Day 35: Sun 30 Jul 23 - Mackay

Sun 30 Jul 23 - Mackay

Weather:  14 Deg, a light SW breeze, sunny reaching 22 Deg with a stronger SW wind, becoming overcast and cool in the afternoon and evening.

Another late start, and we are sleeping well, but a couple of later nights than usual is responsible for that. We got up, had coffee and breakfast, then while catching up on the blog from yesterday, I received a call that I had been hoping not to receive. Capricorn Gardens called to advise that Uncle had tested positive to Covid this morning. They said he was OK and would call to provide further updates if there was any change. I called him to to see for myself, and he sounded as upbeat and jovial as ever, and apart from a bit of a rough voice, I couldn’t tell that he was unwell. I visited him three times after the Covid outbreak at Capricorn Gardens (dressed in full PPE including a mask), so I’ve been doing daily RATs, sometimes twice daily, and thankfully so far all clear. 

After eventually getting ourselves organised, Noel and I set off for the regional Botanic Gardens, about 9km away, arriving at 11am. First priority was coffee at the cafe overlooking the lagoon, unfortunately the coffee was not as enjoyable as the scenery. We walked through the gardens along the banks of the lagoons, firstly to the Southern end to the Australian South Sea Islander memorial gardens then back past the Gardens Information Centre and Cafe to the Northern Tropical Gardens sections. We walked for about 1.5 hours, and were both really surprised and impressed. It is such a beautiful diverse garden which features tropical rainforests, wetlands and eucalypt forests and many colourful plants, and all very well maintained.  

We returned to the car a little after 1pm, then drove back to the van to drop off a few things, then continued over to visit my cousin Fay and her family at their home in Rural View (about 6km away along the highway). We had a lovely afternoon sitting in their garden under the outdoor patio, just chatting and catching up, although it was overcast and with the light breeze was becoming a little fresh. After almost 2.5 hours, we returned to the van, where my first priority was to call and check on Uncle again - thankfully no change, he still sounded as cheerful as normal, but with a bit a bit of a croaky voice.  

We then showered, changed and at 5.30 pm we headed off to our next appointment - dinner with Lyndi and Danielle at Danielles house (she returned from her weekend away).  It was great to see Dan again, and we had a lovely roast dinner and another great evening together eventually leaving at about 10pm. We are starting to feel a bit weary from all this social activity and later nights, but it is great catching up with everyone. Hopefully the weather clears tomorrow, it started out nice, but it had became bleak by the end of the day.  We don't want anymore rain as when we leave Mackay, we are planning to head out to a property near Finch Hatton for four nights camping by a river. The ground is still quite moist from all the recent rain, so we definitely don't want anymore.


Entering the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

Cafe at the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens


Cafe at the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens with a lovely outlook

Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

Walk along the lagoon - Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

Walk along the lagoon - Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

A family of cute ducks on the lagoon

Walk along the lagoon - Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

Walk along the lagoon - Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

A Fun guy.


In memory of the original South Sea Island Pioneers for their contribution towards the establishment of the sugar industry in the Mackay District 

South Sea Island Pioneers Memorial 

Bauhinia Purpurea (so Google says)

South Sea Garden of Memories

South Sea Garden of Memories


Sausage Tree


South Sea Garden of Memories

South Sea Garden of Memories


Native Plants

More colourful plants 

Walking towards the northern end of the gardens

Along the lagoon

Native Plants

The Coal Garden


Walking through the gardens

Walking through the gardens



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