Coral reefs, rainforests and the vast Outback
Divers drift over the waving branches of soft corals. Giant Venus mussels open their greenish lips. Sharks hunt thousands of colorful fish in the turquoise lagoons between jagged coral formations. The Great Barrier Reef, 2000 km long, with its fascinating underwater world, is Queensland’s great attraction. The “world’s largest living organism” consists of about 3000 individual reefs and over 2000 tropical islands. The reef extends from an area north of Bundaberg all the way to the northern tip of Cape York. As one of the natural wonders of the world, it enjoys international protection. From many of the islands, you can view the shimmering underwater beauty with nothing more than a snorkel. But Queensland offers far more: perfect waves for surfing in resorts along the Gold Coast, alternative living amid the green, overgrown mountains in the hinterlands, a lively subtropical city in Brisbane, fascinating aboriginal culture, unspoiled national parks at adventurous Cape York, giant cattle stations with thousands of cows, and mining towns in the savannas and deserts of the Outback. Queensland is, at 1.7 million square km, the second largest state in Australia, and is almost three times as large as Germany--with just 3.5 million people.
