| Brisbane
Queensland's capital, Brisbane, benefits from the backwardness
of which it has traditionally been accused - lacking, as it
does, the precocious exuberance of Sydney or the self-conscious
chic of Melbourne, Brisbane combines a vibrant urban scene
with the laid-back ambience of a country town. Boasting a
superb year-round climate of warm days and cooler nights,
and surrounded by natural attractions, the city is bisected
by the winding Brisbane River, which can be explored
by paddle steamer or the high-speed CityCat ferries. Al fresco
dining options exist all along the riverfront, but the South
Bank is the centre of Brisbane's entertainment, leisure
and cultural life, hosting weekend markets, parklands, an
outdoor pool and summertime open air cinema as well as a performing
arts centre, art gallery, museum and music conservatorium. |
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Twilight on the Gold Coast
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Brisbane city centre's modern architecture, including the
Treasury Casino, contrasts with heritage sandstone
buildings, but it is the inner suburbs that provide much of
the city's vitality. Like many previously seedy neighbourhoods,
Fortitude Valley is now Brisbane's hip enclave, where
much of the best shopping, dining and nightlife is to be found,
as well as a large Chinatown district, crammed with
Asian eateries, Chinese grocers and herbalists. West End's
multicultural influences have created another vibrant suburb,
full of vintage clothing, books and fine food. Kangaroo
Point, with its sheer sandstone cliffs, is a favourite
destination for climbers and hosts cockroach races each Australia
Day (26 January), while Park Road in Milton offers
luxury goods on which to squander your wealth. The historic
suburb of Paddington features traditional 'Queenslanders',
wooden bungalows constructed on stilts to allow for the circulation
of air and beat the heat of the tropics, although the tropicana
feel is very much there in the fruit bowl of colours in which
they are painted. |
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The area also features a slew of theme parks, each boasting
various attractions and heart-stopping rides, as well as a
casino and countless places to shop. The hyperactivity of
the Gold Coast reaches fever pitch each October, with the
Australian leg of the IndyCar racing series, but at
any time of year the lush Gold Coast hinterlands, about 30
miles inland, provide respite from the ceaseless buzz with
walking tracks taking in mountains, waterfalls and forests.
Fraser Island
Fraser Island is a World Heritage listed 70-mile long
sandbar, the biggest in the world. Despite its popularity
with tourists, it is beautiful and untamed, an island paradise
of 4WDing, walking tracks, fishing, camping and swimming.
Avoiding the water around the island is probably wise, as
it is full of sharks and lethal currents, but the island itself
features over 200 lakes, some of which are of exceptional
clarity. In addition, there is abundant marine and wildlife
to be observed, plus a huge variety of flora, coloured sand
cliffs, massive, slowly-shifting dunes, and rainforest rising
straight out of the sand. The jump-off point to the island,
Hervey Bay, is a destination in its own right as it
is the rest stop and playground of whales en route from Antarctica
between July and October. A number of whale watching cruises
run out of the Bay, just about guaranteeing sightings of these
magnificent and often playful creatures. An annual festival,
the none-too-imaginatively-named Hervey Bay Whale Festival,
celebrates the return journey of the migrating whales every
August, although the sighting season peaks in September.
Great Barrier Reef
Words fall so far short of capturing the actual sensation
of being on the Great Barrier Reef that the temptation
to trail off into strings of superlatives is overwhelming.
Magnificent, incomparable, one of the natural wonders of the
world…. while the Reef can be adequately experienced
from a glass-bottomed boat or by snorkelling, nothing really
compares to completely immersing yourself in that majestic
underwater world on a scuba dive. Fortunately, dive centres
for learners and qualified divers alike abound all along the
reef, and fierce competition keeps prices fairly low. The
warm, tropical waters often render a wetsuit unnecessary and
visibility is consistently high. Drifting about with nothing
but the sound of your own deep, relaxed breathing to be heard,
impossibly coloured fish flick between vibrant corals, sea
turtles spin and glide in a silent dance, massive pouty-lipped
Maori Wrasse regard you sideways and anemones billow sensuously.
Night dives see divers encountering reef sharks and crustaceans,
or switching off their torches to experience the total liberation
and disorientation of waving their hands about and seeing
shooting stars of phosphorescence trailing before their eyes.
The Reef is, quite simply, unbelievable - both strange and
beautiful, dreamscape and world-within-the-world, creating
sensations of complete calm and utter exhilaration simultaneously.
Mount Isa
Known primarily for its rainforest, reef and coastline, Queensland
also contains a massive stretch of Australia's harsh outback.
Mount Isa is an oasis, a thriving desert town whose mining
fortunes have been built on huge deposits of silver, copper,
lead and zinc. One mile beneath the surface, the extensive,
tunnelled mine system can be explored on a tour; alternatively,
the John Middlin Mining Museum offers a simulated subterranean
experience. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has a base
here, which should be visited for an insight into this innovation
that is so vital in Australia's remote inner regions, while
Riversleigh Fossil Centre offers a glimpse into an unimaginably
distant past. August sees activity in Mount Isa really kick
off, with the Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo and Festival -
Australia's biggest rodeo, a 2 day extravaganza of bucking
broncos, country music, thrills and spills.
Daintree/Cape Tribulation
The second-largest tract of virgin rainforest in the world,
after the Amazon, is to be found at Daintree/Cape Tribulation,
but the area is unique in that the steep and jungle-choked
mountains come right down to meet the Reef, separated only
by endless stretches of white sandy beach. Fragile eco-systems
and astounding biodiversity - wildlife is prolific, while
previously unknown plants and insects are still being discovered
here - exist under the dense forest canopy, through which
the sunlight filters down onto tree-ferns, palms, strangler
figs and thick vines snaking their way up trees. The rainforest
can be experienced on horse riding treks and walks, but a
different perspective can be had from above the canopy via
elevated boardwalks and luxury eco-lodge accommodation on
stilts. Boat trips on the green Daintree River offer
crocodile spotting by night or birdwatching by day, and safe,
croc-free swimming can be enjoyed at a number of swimming
holes and creeks. This pristine wilderness is a tropical Eden,
which was World Heritage-listed in 1988 and provides the visitor
both with magnificent surroundings and a humbling glimpse
of the vital links between species on our planet.
Hinchinbrook Island
For that real getting-away-from-it-all feeling, the secluded
grandeur of Hinchinbrook Island is the ultimate siren
song. Separated from the mainland only by a narrow channel,
the Island somehow creates the illusion of utter, blissful
isolation. The craggy silhouette of Mt Bowen, the summit
of which can be reached in a day or so - looms over the island's
varied terrain, all of which is protected as a national park.
A 20-mile long hike, the Thorsborne Trail, takes in
all of the island's diversity, including mangrove-fringed
shores, dense tropical forest, freshwater swimming holes,
sheer granite mountains, gloriously golden beaches and sheltered
coves. Lumbering sea turtles feeding on marine flora at Turtle
Bay and prolific birdlife can also be observed, but the
island's main appeal is its sense of separateness from the
rest of the world, a pristine wilderness where accommodation
options range from primitive campgrounds to deluxe treehouses.
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