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Introducing North Coast
The outback meets the tropics on Queensland’s North Coast. Townsville, the state’s second-largest city, is a relaxed place with a waterfront café scene and an affable population. Offshore sits exquisite and accessible Magnetic Island, with unpopulated beaches and excellent bushwalking. The waters between its forested bulk and the mainland teem with fish and coral that form part of the Great Barrier Reef. Little islands abound; some uninhabited, some sacred (such as Magnetic Island to the Wulgurukaba Aboriginal people) and many are at least partly national park.
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As you leave the coast and head towards the interior, the terrain becomes sunburnt and immense. The overwhelming dry is compensated for by the mountains of the Great Dividing Range, which run parallel with the coast and form part of the precious World Heritage–listed Wet Tropics Area.
The North Coast is a prime holiday stretch so inevitably accommodation prices escalate during tourist high season (June to October); expect prices quoted here to spike.
Last updated: Mar 2, 2009
