Feb. 26, 2012
No rain this morning so off to Sarina which is 30 KM south of MacKay. It relatively unspoiled area in a farming region. Also home to a sugar mill which is supplied by the surrounding cane farms. One of the largest coal port facilities in the world is sited on the coast here at Hay Point.
Spent the morning visiting the Sarina Sugar Shed, the only miniature sugar mill and distillery in Australia, which is adjacent to the sugar mill. Here you learn about planting, growing, harvesting, getting the cane to the mill, milling and refining of sugar. The tour is about 2 hours and is very interesting and you get to sample sugar juice and after the tour sample some of the distilled products. Rum, Coconut Rum and other liquors that are distilled here. They distill molasses into alcohol to produce the liquors that they sell .
The Plane Creek is adjacent to the Sugar Shed and it crushes in excess of 11,500 tonnes of cane per day or up to 1.8 million tonnes of cane in a season. From this cane a total of 240,000 tonnes of low color raw sugar is produced as well as 60.000 tonnes of molasses for conversion into ethanol a the company's adjoining Sarina Distillery. . Crushing commences in early June and runs for up to 6 months.
Later walked around the village and had lunch at the local pub.
After lunch drove out to Hay Point / Delrymple Bay and the coal port.
The cold port is one of the largest in the world and only coal is exported from here. Coal comes to the port via rail from 7 different coal mines . This port in one of five that are along the coast of Queensland for export of coal.
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| Local pub |
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| Drive through beer, wine store |
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| old cane equipment |
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| Plane Creek Mill at Sarina adjacent to the Sugar Shed |
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| Distillery for Sugar Shed |
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| samples |
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| miniature cane processing equipment |
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Old equipment used on Cane Farms.
Hay Point Coal Port
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| Loading ships at coal port | | | | | |
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