If you are looking to get away from Australia’s popular resort towns, but are still looking for great weather, friendly service, and pristine beaches, Mackay is the place for you. Located about six hundred miles north of Brisbane, Mackay is the sugar capital of Australia as the area produces more than one-third of Australia’s cane sugar crops. The region is home to fantastic beaches, many of which are patrolled year round, and is also a popular place for fishing. There are several islands off the coast where visitors can indulge in a luxurious stay at a romantic resort or where they can get close to the land by camping. St. Bees Island is a great place to see koalas, and the neighbouring Keswick Island is known for its reef diving.
The most popular park in the region is Eungella National Park. This is Queensland’s most ecologically diverse park, and is a great place to visit because many of the walking tracks are relatively short and easy, allowing everyone to enjoy the scenery. There are also two scenic drives and a multitude of picnic spots. Be sure to visit Sky Window for the exceptional views and the Broken River viewing platform where, if you’re lucky, you might spot a platypus!
Cape Hillsborough National Park is another popular place, mainly because its resident wallaby population is inordinately friendly and makes a morning trek down to the beach. For your safety and theirs, please don’t feed the wildlife, no matter how friendly they appear. Here the rainforests cover the mountains and extend right up to the sandy edge of the beach and in the water beyond lies the Great Barrier Reef.
The city of Mackay itself makes a great stop as well, with a new modern art centre and their local botanical gardens. With excellent accommodation and dining, it is a great place to start your exploration of this remarkable area.
Before heading out on your much anticipated Australian vacation, it is important to have a clear understanding of what to expect when entering and leaving the country. Most importantly, you will need a passport and an Australian tourist visa. When arriving in Australia, you will be asked to declare what you are bringing with you. If you travel with prescription medicine, you will need to check with customs prior to your visit to ensure your medication does not contain a controlled substance currently prohibited in Australia. If your medication is acceptable, you will need to declare it to customs officials and present your written prescription and/or a doctor’s note to them. You should not have more than a three month supply on hand. When leaving the country you must take all medications with you, and also be prepared to present your written doctor’s note to custom officials.
Australia’s quarantine laws protect the country from foreign diseases and insects. Be prepared to declare all food, dairy products, animal products, fruits and vegetables, and seeds or nuts. You will be given a legal document called the Incoming Passenger Card prior to arrival at the airport, and here you must declare any of the above items that you are carrying with you. Once arriving at the airport, quarantine officials will let you know whether your items can safely be taken into the country. If not, you may have several options, including paying for the item to be treated, storing the item at the airport until you are leaving the country, or disposing of the item in a quarantine bin. Your baggage may be x-rayed or subject to detector dogs, and if you are found to have prohibited, undeclared items, you will be subject to an immediate fine and could even risk jail time.
There are also important security measures undertaken at Australia’s airports, as with airports all over the world. Any containers of liquid, gel, or aerosol, must be under 100mg to be taken onboard in your carry-on luggage.
As the sixth largest country in the world, Australia actually has a proportionately small population of about twenty million people. It is the only country to control an entire continent and its islands, and is made up of six states and two territories. Western Australia is the largest state and is about the same size as Western Europe! Australia is also both the flattest and the driest continent in the world. Because it is located beneath the equator, Australia’s summers occur over North American winters, and winter over North American summers. If you want to spend Christmas on the beach, Australia is the place to go!
Prior to western exploration, Aboriginal people lived throughout the continent in culturally diverse groups. The first European contact with Australia came in 1606 with the Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon, however it wasn’t until 1770 when Captain James Cook led a scientific exploration to the area that it was claimed as part of the British Empire. Britain used Australia as a penal colony, sending convicts as indentured labour to the new country. It wasn’t until the 1850s, with the gold rush, that the first settlers of Australia began to make their way there under their own free will. The Commonwealth of Australia was created in 1901 and it gained its independence in 1931. A major civil rights action occurred in 1967 when Australians voted overwhelmingly to allow the government to pass legislation to improve the lives of Aboriginal people throughout the nation.
Australia has a wide variety of climates, with desert, tropics, subtropics, plains, and rainforests, not to mention mountains and snowfields. Tourism is major industry in Australia, and visitors from all over the world are flocking there to enjoy the warm hospitality, tropical weather, and unique natural features. Natural resources are also important to Australia and make up a large proportion of their world exports.
Prior to western exploration, Aboriginal people lived throughout the continent in culturally diverse groups. The first European contact with 