A window to the sky Mackay is vibrant, fast growing Queensland city on the Bruce Highway where the Pioneer River Valley meets the sea on the southern end of the Whitsundays. The beautiful Pioneer Valley, which stretches 80 kilometres inland from Mackay, is a favourite retreat for local residents and visitors alike. The wide valley floor has almost entirely been given over to thousands of hectares of waving green sugar cane that line the main access to the valley, the Mackay-Eungella Road. The first township on the road is Marian, a delightful spot where the town lines the high southern bank of the Pioneer River and traditional Queenslander homes rub shoulders with their more modern neighbours. Marian is also the crossroads where visitors enter the valley when approaching from the north or from along the Peak Downs Highway from the interior. Marian offers most of the things required by visitors, a caravan park, fuel and food. Ten kilometres up the road, Mirani also offers most services and is the place to turn off if you want to visit nearby Kinchant dam where you can fish, camp both in tents and vans, hike and swim.