Stop # 5 - Mackay (Midge City)

According to Google Maps, the drive from 1170 to Mackay should take 6hrs 15mins, but it's been safe to add another 10% on top of Google's estimations, to allow for the towing handicap and toilet rests.  

Indeed it took around 7 hours to drive up to Mackay, with trucker Jackie having a 3 hour stint driving the rig.

On the way up we stopped off at the Information Centre at Rockhampton for a toilet break, and it was immediately apparent that the heat and humidity would be getting worse from now upwards.

We weren't planning on staying at Mackay, so we hadn't booked accommodation yet.  Whilst driving up there, we reviewed some caravan park ratings and decide on another Big 4 caravan park, which is more centrally located than some of the higher rated parks.  

Little did we know that the park was next to a pond, which was a breeding ground for mozzies.  Not only was the place infested with mozzies, but the midges were everywhere.  For those not educated on, nor had the displeasure of experiencing these blood sucking critters, midges are effectively small sand flies (the ones we experienced anyway).  You would feel the intense bite of the midge, but they are so small you cannot see them without squinting.  

Surely enough, if you slap the general area in which the bite is being experienced, you will see a splatter of blood/fly where the midge had been.  Even though they are small, they certainly pack a punch and the bitten area welts up very quickly.  Poor Grace suffered the most, looking like she had the chicken pox, after she'd scratched the welts until they bled and then scabbed.

Our first day was spent at the park, enjoying the water park, water slide and putt putt course.

We headed into town to check out the lagoon.  We were pleasantly surprised that it had manned water slides, and two large pools.  Great facilities in the middle of the city, free of charge.  I'd imagine the place would be packed during the height of summer; there were only a few people around when we were there, apparently because the weather was starting to cool down - it was still 27
degrees at 5pm !!  The kids had a ball, and we had to drag them out of there at close time.

We also managed to ride the pathway that ran parallel to the Pioneer river, winding through klms of foreshore.  The kids were hot and sweaty, so we managed to only ride a few klms up and down the path.

Whilst seeking shelter from the heat at one of the city shopping centres, we came across some Animalls, which kids and adults rode throughout sections of the shopping centre.  These animals certainly captured the attention of shoppers, young and old, and was a hit with all kids, including ours.  We had to book a time to ride the animals, given their popularity.

I managed to coax Jackie into scouting some potential fishing spots, the kids are always keen to do so.  Upon arriving at the Marina breakwall, we discovered some clever design work, whereby specific blocks of rock were placed along the breakwall, so they could be used as tables and chairs for eating or sight seeing, quite an ingenious idea I thought.

Moving onto the breakwall itself, I sighted a local fisho pulling up a good sized fish - looked like a jewfish.  No more than 5 minutes later, the same fisho was hooked onto another sizable fish.  The fisho tussled with the fish for many minutes, on his cheap Jarvis Walker Kmart special mind you, giving it all he could.  I was sure the mono line he was using would give way anytime soon, however the line and his knots held true.  By now a crowd had assembled, and it was clear this fish was massive, given the bend on the rod and time it was taking to bring the fish in.

After what seemed like 15 minutes of fighting, the fisho saw colour and called it for a Wobbegong shark.  It wasn't finished just yet and set off for New Zealand.  The fisho managed to bring the shark in, and cut the line to free the shark.  We managed to catch a glimpse of the shark, and it was huge, I estimate it to be 2 metres in size.

Upon witnessing the two captures, I knew this would be where I would try to catch a fish that night.  The problem was that the high tide for that evening was around 11pm, so I knew it would be a long night.

I decided to try to catch squid inside the breakwall, and use it for bait.  After hours of casting and retrieving the squid jig, I eventually caught a squid for bait.

I was not able to catch any other squid, and with the time being 11pm, it was time to go fishing.  A decision needed to be made on whether to strip the squid or use it whole.  I knew using it whole increased the chances of catching a big fish, however this meant I only had one chance of hooking the big one, otherwise I would have no other bait.

Arriving at the spot where we saw the shark caught earlier in the day, I rigged up the squid and threw it out in hope.  Ten minutes had passed before I felt some tugs on the line.  This meant that either the squid was panicking and being harassed by a predator, or that there was a fish nibbling on the squid.  Knowing that the squid would stay on the hook for a while, I stayed patient.  After many minutes of listening to waves pound the rocks, my line took off and I leapt into action, setting the hook onto the fish.  Immediately I sensed the weight of the fish, and knew this was a good sized fish.  Tightening the drag, I was trying to stop the fish from taking too much line.  I moved to  a higher position, trying avoid the line rubbing on the breakwall rocks.  As I put more pressure on the rod to try to stop the fish, I felt the  line go limp, and knew I had lost the fish.  Bringing up the line, I saw that the braided line was frayed and had been rubbing on the rocks.  Thoughts of trying to catch another squid and having another crack at the big one dissipated when my watch revealed it was well past midnight.  I'll have to wait longer to catch the first big fish for the trip.

We left Mackay on the morning of Anzac day.  Although it would have been good to go to the dawn service, waking the kids at 5:30am proved too difficult a task.  We'd packed up the caravan and headed into town to watch the end of the march and pay our respects.  The distance education work the kids would be completing in the coming weeks focuses heavily on Anzac Day, so it was good to take the kids to the ceremony and educate them on the sacrifices made by our past and present service men and women.  Lest We Forget.