Departure

Since leaving Sydney for Queensland waters on Tuesday, 8 July, we have experienced a variety of weather but none quite as cold as it was at 6 am on our departure from the airport. Two layers of clothing came off upon exiting the aircraft at Mackay Airport and the balmy weather continued for the next few days. In that time, we caught up with Marius and Joy, Sydney friends who were holidaying in Mackay, and also spent a day on the explorer bus looking at how big and busy Mackay has become because of a minerals boom in the area. There are new developments everywhere, some pleasing to the eye but a few startlingly discordant and, sadly, principally along the foreshore of the Pioneer River.