KEY POINTS:
Setting out for a visit to Mackay in the aftermath of floods could have been a disaster holiday.
We had planned to spend a weekend on an island off the coast, but the weather precluded the watery crossing, so being a tourist in Mackay was the only option.
Enjoying a morning coffee at the Mackay Botanic Gardens on the southern edge of the city of 95,000 souls, was a great way to start.
Built during the past 10 years, the gardens have a series of themed garden rooms featuring both tropical and temperate plantings, set on the area known as The Lagoons.
The Lagoons had been an overgrown, swampy mess for many years, but the work done by the planners and gardeners has surely brought this area to life.
It is now a favourite place for weddings and special celebrations of all kinds, helped along by the elegant Botanic Cafe and Restaurant which features delightfully different food and a small, constantly changing art exhibition.
Art is a feature of Mackay City. The ArtSpace building, which is part of the municipal complex in the heart of the city, also housing the Entertainment Centre, is cool and elegant to visit, and also offers a delightful cafe/restaurant to tired enthusiasts.
A drive to the Northern Beaches area is a must. Heading for Eimeo and the Pacific Hotel (of Graeme Connors song fame) visitors pass the newly created northern suburbs, much of which were created from cane lands.
The Pacific Hotel was built in 1978 and is perched, literally, on the side of a cliff. Slip off the chair in the beer garden and you will find yourself in the ocean, really quickly.
But what a place to enjoy lunch and the view to Brampton, Keswick, St Bees and other islands on the southern tip of the Whitsunday group, and the food was great, too.
Typical pub fare but well priced and nicely presented by friendly staff.
Wandering along in the car after lunch we found the lookout at Lamberts Beach, which gave beautiful views of the sometimes rugged, but always picturesque, coastline.
There was also a great parkland area with barbecues and picnic tables for families to enjoy, toilets and a beaut tavern across the road.
From the lookout it was interesting to count 29 coal tankers anchored on the horizon, awaiting their turn to load Bowen Basin coal at Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay.
Dalrymple Bay is about 20 minutes south of Mackay and well worth a visit for a wander or for the formal tours the company conducts for tourists. And just around the corner from the ports is the small settlement of Alligator Creek with arguably the best fish and chippery on the Queensland coast.
Mackay is home to a number of excellent restaurants with a variety of cuisine. During our four-day stay, we ate excellent Italian, Thai, Chinese and Australian meals at very reasonable prices.
The Mackay Marina has some beautiful buildings, all very new, several restaurants and a pub, and of course, the beach is to die for.
Mulherin Park, across from the marina, is a favourite haunt of families, with picnic tables, barbecues, several children's playgrounds and plenty of open space in which to enjoy ball games.
The park is shaded by pines and has two large toilet complexes, including showers and disabled facilities.
And when the picnic is finished, nip across to the beach for a dip in the ocean. What a place for a lazy Sunday.
The City Heart hosts a Sunday market with stalls of amazing handmade items from leather-work and jewellery to paintings, and hand work of all kinds.
With more than 2000 rooms available in the city, Mackay is a great place for a weekend stopover or from which to base yourself while tasting the delights of the Pioneer Valley before setting off to glitzy Airlie Beach and the more expensive end of the tourism market.
* For more information see the the Mackay Tourism website.
- SUNSHINE COAST DAILY
