Mackay Away From The Crowds

Newcastle Herald

Tuesday May 6, 2008

Chris Watson

Halfway between Brisbane and Cairns, the Mackay region

offers a very Queensland experience - rainforests, beaches,

reef and tropical islands - but further away from the tourist

crowds.

Full of nature-based attractions, the region is home to 31

beaches, national parks with sub tropical rainforest, lush

hinterland, tropical islands and the coral gardens of the Great

Barrier Reef.

Mackay is a seaside town, and only a short drive from the city

heart are the attractions of the Mackay Marina.

The region?s coastal lifestyle is good for visitors who enjoy sunset

walks, swimming and beach fishing. Brampton and Keswick

Islands lie just off the coast.

Mackay is 400 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn and has a

similar climate to the Hawaiian Islands.

HOW TO GET THERE

? Location: Mackay is 259 km from Airlie Beach and 784 km

from Cairns.

? Airport: Fly into Mackay Airport (one hour 25 minutes flying

time from Brisbane).

? Train: The Tilt Train and Sunlander link Mackay to coastal

centres including Brisbane and Cairns.

WHERE TO STAY

Mackay offers a wide range of comfortable, affordable

accommodation from beachfront hotels and resorts, motels, guest

houses, B&Bs and mountain-top hideaways.

DINING OUT

Visitors can eat at a cosmopolitan cafe in the city, waterside at the

marina or at a rainforest retreat. Freshly-caught seafood, locallyproduced

beef and tropical fruits are readily available.

MUST DO!

? Spot the rare marsupial, a platypus, in the wild at Eungella

National Park.

? Watch the wallabies on the beach at dusk in the Cape

Hillsborough National Park.

? Feast on fresh seafood by the water at the marina.

? Visit the Sarina Sugar Shed, Australia?s only working miniature

sugar mill.

? Catch an exhibition at the regional museum Artspace Mackay.

? Walk Mackay?s riverfront.

? Enjoy a counter lunch with million-dollar views at the cliff-top

Eimeo Pub, overlooking the Coral Sea, Eimeo Beach and

Sunset Bay.

EVENTS

? Latin Festival at Club Med Lindeman Island (February)

? Discover Sarina Festival (May)

? River Rock to Mountain Top Community Festival (May)

? Pioneer Valley Country Music Festival (March)

IDEAS AND INSPIRATIONS

? Mackay: The Pioneer River flows past the city?s historical

buildings and rows of palm trees fringe the main street. Beaches

and a world-class marina are within minutes of the city centre.

The city offers a range of shopping, dining and entertainment, an

award-winning modern art gallery and botanic gardens.

? Arts and heritage: Take a self-guided walk past 20 restored

heritage-listed buildings, many examples of Art Deco architecture.

Artspace Mackay is the city?s modern art gallery and museum,

where there?s always an exhibition and the cafe is good for a

casual meal.

? Mackay MarinaVillage: A favourite with locals and tourists,

visitors can enjoy al fresco dining on the palm-fringed esplanade

at restaurants and bars. Activities include parasailing, jet skiing,

island and snorkelling day cruises, fishing charters and whale

watching in season.

? Eungella National Park: Pronounced Young g?lah, this is a

hour's drive west of Mackay and is Australia?s longest continuous

stretch of sub-tropical rainforest, covering more than 51,700

hectares.There are more than 22 km of walking tracks of varying

degrees of difficulty and views across the Pioneer Valley at 2500

feet above sea level. A must visit for anyone in the region, it makes

for a day trip or longer. Finch Hatton Gorge, in the foothills of the

Eungella Range, has walking trails through the rainforest to the

Araluen andWheel of Fire waterfalls. For a different experience, go

forest flying through the tree tops.

? Broken River: Renowned for being the most reliable place in

Australia to spot a platypus.

? Cape Hillsborough National Park: A 40-minute drive north

of Mackay on the coast, the area is known for the wallabies that

come down to the beach each morning at sunrise.This small

coastal national park has a rugged coastline and features several

walking trails showcasing Aboriginal history.Guided day tours are

available.

? Beaches and islands: The region?s 31 beaches offer plenty

of choice.Options include Blacks Beach, Sunset Bay and Eimeo,

home to the cliff-top Pacific Hotel with its counter meals and

million-dollar views.Brampton Island is at the southern entrance of

theWhitsunday Passage.The island is almost entirely covered by

national park and fringed by 12 beaches.Keswick Island is a jewel

in the region?s crown and home to the secluded Keswick Island

Guesthouse. Accessible by private boat or short plane flight, the

island is fringed by reefs and white sandy beaches.St Bees Island

sits alongside Keswick, occupied by a healthy koala colony.

? Sugar tour: Canefields still surround many areas.Visitors can

take a tour of a working sugar mill during the crushing season (June

to November). Sarina Sugar Shed is a working miniature sugarprocessing

mill and distillery - the only one of its kind in Australia

- where, using miniature sugar processing machinery sourced from

all over the world, you can watch how sugar is produced.

FAST FACTS

? Did you know the Mackay region produces one-third of

Australia?s sugar?

? Mackay?s Eungella National Park is one of the best places in

Australia to spot the elusive platypus.

