Day 78 – Tuesday 5^th October 2021 –  ? Km

Today Tereza is feeling so much better again & we decide to drive around & have a look at Mackay, unfortunately we haven’t had a chance to explore the many places around here.  It is a beautiful day.  Our first drive is to Mackay’s North Beaches.  Beautiful drive, lovely views. We are heading to Dolphin Head, oh my gosh!!!  The big houses. Most of them are very stylishly, architecturally designed to get the best of the best views, but huge – you wonder how many people live in these houses.  It is beautiful & nice to see how some of the other half live.  Next we drive to the top of a small knoll at Eimeo.  The Eimeo Pub takes its prominence with magnificent vies out over the ocean.  Ron immediately decides that we will return, this is the place we would have lunch. While I love the views I am not sure if my stomach is ready for very much food.

We then drive as far north in Mackay that you can drive, Shoal Point. We drive out along the rough shorefront track to Hodge’s Road Park & watch a fisherman standing in the shallows cast-netting for bait fish. There are great views from here across the very large shallow bay to Cape Hillsborough in the distance.  We follow the esplanade around the shorefront soaking in the splendour then drive around this small beachside suburb looking at all the different houses.

Next we follow the shore down through the suburb of Bucasia to the boat ramp, more crocodile warning signs. There are a mix of old & new houses along the way with a mix of old & new boats in the creek off the boat ramp. There are lots of beautiful paperbark trees along the seafront & at the boat ramp we come across a giant paperbark tree. We explore the suburb of Eimeo next, the beach here is small but very pretty. Mango Road, leading along to the Eimeo Hotel has a beautiful grove of trees enclosing the roadway.

We stop at the Eimeo Hotel for lunch & get a seat in the shade overlooking the beaches & ocean with a view out to the Keswick Group of Islands & also Brampton Island, as well as numerous small islands & rocky outcrops. The water is such an amazing colour, the photos do not do it justice. For lunch we shared a fisherman’s basket whilst I had a Corona beer & Tereza a ginger beer.

After lunch it was the turn to look at South Mackay, we drove across the Pioneer River into the CBD of Mackay, then turned along the river and followed the Oceanside south to the furthest south new suburb in Mackay called Sol. Here the new blocks range from 350 sq. metres to 400 sq. metres in size, very tiny.  They do not have any views at all, they are behind the dunes covered in beachy type scrub. We drove down to the carpark of the beach in front of these house blocks, called Far Beach, more crocodile warning signs. The riverfront at Mackay has a nice drive along it with a lovely little park at the end near a large boat ramp.  The tide is running out very fast past the boats moored in the river.

We venture north back over the river & out to the boat harbour. The marina is full of boats & protected by a huge breakwall. We drive out along the breakwall & park at the end of it for a view of nearby Slade Rock and the nearby offshore islands. We spot 13 coal ships moored offshore waiting to load coal at the Mackay coal port. The tide is out & the sandy beaches south are now very wide. The entrance to the boat harbour has an old lighthouse standing prominently.

Slade Point is next on the agenda & we drive along the waterfront looking out towards our camp over at Blacks Beach, the tide is even further out & there is lots of exposed sand. More big nice houses here as we drive around to Lamberts Lookout with more great views south over Lambert’s Beach & the offshore islands. We can see the port & coal loaders in the distance. Back to Blacks Beach & I have a long walk on the beach on the very large & exposed sand spit, I walk most of the way to Slade Point, the tide is that low.  We just cannot get over the very high & low tides up here in the north, how very far the water goes out & how very high it returns. Tereza has a rest after the big day and is feeling a lot better. A great day.