the big mango

Bowen is that little country town with the wide main street. The big mango is nothing to get too excited about as you drive into the town. To be honest it was a non event. Try and find a vegetarian lunch in Bowen is also a non event. To be honest how many salads can one eat and still get excited?

Yes well as we expected - it is a BIG mango !!! But thats really all!!!??? I don't understand how for a town that has like the best tasting mangos in the country i.e. the BOWEN mango do not have like a cafe or some sort of shop near the BIG mango that sells things like Mango smoothies, mango and ice cream, mango chutney with hot chips etc!!! They could really run with it - who doesn't love mango!!!!!???? The BIG mango is impressive - but they could do so much more with it right on site?!

The ladies manning the info centre were friendly and helpful, with lots of brochures on the region. The BIG mango was a great photo op. The mango sorbet is delicious!!!!

We stopped in while driving from Townsville to Mackay. I'm usually a fan of big things on highways, but this one is pretty lame. We stopped for the obligatory photo, which was an odd experience. The big mango seems to be in someone's front yard. There was a guy on the verandah having a smoke and talking loudly on his mobile. We felt like we were intruding.

This is literally a big mango (wooden and painted). Don't get me wrong it looks great, complete with ants and we took a photo or two. But we were expecting more in the accompanying facilities. There is a few different types of icecream available and a basic instant coffee machine. The rest of the shop is a tourist information bureau. The staff are very helpful and eager to help but I guess we were expecting information about Mangoes and something to interact with.

We stopped here for the "photo op" as we love anything "big" in Australia. There was nothing much inside for the kids so they stayed in the car but the Lady there was an absolute fountain of knowledge about anything "Bowen". She directed us to the best beaches and a great lookout with 360 degree views of Bowen. I also recommend the Mango Sorbet.

This big fiberglass monstrosity on the main highway is impossible to miss. I think it's pretty cool though because it gives you some information about the growth of mangoes in the district and there is an information kiosk with refreshments and public toilets. Whomever has painted it did a great job with the green ants. It was all over facebook a while ago as having been stolen....all a myth, it was being repainted.

The Big Mango is a great place to source information from about the Bowen area and even if you're travelling south. I always enjoy the mango sorbet for $4 that they sell, I can't go past without buying one!The big mango has information on how the Bowen mango started in Bowen and how it grew popular.Bowen is known for its 26 murals dedicated to the history of aboriginal and Torres strait islanders and Bowen's history. There probably is nothing that the lady's in there don't know about the town they show off to passing travelers.

Well the big Mango is back. It had gone missing but only to have a new paint job. Great to have a photo with but that's all that's there.

I liked the friendliness of staff who were helpful with our queries. A good supply of relevant brochures.

Driving from Coffs to Cairns and back over the holidays, we stopped at a lot of tourist information places and this one was by far the most well set out, with very friendly and helpful staff as well.

After 30,000 plus miles in the US of A , I can safely say that we put the "Big" in everything in Oz ! The stop was a welcome break on a long drive & the girls in the visitor centre were very friendly, the Mango Sorbet was delicious & highly recommended and the Mango in question ? Yeah , it was BIG !! Had to stop as it added another fruit to my collection plus picked up some good pamphlets on the region.

Good spot on the highway at Bowen QLD, to take a short break from the drive and take a stretch,and some refreshment.

Stopped on our way through. The information centre didn't have too much that we didn't already know about so wasn't very useful however the mango sorbet and the mango and coconut fudge was lovely.

Had a brief stop here and tried the mango sorbet - delicious! Had the photo taken in front of the big mango :)