Brisbane: for many years, Brisbane was seen by many as little more than a place you travelled through on your way to somewhere else. That all changed in 1982 when Brisbane hosted the Commonwealth Games and came of age as an international city. Today it is a vibrant metropolis with festivals, galleries, wildlife parks, museums, markets, parklands, forests, mountains and offshore islands and an invitation from the friendly locals to enjoy the laid back lifestyle and enjoy the sights and sounds of their city.
Whitsunday Islands: these are the most well known and well visited island group in Australia. One of the country's major tourist attractions and holiday destinations, these islands are centrally located on the Queensland Coast 150km north of Mackay and 300km south of Townsville in the heart of the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef. The main islands lie directly between the Queensland Coast and The Great Barrier Reef to the east. The words Whitsunday and Whitsunday Islands encompass the 'town' of Whitsunday (created in 1987 to include the mainland settlements of Airlie Beach, Cannonvale and Shute Harbour) and the 74 islands surrounding Whitsunday Passage which make up the Whitsunday Islands. Eight of these islands have resort facilities. The Whitsundays are the epitome of the perfect tropical island holiday destination and are synonymous with the image of paradise.
Cape York: truly the last frontier in Australia, a trek to the northernmost tip of Australia is the ultimate destination for 4-wheel drive enthusiasts and it isn't difficult to see why. Cape York Peninsula is a wild and sparsely populated wilderness area that is only accessible during the dry months from April to December, and only then by 4WD vehicles. The dusty tracks contrast dramatically with the abundant rivers, crystal clear creeks and spectacular waterfalls in this vast area of unexplored rainforests, magnificent national parks, sacred Aboriginal sites, rugged mountains and swampy marshlands. This is a land of climatic extremes where the creeks are either dry or running three metres high.
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Gold Coast: mention the Gold Coast and various images spring to mind - sun, surf, long beaches, theme parks, night life, towering apartment buildings. So varied are the activities and the choices of accommodation, some holidaymakers travel from as far away as WA just to experience the place. Beyond the pristine beaches just a short drive inland is the Gold Coast hinterland, which is as totally different an environment as it is possible to be. Here there are quaint mountain villages surrounded by forest, crystal clear streams and waterfalls in the World Heritage listed Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves.
Great Barrier Reef: The Great Barrier Reef extends for more than 2,000km off the east coast of Australia, from just south of the Tropic of Capricorn to the coastal waters of Papua New Guinea. It includes the world's most extensive stretch of coral reef. The reef system, extending to Papua New Guinea, comprises some 3,400 individual reefs, including 760 fringing reefs, which range in size from under 1ha to over 10,000ha and vary in shape to provide the most spectacular marine scenery on earth. There are approximately 300 coral cays, including 213 unvegetated cays, 43 vegetated cays and 44 low wooded islands. There are also 618 continental islands which were once part of the mainland.
Hinchinbrook Island: squatting off the coast of north Quensland, Hinchinbrook is basically two large islands joined by a long sand isthmus which has developed so there is a narrow sandy beach facing south, then a few substantial dunes and a vast, impenetrable mangrove swamp cut by sinuous channels. From the air it is one of the true wonders of the Australian coastline. With its lush rainforests, rugged, misty and heath-covered mountains, sweeping sandy beaches, rocky headlands, paperbark and palm wetlands, mangrove-fringed shores and extensive open forests and woodlands, Hinchinbrook Island National Park is one of the world’s most outstanding island parks.
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Sunshine Coast: Famous for its pristine coastline and lush hinterland, the Sunshine Coast begins at Caloundra, an hour's drive north of Brisbane and extends to Cooloola, the Fraser Island. It takes in tranquil hinterland including the Glass House Mountains, Blackall Range, Noosa Hinterland and the Mary Valley; as well as more than 100 kilometres of beaches. Each locality on this coast is different to the others; Noosa, for example, is a former sleepy fishing village that has evolved into an upmarket resort town, which can best described as the Toorak, Double Bay or Peppermint Grove of the Queensland coast.
Trinity Bay: apart from the locals, few Australians know where Trinity Bay is, yet all have heard of the two popular holiday destinations built on its shores - Cairns at its southern end, and the former mining and timber port and now upmarket holiday resort town of Port Douglas at its northern end. Not far offshore is the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef where visitor flock in their thousands to dive on it during the winter months. Inland is the old sugar town of Mossman, the gateway to Mossman Gorge and the World Heritage listed Wet Tropics area. To the north in Daintree National Park is the stunningly beautiful Cape Tribulation, thus named by Lt. James Cook on 10th June 1770 after his ship ran aground on a reef near the site, "because here began all our Troubles".
Undara Lava Tubes: The Undara Lava Tubes near the small town of Mount Surprise 275 km south-west of Cairns, is one of Australia's great geological wonders. They are the largest, longest and most accessible lava tubes on earth. Undara volcano erupted 190,000 years ago and spewed 23 cubic kilometres of molten lava onto the surrounding country. Streams of sulphurous lava flowed over the land, spilling out like boiling treacle into various creek beds and other depressions. The surface soon cooled and crusted but the molten lava inside continued to flow, leaving behind the huge hollow pipes ... the unique lava tubes.
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Rail: Brisbane is linked to Sydney by a daily XPT service. Queensland Rail operates rail services from Brisbane to major regional centres throughout Queensland.
Air: All international flights into Queensland pass through Brisbane or Cairns. The main domestic routes in and out of Queensland are -
- Brisbane to Sydney: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Brisbane to Darwin: 3 hours 45 minutes
- Brisbane to Cairns: 2 hours 25 minutes
- Beisbane to Townsville: 1 hr 40 minutes
- Sunshine Coast to Sydney: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Sunshine Coast to Melbourne: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Gold Coast to Sydney: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Gold Coast to Melbourne: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Whitsunday Islands (Proserpine) to Sydney: 4 hours 40 minutes via Brisbane
- Whitsunday Islands (Hamilton Island) to Sydney: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cairns to Sydney: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Cairns to Melbourne: 3 hours 15 minutes
Road (coach): Numerous operators provide coach services between the major cities and regional centres of Queensland.
