Haven't been back to my home town for 2 years.

My mother insists it's 3.

I still say it's 2.

There's been many changes in my absence, mostly due to the Australian mining boom. Mackay used to promote itself for its proximity to the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef; on arrival at the airport, I was struck by the fact that it's now clearly a mining town and tourism can apparently go hang.

Still, the air is richer and fresher than Sydney, and Sidney the neighbourhood dog is still King of the Block, so some things haven't changed.