Mackay’s cruise experience offers mine tours, chopper rides, and volcano explorations
A chance to explore old coal mines is shaping up to be a novel offering for Qld’s next cruise ship destination, alongside downhill mountain biking and helicopter tours to ancient volcano peaks.
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An opportunity to explore abandoned coal mines is shaping up to be a novel offering for Queensland’s next cruise ship destination.
Mackay Isaac Tourism CEO Al Grundy is spearheading the campaign to bring boutique cruise ships into Mackay, with the city’s harbour already deep enough to welcome the vessels.
Mr Grundy said visitors could access activities and sights across an area almost the size of Tasmania, not to mention being able to island hop and snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef.
“(We’re) trying to show that the Mackay Isaac region is obviously mining and resources and sugar, but we’ve got so much more to offer,” he said.
This includes new world-class downhill mountain bike trails by the rainforest west of Mackay in the Pioneer Valley, with Stage 1 currently under construction, and helicopter flights to the top of Lord’s Table Mountain in the Peak Ranges, the world’s longest continental volcanic chain.
“We’re also working … on opportunities around mine tourism and providing mine experiences,” Mr Grundy said, adding this could include virtual reality, tours of simulated underground mine sites or actual tours inside expired mines.
Mackay’s Resources Centre of Excellence’s is hosting a briefing on Thursday on enviroMETS Qld’s Lighthouse Project which is exploring how to repurpose closed mines.
“Can you imagine taking your family to a 4WD adventure park, a theme park, or a hotel, located inside an end-of-life mine?” RCOE’s Rainee Shepperson said.
“In Australia this concept seems unheard of, but around the world this is a reality.”
Mr Grundy said Mackay’s “cracking port” – which already had refuelling infrastructure, an adjacent marina, and access to a fleet of buses – was suited to welcoming smaller “expedition-style” vessels of about 900 guests.
He said new figures showed the cruise industry injected $1.69bn into Queensland’s economy in the 2022-23 financial year, with 32 new cruise ships currently under construction worldwide.
He said Mackay Isaac Tourism was hiring a consultant to get the region ready to seize the next infrastructure grant opportunity, with Mackay already added to Cruise Queensland’s Extraordinary Destinations’ statewide brochure sent to global cruise line operators.
Mackay receives 1.2 million visitors each year which inject $726.8 million into the economy via overnight expenditure.
Mr Grundy said they were hoping to build this to $860 million by 2032 in line with the state government’s Towards Tourism 2032 strategy ahead of the Brisbane Olympics.
He planned to meet with North Queensland Bulk Ports CEO Brendan Webb on how they could move forward on welcoming cruise ships to Mackay, including how to balance the port against current sugar and grain exports as well as fuel imports.
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Originally published as Mackay’s cruise experience offers mine tours, chopper rides, and volcano explorations
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