Residents encouraged to set sail on treasure trail

The campaign is a first for council and will encourage residents to explore their own backyard by completing a treasure trail.

Mayor Greg Williamson said the region has a treasure trove of hidden gems to discover and many locals have barely scratched the surface.

“We’re taking our existing Discover Mackay campaign to uncharted territory, with a treasure trail setting sail across the Mackay region, from north to south and east to west,” Mayor Williamson said.

“The pirate-themed campaign will include 10 mystery locations to be discovered, by solving a series of riddles and clues on the council website,” he said.

“We’re encouraging residents to have a bit of fun, dress up in costume and explore the trail from Saturday, September 23, to Sunday, October 8.

“Each treasure trail location will have a large poster or corflute on display and treasure hunters need to find the sign, scan the QR code and complete any challenges that pop up on each online form.

“Challenges could include taking a photo or video of something, or someone, at the location; answering a trivia question or finding something special.”

Harvey Norman Mackay Proprietor Adam Patuwairua said he was excited to be part of the new campaign.

“We love supporting the local community and what better way than supporting a promotion that gets people out and about to explore the local area,” Mr Patuwairua said.

“Harvey Norman is proud to provide the major prize for the first person or team to complete the whole trail, plus three other digital cameras as an incentive for the community to hit the trail,” he said.

The first-place winner will receive a Canon EOS R100 camera with a single lens kit and two Pixbee PixPlay kid’s cameras, second place will receive a $500 Visa gift card and third place a $350 Sarina Sugar Shed hamper and MECC double pass.

The first 50 people to finish will also receive a Discover Mackay picnic blanket and the best dressed team will score a $200 gift card.

Anyone who completes the trail will go in the draw to win a $300 Sarina Sugar Shed hamper of goodies, including a MECC double pass.

Small rocks painted with a council logo will also be hidden at six of the ten locations.

Anyone who finds one of the rocks and hands it in will instantly win a $50 gift card.

To find out more, or to register for council’s treasure trail, visit mackay.qld.gov.au/trail.

Mayor Greg Williamson and Harvey Norman Mackay Proprietor Adam Patuwairua at the Treasure Trail launch.