Mackay. Cattle were introduced to the area and did well in the relatively lush pastures around the Mackay area. It was decided that sugar cane might be a good crop so it was planted and it thrived. Sugar mills dotted the landscape in the late 1880- to 90's and Mackay was booming. The fair skinned settlers of European descent found it hard doing the manual labour required of cane farming in that era, with hand harvesting and planting so it was decided to hire labour in the form of South Sea ... read more

This week is show week for Mackay Comedy Players. Beauty & The Beast will be on the Mackay entertainment Centre stage all this week. Its been a huge slog with auditions in November 2006 and then rehearsals started in February 2007 . The leads are all brilliant and well chosen for their parts. The Fantasty chorus involves a cast of dancing girls in the most amazing costumes which have been made by the wonderful Carol. The leads all have the most spectacular costumes all made by hand and designed by volunteers. These are so hard to get on and off stage in as they are huge. The wardrobe and tea pot have to wear special cooling vests as under the lights and inside their huge costume it is very hot. Once inside them they cannot ... read more

Hi folks I don't know about you, but sometimes I get lost and I can't remember where I left off!! We were just leaving Airlie Beach, we didn't like the town anyway, too many backpackers!!! But first we used the internet and bought some books, and even found a travel guide to India, that'll come in useful later on! It’s almost 12 by the time we leave, so its southwards as fast as we can or as fast as the speed limit will allow us. Passing through Mackay, we spot a fruit and veggie shop so we stop to stock up, much much cheaper than the supermarkets, and anyway it’s Sunday and they are not open! We also stop at a roadside shop and buy some large cooked prawns, (yummy) It’s just too early to stop ... read more