ADRENALIN HIGHS

? Forest Flying: See the stunning rainforest environment of

Finch Hatton Gorge, 70 km inland from Mackay, from a completely

different perspective - suspended on a flying fox cable within

centimetres of the rainforest canopy.You will be able to view the

whole ecosystem or a microcosm within.

GREATWALKS

Scenery including rainforest, gorges, escarpments and farming

communities make the Mackay Highlands GreatWalk an

experience.The highlands cover a large area of mountainous terrain

in the hinterland of Central Queensland, and the walk links Eungella

and Homevale national parks, and passes through Crediton State

Forest.

Eungella National Park is a nature lover?s paradise, boasting 860

plant species. Located close to the boundary between subtropical

and tropical rainforest, the area supports species from both

vegetation types.

The Mackay walk is about 50 km and takes four to six days to

complete. Short walks through the rainforest are also available.

Starting at Eungella township, the walk uses existing tracks, with

some of the highlights including a rainforest of red cedar, massive

Mackay tulip oak, and groves of native Alexandra palm trees.

There are views of the Pioneer Valley from several locations,

and further along the track you will enter mixed eucalypt forests

featuring fragrant lemon-scented gums, bloodwoods, ironbarks,

banksias and grasstrees. National park campsites are provided

along the walk. Book on www.epa.qld.gov.au.

The Mackay walk can be accessed by turning off the Bruce

Highway 25 km north of Mackay towards Marian. Follow the signs

a further 62 km to Eungella and the start of the walk.

BIRD WATCHING

The region's 260 km of barely developed coastline is a haven for

bird species.The seaside communities of Sarina, such as Lake

Barfield at Salonika Beach, are a good spot to see more than 200

species.The national parks in the region harbour some beautiful

species, including Cape Hillsborough, where more than 150

species of birds and butterflies live within the lowland rainforest

and vine forest, Cape Palmerston, which is home to permanent

and migratory residents like the pied imperial pigeon, and

Eungella, which has had more than 100 bird species recorded,

including the wompoo pigeon, crimson rosella, regent bower birds

and the infamous Eungella honey eater, one of only five new bird

species discovered in Australia in the past 50 years.Offshore, the

Great Barrier Reef islands of Keswick, Brampton and Scawfell

offer no shortage of birdlife.Close to the city there are reserves,

lagoons and beaches that harbour many species.

BACKPACKERS

Mackay is relatively unknown on the backpacker circuit, although

it offers a relaxing destination and short-term employment is often

available in the sugar industry (worth $4.7 billion to the Australian

economy each year) with work generally for a six-month period,

hiring beginning in May.

Backpackers accommodation includes Gecko's Rest, which has

19 rooms and can sleep up to 48 guests.

FISHING

The region boasts some popular fishing spots with options

including beach, reef, estuarine, fresh-water creek and wellstocked

in-land dams. Many of the best spots can be reached

without a boat.The region experiences extreme tides so check

with a local boat hire or bait/tackle shop for details.

Mackay Harbour provides jew, mackerel, trevally, bream, and

tuna, while on the Pioneer River there's East Point at the river

mouth (trevally, whiting, bream and queenfish), off Forgan Smith

Bridge (whiting, flathead, grunter and bream), and off the rocks

beneath Ron Camm Bridge (barramundi, bream, grunter and

trevally). Illawong and Far Beach are an alternative for those

without a boat, and there are also charter vessels, usually

including all tackle, bait, lunch, refreshments and local knowledge.

In the Pioneer Valley, Eungella, Teemburra and Kinchant

dams have fresh-water fishing for sooty grunter, sleepy cod and

spangled perch.Most dams include camping facilities, or you can

stay at Eungella Chalet, Broken River Mountain Resort or Finch

Hatton Gorge Cabins. A fresh-water licence is required, available

from tackle shops or Australia Post.

On the northern beaches, Shoal Point provides reef fishing, but

the more open section of beach is the spot for whiting, bream,

trevally and flathead. Just around the corner Bucasia and Eimeo

are popular holiday spots that lure the keen angler where bream

and whiting are regularly caught. Swing around to Blacks Beach,

where whiting and flathead are most likely.

Twenty minutes north are the mouths of Seaforth and Victor

creeks (whiting, bream, grunter and flathead). Halliday Bay and

Ball Bay are good and Cape Hillsborough?s popularity continues

to grow. South of Mackay there?s McEwen?s Beach and Sandy

Creek, where salmon is a prize catch. Hay Point is a reef fishing

area regarded the best place to land jewfish.Grasstree Beach

folds around Cabbage Tree Creek, a spot for crabbing and

catching grunter. A little further south, Sarina Inlet gives you the

chance to catch the barramundi you?ve always wanted.

COAL COUNTRY

Inland, beyond the ranges, is the coal country providing the life

blood of the entire region.

Moranbah is a relatively young town, purpose built to serve the

coal industry.Historic Nebo and Clermont have longer histories.

You can explore the mines on a guided tour at Moranbah?s Peak

Downs Mine or Clermont?s Blair Athol.

For more information about the Mackay region go to

MackayTourism,www.mackayregion.com

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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