Road (private motor vehicle): Queensland's towns are linked to each other, and to towns and cities in other states by a network of well signposted, well maintained sealed highways and major roads which allow for easy travel between localities.
In Queensland, the speed limit on the open road is generally 110 kilometres per hour. In Queensland, a driver’s licence from your home country or another Australian state will usually suffice for up to three months, as long as it has photo identification and it’s for the same class of vehicle you intend to drive. If you’re staying more than three months, you’ll need to get a WA drivers licence.
Road travel distances -
- Brisbane to Sydney: 980km
- Brisbane to Rockhampton: 637km
- Brisbane to Townsville: 1,369km
- Brisbane to Cairns: 1,715km
- Brisbane to Toowoomba: 128km
- Brisbane to Charleville: 746km
- Brisbane to Mt Isa: 1,813km
- Townsville to Mt Isa: 850km
- Rockhampton to Longreach: 680km
- Charleville to Longreach: 500km
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| Useful information for visitors |
Clothing
Australians in general dress casually, except for formal functions and venues. A jacket or warmer clothing is recommended for evenings and during the winter months. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended when touring regions where bushwalking activities are planned.
Banking
Banks in Queensland are generally open:
9.30 am - 4.00 pm Monday to Thursday
9.30 am - 5.00 pm on Fridays.
Shop trading hours
Mondays to Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 9:00 am to 12 noon
Thursdays, 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
Many shops in the central business district and some suburban shopping centres in Brisbane and the Gold Coast open on Saturdays until 5:00 pm, and Sundays, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. In other regional areas, Sunday trading and Saturday afternoon trading beyond midday is optional.
| The Best Times to Visit Qld |
Queensland is an all year-round destination and the state is a major tourist destination. The best time time of year will be that which matches the activities you have planned.
High humidity, cylones and thunderstorms are experienced every year from October until March in the tropical north, making travelling very uncomfortable, and unsealed outback roads can be cut due to floods and washouts. April to September are the best months to venture north of the Tropic of Capricorn. June to August is the peak season in Tropical regions, but be prepared for crowds; transport and accommodation needs to be booked well in advance in those months.
Heat levels in the Outback during summer are extreme so winter is the best time to visit. The South East region and the Great Barrier Reef are Queensland's major holiday destinations and generally have milder, less oppressive summer weather. These destinations can be busy right throughout the year, but particularly during school holidays when it is imperative to book travel arrangements well in advance.
Queensland sits either side of the Tropic of Capricorn with warm tropics to the north and warm temperates to the south. There is a narrow sub-equatorial coastal band from Cairns around the northern coast to the Northern Territory border.
Winter is June - August with maximum temperatures around 20° C in the southern coastal regions, 23° C in the central coastal regions and 25° C in the northern coastal regions. Summer is December - February with maximum temperatures around 29° C in the southern coastal regions and 31° C in both the central and northern coastal regions.
Temperatures in outback areas are more extreme. Summer maximums typically range from 34° C in the southern outback up to 37° C in the north. Winter minimums typically range from 4° C in the southern outback up to 8° C in the northern areas. Some outback areas may experience frost on winter mornings.
Rainfall is mainly during summer. Monsoonal cyclones (hurricanes) occasionally cross the tropical north coast during the summer months. This is not a frequent event and usually results in localised property damage and flooding.
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 About Queensland: Queensland is essentially a state of great plains which merge into high country of sharper relief to the east and north-west. To the north, the country falls gradually to meet the coastal plain which reaches the Gulf of Carpentaria as a broad tract of salt flats. The far north-west is occupied by a rugged uplands region, rich in minerals. Eastward, the country rises towards the Great Dividing Range which runs from the southern border to the northern tip of the state and is the main watershed between the coastal and inland rivers. East of the Great Dividing Range, the country drops seaward in a jumble of ranges separated by lowlands. This structure is continued in a chain of mountainous offshore islands sitting on the continental shelf. Beyond them is the Great Barrier Reef, a series of coral formations stretching for about 2000 km.
Mining, tourism and agriculture, are the three major industries. Queensland accounts for 24 per cent of the total Australian mining production, 37 per cent of Australia's beef production, and almost all of Australia's sugar production. Sugar is the main export crop. Other important crops are wheat, sorghum, maize, cotton, tobacco and peanuts. Tropical fruits grow extensively along the coast. Beef cattle and sheep dominate the livestock industries. Coal is the most important mineral followed by copper, lead, bauxite and zinc. There are major developments of bauxite near Weipa; copper, silver-lead-zinc and phosphate rock in the north- west, centred on Mount Isa; coal in the Bowen Basin of central Queensland and the Moreton Basin of the south-east; nickel at Greenvale, north-west of Townsville; natural gas and oil in the southern inland; and mineral sands along the southern beaches.
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Destinations - regional centres
Destinations - tourist
Experiences/Activities
Journeys - rail
Journeys - road
Journeys - cruises
Journeys - scenic flights
Journeys - hiking
Area
- Total: 1,852,642 km2 (2nd)
- Land: 1,730,648 km2
- Water: 121,994 km2 (6.58%)
Population (2003)
- Population: 3,801,039 (3rd)
- Density: 2/km2 (5th)
Abreviations
- Postal: QLD
- ISO: 3166-2: AU-QL
Elevation
Highest: Mt. Bartle Frere +1,622 m
Time zone: UTC+10 (+11 AEST)
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