Mackay

Mackay sits on the Pioneer River delta on the central Queensland coast, around 970 kilometres north of Brisbane. The city and its surrounding region produce about a third of all Australian sugar, and the flat coastal plain between the city and the ranges is a patchwork of vivid green cane fields during the growing season. The crushing season from June to November fills the air with the distinctive sweet smell of processed cane.

The city centre has undergone a significant revival over the past decade, anchored by the Bluewater Lagoon, a free public swimming facility in the heart of the CBD, and a growing cafe and restaurant scene along the river precinct. The Artspace Mackay gallery on Gordon Street is one of the best regional art galleries in Queensland and houses a permanent collection of over 3,000 works.

Mackay is the nearest large city to Eungella National Park, the ancient rainforest plateau 80 kilometres inland that is one of the best places in Australia to see wild platypus. The drive from Mackay to Eungella follows the Pioneer Valley through cane fields and small farming towns before climbing steeply into the ranges. Cape Hillsborough National Park, 50 kilometres north of Mackay, is famous for the kangaroos and wallabies that gather on the beach at dawn, creating one of the most widely photographed wildlife scenes in Queensland.

The Mackay coast includes a string of quiet beaches running south from the city, with Lamberts Beach and Blacks Beach among the favourites for locals. The harbour at the mouth of the Pioneer River is a working sugar and coal port but also the departure point for boat trips to the Cumberland Islands, a group of mostly uninhabited continental islands that offer secluded anchorages, bushwalking and reef snorkelling without the crowds of the Whitsundays further north.

Mackay has a tropical climate with warm, humid summers and mild, dry winters. Cyclone season runs from November to April. The city has a well-serviced airport with daily flights from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. It makes an excellent base for exploring the central Queensland coast between the Whitsundays and Gladstone.