Queensland

Newcastle Herald

Tuesday October 19, 2004

Chris Watson

north

Thursday Island lies 35km north west of the tip of Cape York, and there is a ferry cruise from the cape to the island which holds some great Australian history. In 1880 it was a defence centre for Australia and evidence exists in the cannons that remain in place.

Most of the island residents are now involved in some way in the area's three major industries - pearling, crayfishing and trochus - island tours are available and there is a museum of artefacts.

On the mainland, the modern city of Cairns is the heart of tropical north Queensland. Surrounded by rainforest mountain ranges and the Coral Sea, Cairns has an international airport that gives front-door access to rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef and the outback.

The focal point in the city is the Cairns Esplanade, almost two kilometres of landscaped parkland, and the city has numerous attractions - performances by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, horseriding, animal parks,

arts and crafts, bird watching, bushwalking, canoeing, cruising (including numerous reef cruises), game fishing, para-sailing, jet boating, white-water rafting, wine tasting and more.

Weipa is a mining town built by Comalco to house employees, as the town has the largest bauxite deposit in the world, but now fishing enthusiasts also flock to the area.

The Undara Volcanic National Park is one of the nation's great geological wonders with the best preserved and largest lava tubes system on earth. A four-hour drive from Cairns, the park has plentiful tours and accommodation options.

Captain James Cook spent 48 days in Cooktown in

1770 repairing his ship, and every June the town celebrates

the event.

west

Here's an area where shearers are legends, Qantas was born, doctors call in by plane and Burke and Wills ran into strife. If you're into racing there's famous outback meetings, camel racing, the Eulo World Lizard Races, worm races at Crows Nest and the Kajabbi yabby races.

There's a wide range of farm and station holidays from 30,000ha cattle stations to sugar cane and dairy farms and properties of all descriptions.

Mount Isa, in the hills of the Selwyn Ranges, has a wide range of attractions. There's the multi-award-winning Riversleigh Fossil Museum - just one of the attractions at the new $12 million Outback at Mount Isa development - Mount Isa's massive mines, the Hard Times Mine, Sir James Foot's Gallery, Outback Park, Royal Flying Doctor Service Base, School of the Air, National Trust Tent House, Underground Hospital and Beth Anderson Museum.

Birdsville, between the sands of the Simpson Desert and the gibber plains of Sturt's Stony Desert, is the start of the famous Birdsville track, which stretches to the south and is best known for its famous pub and its annual race meeting when the population grows from 120 to 6000 for two days. The town was originally part of a "tariff wall" between Queensland and South Australia where tolls had to be paid.

Longreach is the home of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and the Qantas Founders Outback Museum, in the hangar which was the first operational base for the airline which was to become Qantas and where Australia's first six aircraft were built between 1922 an 1934.

Camooweal is on the Queensland - Northern Territory border.

south

Welcome to Texas; Texas, southern Queensland that is, on the banks of the Dumaresq River. The town was named after a land claim in the 1850s which had similarities to one happening in Texas and Mexico at the same time.

Originally the town was built on river flats but was shifted after floods in 1890 and 1921, but remnants of the original township still exist. Texas is on the Bruxner Highway between Goondiwindi and Tenterfield and the Dumaresq River is one of its star attractions, with its historic weirs of Bonshaw, Cunningham and Glenarbon. Old tobacco barn relics dot the area where grape vines often now flourish, and the river invites canoeing, fishing and hiking.

Inglewood is a twin town to Texas and is earning the title of Australia's olive capital with around 350,000 trees. Harvest is between March and May and is celebrated with the Australian Olive Festival around March - April. For water activities there's Lake Coolmunda with excellent fishing, also a recently opened Inglewood Museum and tourist drives such as Tobacco Trail, Silverspur Trail and Dumaresq River Road.

Stanthorpe is in the heart of Queensland's granite belt and, with about 40 wineries, is known as the state's wine capital. It also has the reputation of Queensland's coolest town, with some altitudes 1000 metres above sea level.

The Apple and Grape Harvest Festival is held every even-numbered year in February and March and every other year in February is the Wine and Food Affair. Stanthorpe is surrounded by national parks and all their attractions and the region now has the highest concentration of self-contained cottages and bed-and-breakfasts in Queensland.

Warwick, known as the Rose and Rodeo City because of its gardens and one of Australia's most-famous rodeos each October, boasts some of the state's finest historical sandstone buildings.

east

Queensland has east coast from top to bottom, as well as plenty of islands, but the Gladstone region is the centre of the Southern Reef.

Developed on the hills overlooking its natural deep-water harbour, Gladstone's islands, waterways and beaches provide year-round boating, fishing, swimming and surfing. A large charter fleet operates from the town marina and gives access to Heron Island, Lady Musgrave Island and numerous coral cays.

If you want a break from the water, Gecko Valley, Gladstone's own winery, welcomes visitors.

Agnes Water is Queensland's northern-most surf beach, the last in a line of beaches that sweep up the coast from Bundaberg. It and its sister township, 1770, offer a range of holiday activities from the beach, four-wheel driving, national parks, estuary, beach and deep-sea fishing to touring on an amphibious LARC or taking part in a cruise to the outer Great Barrier Reef. There's an Agnes Water Museum and the region is popular with the surfing fraternity.

The town of 1770 is a seaside village surrounded by the Coral Sea and Bustard Bay, famous as the second landing site of Cook and the Endeavour in May, 1770.

The Joseph Banks Environmental Park preserves much of the peninsula. There's holiday accommodation in houses, apartments, caravan and camping parks, and a completely sealed and tarred road now reaches the town from Bundaberg, 120km to the south.

Heron Island is a coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef only 72km from Gladstone. It is rated a great diving location and is sanctuary to 30 species of birds, including 100,000 Black Noddy Terns and Reef Herons. There is a resort on the island with various levels of accommodation. Just south of Gladstone are the coastal towns of Boyne Island and Tannum Sands.

Deals

Adventure tourism

Queensland Yacht Charters was voted best adventure tourism business in Queensland for 2003-2004 by the Queensland tourism industry and operates a fleet of 23 yachts, catamarans and power boats out of Airlie Beach. From November to December 24 it has a special to pay for six nights and get one free, and from January 11 to March 31 pay for five nights and get two extra for free, pay for seven nights and get three extra free, or pay for 10 nights and get four extra free.

www.yachtcharters.com.au

Spring into Noosa

Australis Noosa Lakes offers beach-house style apartments, a swimming pool complex and is located on landscaped hectares beside the shores of Lake Doonella and the Noosa River, only minutes to Hastings St and the beach. At the moment it has apartments from $99 a night, based on a minimum three-night stay.

www.australishotels.com

Resort and spa

The Sea Temple Resort and Spa at Palm Cove in tropical north Queensland is about 20km north of Cairns Airport in Palm Cove village and has direct beach access. Until December 20 it has one night's accommodation in a studio room from $100pp twin share. Extra nights can be added at $100pp.

www.queenslandtravel.com

Brand new

Built on the site of the iconic Pink Poodle Motel, Breakfree Wings Resort is a brand new property on the Gold Coast that opened early this month. Rates start from $90pp per night twin share, based on five nights low season.

www.wingsresort.com.au

© 2004 Newcastle Herald

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