About the area: This region is known for its small townships, pineapple and sugar cane plantations, beautiful beaches, great river and ocean fishing and the many picturesque offshore islands that form the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef. It well known for its superb swimming and dive locations and an idyllic climate where year round the average daily temperature is 25 degrees Celsius.
The climate is warm, moist and amazingly equable, verying little in temperature between winter and summer, but because of the rainfall distribution, May to October is the best time of the year for visitors.
The jewell in the crown of the central coastal regions of Queensland is without doubut the Whitsunday Islands. They are the most well known and well visited island group in Australia and have become the epitome of the perfect tropical island holiday destination. The Whitsundays are Austalia's premier tourist attractions and holiday destinations, considered by Australians and overseas visitors alike as a very special part of Australia.
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| Pentecost Isld, Whitsundays |
Cania Gorge |
Whitehaven Beach, Whitsundays |
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Natural Wonders
Natural Attractions
- Rockhampton: Fitzroy River; Athelstane Range; Eidsvold Range; Berserker Range; Curtis Island National Park; Heron Island; Capricorn Caves (Olsen's and Cammoo cave systems; Mt. Etna Caves; Fitzroy Caves, 23 km north); Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Capricornia Section; Mt. Jim Crow National Park
- Yeppoon: Great Keppel Island; Keppel Bay Islands National Park; Wreck Point Lookout; North Keppel Island; Yeppoon Wetlands; Port Curtis; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Capricornia Section; Byfield National Park; Mulabin Beach
- Gladstone: Quoin Island; Curtis Island; Port Curtis; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Capricornia Section; Castle Tower National Park; Kroombit Tops National Park; Garden Island Environmental Park; Tondoon Botanic Gardens
- Mackay: Great Barrier Reef; Cape Hillsborough National Park (850 ha); Smalleys Beach; Hay Point; Cumberland Islands; Wedge Island; Goldsmith Island; Keswick Island; St Bees Island; Carlisle Island; Brampton Island; Cockermouth and Scawfell Islands; Gloucester Islands National Park; Newry Islands National Park; Repulse Islands National Park Eungella National Park (Clarke Range; Finch and Hatton Creeks); Finch Hatton Gorge; Mount Beatrice (1,117 metres); Mount Dukes; Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens
- Moranbah: Peak Range
- Sarina: Sarina Inlet; Llewelyn Bay; Allom Point; Mount Blarney Environmental Park (west); Mount Hector Environmental Park (north east); Cape Palmerston National Park (South east); Mount Funnel Range (contains volcanic plugs); West Hill Environmental Parks (West Hill Island, West Hill Creek)
- Proserpine: Billabong Sanctuary (250 km north); Conway National Park; Mount Dryander; Cape Conway; Cape Gloucester; Mount Lucas Environmental Park
- Airlie Beach: Cannonvale Beach; Airlie Beach; Sawmill Bay; Dugong Beach; Sawmill Bay
- Shut Harbour: Conway National Park
- Whitsunday Islands: Whitsunday Islands National Park (including Whitsunday Passage, Daydream Island; Hamilton Island; Hayman Island; Lindeman Island; Long Island; South Long Island; South Molle Island; Hook Island; Cockermouth and Scawfell Islands; Gloucester Islands National Park; Lindeman Islands National Park; Molle Islands National Park; Newry Islands National Park Repulse Islands National Park); Great Barrier Reef
- Collinsville: Srathbown Range; Leichhardt Range; Mt. Wyatt; Mt. Coolon; opalised wood can be found 58 km on the Mount Coolon Road
- Home Hill: Burdekin River; Cape Upstart National Park
- Bowen: Flagstaff Hill; Rose Bay, Grays, Kings, Town and Queens Beaches; Edgecumbe Bay; Cape Gloucester Island; Gloucester Passage; Cape Upstart National Park; Mount Aberdeen
Waterfalls
- Proserpine: Cedar Creek Falls
Caves
Historic Places
- Rockhampton: Quay Street Streetscape; 'Kenmore' Mater Hospital (1870s); Post Office (1892); Customs House (1898-1901); Criterion Hotel (1857); Supreme Court (1887); Union Trustee Chambers; former Queensland National Bank; Heritage Tavern (1898); Railway Roundhouse; Fitzroy Shire Council Chambers (1896); Walter Reid Apartments; Avonleigh Chambers; ABC Studios (originally owned by Mt. Morgan Gold Mining); Mater Hospital (1890); Yungaba Centre (1897); Archer Park Railway Station (1899); North Rockhampton Railway Station (1888); Wiseman's Cottage (c.1859); Our Lady of Good Counsel High School Hall and Tower (1907); Schotia Place (1888); Normanby Hotel (c.1898); Australian Brahman Breeders Association Building (former AMP Building, 1888); St Paul's Anglican Cathedral (1874, 1879-83); St Joseph's Roman Catholic Cathedral (1889-90); Rockhampton Historical Society Museum; Dreamtime Cultural Centre (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dreamtime Centre, tell the stories of the Darumbal peoples; old 'Glenmore' station homestead (1862); 'Gracemere' homestead (11 km south-west, c.1858); St Christopher's Chapel, Lakes Creek (1943)
- Gladstone: Gladstone Art Gallery and Museum; Port Curtis Historic Village (26 km west, old railway station, a church, homes, the original Clyde Hotel and a Colonial Railway Carriage)
- Mackay: Commonwealth Bank (c.1880); Queensland National Bank building (1922); Masonic Temple (1927); Customs House (1901); Greenmount Historic Homestead
- Sarina: Sarina Distillery; Field of Dreams Historical Centre; General Gordon Hotel (1886)
- Proserpine: St Paul's Anglican Church; Proserpine Historical Museum
- Collinsville: Collinsville Mining Heritage Centre; former Bowen River Hotel (c.1861)
- Bowen: Bowen Historical Museum (shipwreck relics, a restored 1873 slab cottage with period furnishings, Captain Sinclair's waterman's badge); Bowen Courthouse (1883); historic murals.
Misc. Attractions
- Rockhampton: Botanic Gardens and Japanese Gardens; St Aubins Village; Capricorn Spire (marks the exact Tropic of Capricorn); Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area
- Yeppoon: Rosslyn Bay (the departure point for Great Keppel Island)
- Gladstone: Gladstone Boat Harbour; Boyne Aluminium Smelter (1982)
- Moranbah: Goonyella, Moranbah North, Peak Downs and Riverside coal mines
- Sarina: Armstrongs Beach, Campwin Beach, Sarina Beach; Plane Creek Mill; Sarina Distillery (opened 1927) and ethanol plant; Hay Point lookout; Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminals
- Shute Harbour: Whitsunday Islands ferry terminals and airport
- Home Hill: Inkerman Sugar Mill; Ashworth's Rock Shop (gemstone factory); RAAF Radar Station No. 221
- Collinsville: Mount Coolon coal mine; Collinsville Power Station
- Bowen: the Big Mango; Good Fortune Bay Fisheries; Salt Works; Bowen Coke Works
Journeys
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