Townsville North Queensland

It’s pretty hard to be unhappy when the sun is shining. And with an average of 320 days of sunshine per year, Townsville North Queensland has cause to celebrate.

You don’t have to like football, fast cars, diving or sailing in this town, but if you do, you’ll be in your own personal nirvana with a line-up of events usually only seen in bustling capital cities.

From Magnetic Island with its 23 bays and beaches, to the beautifully wild Hinchinbrook Island (home of the Thorsborne Trail) and epic Wallaman Falls, you can’t help but succumb to the allure of this region – sitting pretty between the reef, rainforest and outback.

Townsville’s CBD has undergone a transformation in recent years and is gaining a reputation for its shopping, food and entertainment precincts. Enjoy boutique shopping on Flinders Street, Palmer Street and Gregory Street as well as the regular local markets. Take yourself on a self-guided street art tour around the inner city streets, or check out the top-notch restaurants, bars and cafes on Palmer Street, the new City Lane and other favourite hangouts.

Custodians of the Great Barrier Reef

Home to the who’s who of reef research, turtle rehabilitation and marine education in Australia, Townsville is THE place to greet the reef.

• Learn all about conservation and research on the World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef at Reef HQ.
• Snorkel your way along the reef or go for the ultimate dive at the SS Yongala wreck.
• Sail your way around the Palm Islands group or bliss out in luxury on Orpheus Island.

Travel really is the best education. Get the kids heads out of the books and into the great outdoors for a PhD in life.

• See northern Australia’s largest colony of wild koalas on Magnetic Island.
• Develop your own bird-watching Wikipedia in the Tropics wetlands.

Once you’ve conquered Castle Hill and dived the Great Barrier Reef until you can’t flipper anymore...

• Discover the WWII history of the area and check out the panoramic views over Magnetic Island on the Forts Walk.
• Take a stroll through the newly landscaped Jezzine Barracks, a significant site for both the Australian military and local Indigenous people. Enjoy spectacular views, interpretive signage, artwork, traditional plantings and parklands.
• Go from beach to bush and spend your days cooling off under waterfalls and spotting kangaroos and platypus in Paluma Range National Park.
• Go panning through Charters Towers’ gold mining history.
• Take part in preparing a traditional Aboriginal kup mari feast at Mungalla Station.