Central and Far North QLD travel guide

Introduction

For many, the Central and North Coasts of Queensland are the raison d’être of an Australian holiday. Here are the sublime Whitsunday Islands, the effortlessly appealing Magnetic Island, heart-achingly beautiful Hinchinbrook and luscious Lizard Island. But it’s not all about beaches, coral reef and tropical islands. Eungella National Park boasts slopes draped in lush rainforest and cloaked in rain-bearing clouds that in turn give rise to wonderful waterfalls and unusual wildlife, while inland from Townsville, the historic gold-mining town of Charters Towers gives many their first taste of Queensland outback.

Cairns is the region’s tourist heart and gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics Rainforest. Nowhere else on earth do two World Heritage-listed ecosystems meet.

North of Cairns is the small and sophisticated resort of Port Douglas, gateway to the wonderful Daintree National Park and the exhilarating route north to the wilds of Cape Tribulation.

West of Cairns the lush, green plateau known as the Atherton Tablelands offers relief from the heat and humidity of the coast and a dramatic change in landscape.