It’s time for your sunny Queensland trip to Mackay!
Pick up your rental car from Mackay Airport and get prepared for a trip filled with plenty of sun and great weather. Mackay is a coastal city in North Queensland, which means you can expect a tropical climate and warm weather all year round.
Mackay is the perfect base for your North Queensland trip. With plenty to do and see in this historic town, as well as its close proximity to unbeatable locations like the Whitsundays, there will never be a dull moment while you are here.
Discover Mackay, with Hertz
Mackay has a gorgeous Art Deco aesthetic that dates back to the 1920s and 30s. It remains architecturally distinct, so it’s well worth having a drive around the town on your first day simply to check it all out.
There are some great places to go for a light stroll around, including the Mackay Regional Botanic gardens, which are located just 3 kilometres from the city centre. With a diverse range of native plants making their home here, it’s a beautiful place that is peaceful too. The grounds themselves took over 100 years to make, with the initial plans drafted in 1878, but not reaching completion until 2003.
One of the more popular spots in Mackay is the Bluewater Lagoon. An ideal place for families, it’s a three-level artificial river that comes with waterslides, play areas, and picnic spots. It’s a great place to cool off in the intense Queensland heat, and won’t come with any of the sea creatures that the tropical ocean waters are notorious for.
Get Outside with Hertz
Just 40 minutes north of Mackay is the impressive Cape Hillsborough National Park. Get here early, and you can make friends with the wallabies that play along here at sunrise. It’s a beautiful spot, and well worth exploring if you have a day spare.
There’s also the Eungella National Park that’s further inland. Here, you’ll be able to dive with platypuses in its incredibly ecological diverse waters. There’s a huge array of plant life and wildlife in the park, which you’ll see from the moment you arrive here.
Of course, one of the main reasons people journey to Mackay is not to stay on land, but instead to head out into the pristine blue waters. The popular Whitsunday Islands are just off the coast of the town and it's easy to see why tourists have flocked here for decades. With locations to visit such as Whitehaven Beach, which never quite looks the same from one day to the next, it’s the picture-perfect spot, with its beautiful silicone white sand beaches and aqua-coloured waters.
One of the best parts of the Whitsunday Islands is their close proximity to one of the seven wonders of the natural world, the Great Barrier Reef. Explore this underwater world with a tour group and find yourself amongst one of the most ecologically diverse places in the whole world.
Mackay and its surrounds offer a wealth of wonders to those who holiday here. Its close proximity to some incredible geographical locations makes it a popular location for holidaymakers all year round. We’ll be ready to welcome you with your Hertz rental car when you arrive!