Leaving Bowen and its near deserted beaches, we headed south once more between the ever present sugarcane fields and forested mountains to the port town of Mackay (pronounced ‘Mac eye’) our stop for the next two nights. It turned out to be a more entertaining drive than expected.

Mackay the sweet producer

As a casual observer you wouldn’t realise that Mackay is actually the centre of the Australian sugarcane industry and the largest sugar producer in Australia, but it is it’s coastal location and one of the world’s largest deep water bulk-handling facilities that allows Mackay to claim its title. The port allows Mackay to export approximately 700,000 tonnes each year of raw and refined sugar. Over 80% of the 3-4 million tonnes of sugar produced in Australia, year-on-year, is exported to countries throughout the world generating an annual income of $1.5 to $2.5 billion. And it’s not just sugar but also coal, grain, 90% of the country’s tomato crop grown in open fields and petroleum in the form of ethanol distilled from… you guessed it, sugar.

So where is everyone?

Now, with all this industrious activity you would expect Mackay to be quite a busy town. Well, we certainly did but even on a weekday the town was almost deserted. We had absolutely no idea where everyone was. The beaches were as deserted too with just the occasional couple walking their dog and a lonely fisherman casting a line hopefully into the surf. And this was peak tourist season. It was a mystery. Maybe the folks of Mackay are nocturnal?

There was, however, some evidence of life judging by the numerous painted murals around town. Sixteen talented local and five visiting artists from around Queensland have turned a once less than desirable laneway into an outdoor gallery. Fifth Lane’s wall art won Australia’s ‘Best Street Art Laneway’ award in 2021 and that is quite an achievement when you consider how renown Melbourne is for street art. Bringing art into the digital world, seven of the artworks have adjacent QR codes to scan, which can trigger augmented reality experiences on mobile devices.

Blacks Beach

Our caravan site was located right beside Blacks Beach – a deserted, sweeping, shallow bay with cliffs rising to the north, black volcanic rocks running down to the surf and some impressive cliff-top properties looking out over the Coral Sea.

Towards the south along the beach is a prominent water tower sitting on top of Slade Point. A closer look shows it hasn’t escaped the artist’s brush. Featuring several enormous humpback whales wrapped around the supporting base and another breaching under a pink sunset sky as a red tailed black cockatoo watches on.

Completed during 2019 by artists Scott Nagy and Cara Sanders (aka Owlet), the mural depicts the Humpback whale’s northward migration along the coast between June and August.

It is a very worthwhile short drive out of town but be courteous and bear in mind the local residents whose properties sit astride the tower and have to contend with all the visitors wanting a closer look. The road is sign posted as ‘Local Traffic Only’ presumably, and understandably, at the request of the affected residents. Access ends at the foot of the tower forming a turning circle with little space to park. From here a short walk makes its way down to a quiet but quite rocky beach.

Just a couple of hundred metres along the coastal road is Lamberts Lookout, which is a popular spot for whale watching during the migration season. Binoculars have thoughtfully been provided to bring the whales and the outlying Cumberland Islands closer in to view. There are onsite parking facilities available but on the busy day we visited none were free.

Safety is a priority… for some it seems

Travelling along the worsening state of the road known as the Bruce Highway is no fun – especially towing a large caravan. Always eager to get past caravans in the most dangerous places on the highway, and no doubt adding to the dreadful carnage this road is unfortunately known for, locals and tradies sit right on the back of your caravan constantly weaving in and out of view desperate to get a break in the oncoming traffic. Then, at an overtaking section, they’ll crawl past forcing you to brake hard as the merge point approaches. Just brainless, selfish idiots with no care for anyone else’s safety. Admittedly there are more than a few caravaners driving dangerously slow on the highway causing frustration and long tailbacks. These are the folks giving other caravan drivers a bad name.

Roger, copy that

Something all slower traffic should do, where safe, is to use the UHF radio to advise those behind that you’ll ease-off at the next overtaking section to let them pass safely. Usually you’ll receive an ‘Okay mate’, or, on occasion, nothing at all. Following behind us on our way south was a coach and a large Linfox truck and trailer. Being a considerate driver I put out a call to say I’ll ease-off shortly to let both vehicles pass. However, the driver of the coach responded, “no mate, you’re okay, you’re keeping up a good speed. Happy to follow behind”. Was that a compliment? Well that began an interesting conversation as we started to form a small convoy. Shortly after the Linfox truckie joined in and for many, many kilometres we chatted between the three of us, all very pleasant and lighthearted. Now ‘truckies’ tend to communicate in profanities interspersed with the occasional helpful warning of ‘slow traffic ahead’ or ‘cow on the road’… or both. And, admittedly the truckie did regularly drop the ‘F-bomb’… a lot actually, but it was enlightening to know more about what life on the road is really like from some of our country’s long distance drivers.

Eventually, though, it was time for us to part company as we left the Bruce Highway heading towards Mackay and exchanged thanks, ‘safe travels ahead’ and gave each other a friendly wave. It certainly made the long drive far more pleasant… and entertaining too.

Next stop Yeppoon as we continue our journey south.