There is no shortage of activities in Australia’s Sunshine State of Queensland.
To get you started, here are 50 things to do: 10 Adventures, 10 Walks, 10 With Views, 10 With Water & 10 With History…
10 ADVENTURES
1) Go on a white water rafting day trip on the Tully or North Johnstone rivers.
2) Get the adrenalin flowing on the fastest and tallest HyperCoaster in the Southern Hemisphere, the DC Rivals HyperCoaster at Warner Bros. Movie World.
3) Take to the skies and enjoy a scenic flight from Cairns to Cooktown, Lizard Island or Cape York with Daintree Air Services.
4) Go bungee jumping in a rainforest setting north of Cairns.
5) Shark feed at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.
6) Hire a 4WD and make the long haul to the top of Cape York.
7) For advanced divers, dive the Yongala (off Townsville) undoubtedly Queensland’s best wreck dive site.
8) Try skydiving on the Capricorn Coast.
9) Experience a camel tour on the beach at Yeppoon.
10) For a buzz and a low aerial perspective of the reef try parasailing, available at several resorts in the Whitsundays, Airlie Beach, Townsville, Cairns and Port Douglas.
10 WALKS
1) Experience the challenging 15 km walk to the summit of Mt Bartle Frere, Queensland’s highest mountain (1622 metres)
2) Stroll the beach at Cape Tribulation.
3) Test your nerve on the rainforest canopy walk in Lamington National Park.
4) Walk to beautiful Araluen Falls in the Finch Hatton gorge section of Eungella National Park.
5) Wander the Esplanade in Cairns.
6) Take to any of the 22 km of walking tracks on Magnetic Island to experience an abundance of wildlife and a diversity of habitats.
7) Sign up for an Aboriginal guided rainforest walk to Mossman Gorge with Kuku Yalanji Dreamtime Tours, which features bush tucker, making bush soaps, ochre painting and a traditional bush tea and damper.
8) Explore the rainforest tracks of Hinchinbrook Island.
9) Follow in the footsteps of the famous navigator Captain James Cook by hiking to Cook’s Look (359 metres) the highest point on Lizard Island.
10) Follow one of the sign-posted Noosa National Park walks on the Sunshine Coast and be sure to check the entrance chalkboard for the day’s koala sightings.
10 WITH VIEWS
1) Hire an open-roofed vehicle and drive the scenic Bruce Highway that hugs the coast between Cairns and Port Douglas.
2) Visit the Isla Gorge lookout in south-east central Queensland where the expansive views over the deep forest-clad gorge and surrounding sandstone peaks will take your breath away.
3) Enjoy a hot air balloon trip over the Atherton Tablelands.
4) Book a helicopter or light aircraft flight (available from most major centres) – a fabulous way to view the Great Barrier Reef and get some great photos too.
5) Take a trip on the Kuranda Scenic Train.
6) Climb to the summit of Fitzroy Island (near Cairns) for a panoramic vista.
7) Visit the Mt Coot-tha Lookout for spectacular views over Brisbane.
8) Go horse riding for a different perspective of the Atherton Tablelands.
9) Pack up a swag and sleep under Queensland’s outback stars.
10) Experience a trip on Skyrail (15 minutes north of Cairns). Billed as the world’s most beautiful rainforest experience, it offers a unique perspective from treetop height of Queensland’s tropical rainforest.
MORE AUSTRALIAN STORIES YOU’LL LOVE…
- Tropical North Queensland to a tee
- Australia’s marvellous National Parks
- The colourful streets of Melbourne
- Tasmania by motorhome
10 WITH WATER
1) Book a day trip to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.
2) Experience one of the best ways to explore the Gold Coast’s waterways and famous landmarks on the ‘World’s First’ amphibious Aquabus. It floats like a boat and takes you on a unique one hour round trip with commentary.
3) Hire a kayak and paddle the beautiful waters off Fitzroy Island.
4) Go crocodile spotting on a Daintree River cruise in far north Queensland.
5) An excellent way for non-divers to get a glimpse of what divers experience is to take a semi-submersible trip, operating out of Cairns, Townsville, the Whitsundays, Heron and Green Islands.
6) Rent a yacht (either bareboat or crewed) and cruise the Whitsundays.
7) Relax in the natural rock pools and spas in Jourama Falls National Park, near Townsville.
8) Canoe the tranquil waters of Lawn Hill National Park.
9) Become a certified open water diver by taking a PADI course, at most major centres along the Barrier Reef.
10) Take a cruise along Lake Eacham, a volcanic crater lake in the Atherton Tablelands.
10 WITH HISTORY
1) Enjoy a drink at the historic Garradunga pub (just north of Innisfail off the Bruce Highway) surrounded by sugar cane and displaying a fine collection of memorabilia and photographs of cane cutting history.
2) Step back 20,000 to 20 million years in time at the Riversleigh Fossil Centre in Mount Isa.
3) Check out Aboriginal stencil art at Cathedral Cave and the Art Gallery in Carnarvon Gorge National Park.
4) Take a trip on the historic Gulflander train that leaves Normanton on its weekly 152 km run to the old gold mining town of Croydon.
5) Visit Charters Towers 135 km from Townsville. Built on gold over a century ago, it is today a living museum of grand hotels, banks and heritage buildings.
6) Attend the Outback Writers Festival held in Winton (usually at the end of June) featuring some of the countries’ latest and greatest bush poets and writers in a celebration of Australian history.
7) View a Muttaburrasaurus replica skeleton at the Flinders Discovery Centre in Hughenden which was made from castings taken from two individual fossils discovered in the district.
8) Marvel at the 3000-year-old beech trees in Lamington National Park.
9) Soak up the history of gold mining at Mt Morgan near Rockhampton.
10) Visit the UNESCO World Heritage listed Riversleigh Fossil site north of Mt Isa.
