Sights in North Coast
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Paronella Park
Mena Creek’s main claim to fame is the unusual Paronella Park, which features the ruins of a Spanish castle hand-built in the 1930s. Floods, fire and moist tropics have rendered these mossy remains almost medieval. Entry includes free camping in the adjacent caravan park and a night tour at 6.20pm and/or 8.30pm.
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Billabong Sanctuary
Just 17km south of Townsville, this eco-certified wildlife park offers up-close-and-personal encounters with Australian wildlife – from dingoes to cassowaries – in their natural habitat. There are feedings, shows and talks every half-hour or so. Transfers are available from Townsville with Abacus Tours.
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Castle Hill Walking
If the temperature's right (ie the asphalt's not melting) it's worth scrambling to the top of this striking 286m-high red hill (an isolated pink-granite monolith) for the view. Walk up via the rough 'goat track' (2km oneway) from Hillside Cres. There's also a road (via Gregory St or Stanley St), if you're driving.
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Museum of Tropical Queensland
The MTQ reconstructs scenes using detailed models with interactive displays. At 11am and 2.30pm you can load and fire a cannon, 1700s-style; galleries include the kid-friendly MindZone science centre and displays on north Queensland's history from the dinosaurs to the rainforest and reef.
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Ay Ot Lookout
You'll need the free cuppa to recover from the caretaker's ghost stories at Ay Ot Lookout . The timber building is one of many around town built using a method known as ‘balloon framing', where the walls lack external cladding, and so do not have a cavity that can lead to vermin problems. It's said to be haunted by its former owner and a mysterious young woman.
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Strand
Stretching 2.2km, Townsville's palm-lined waterfront is interspersed with parks, pools, cafes and playgrounds. Its golden-sand beach is patrolled and protected by two stinger enclosures from November to May.
At the northern tip is the rock pool , an enormous artificial swimming pool surrounded by lawns and sandy beaches. Alternatively, head to the chlorinated safety of the heritage-listed Olympic-size swimming pool, Tobruk Memorial Baths.
There's also a brilliant little water playground for kids.
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Reef HQ
An enthralling way to spend a few hours, this aquarium has the best of the reef in a series of recreated reefs. Check out the turtles, sharks, rays and sawfish (a pleasant change to seeing their snout pinned to Queensland’s pubs’ walls). Different tours leave every half hour until 4pm.
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Cultural Centre
Showcases the history, traditions and customs of the Wulgurkaba and Bindal people. Call for guided tour times.
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Solar City Smart Lifestyle Centre
The main road to Horseshoe Bay houses the Solar City Smart Lifestyle Centre, which demonstrates how solar power works and how 500 Maggie homes will be fitted with solar power (currently all power and water is piped in from the mainland).
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Miners Cottage
A dusty collection of the town’s antiques can be seen at the wonderful, privately owned Miners Cottage, which caught a resident ghost on film. Staff here will play a few tunes on the accordion and teach you some gold-panning skills.
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Venus Gold Battery
The Venus Gold Battery stopped crushing gold in 1973, and it’s the oldest preserved battery in Australia. Imagination rules during the tour thanks to holograms on a water screen.
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Australian Institute of Marine Science
This marine-research facility at Cape Ferguson runs free two-hour tours (10am Fri Mar-Nov) covering the institute's research (such as coral bleaching and management of the Great Barrier Reef) and how it relates to the community; advance bookings are essential. The turn-off from the Bruce Hwy is 35km southeast of Townsville.
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Australian Sugar Industry Museum
For info on sugar processing, steam trains and the slave-labour heritage of the industry, try the Australian Sugar Industry Museum at Mourilyan, 6km south of Innisfail.
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World Theatre
The World Theatre was originally the Australian Bank of Commerce building (built in 1891). These days it houses a theatre, cinema and gift shop.
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Maritime Museum of Townsville
A smaller affair, with lighthouse memorabilia and a Yongala shipwreck model and display.
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Queens Gardens Botanical Park
At the base of Castle Hill, the four-hectare QueensGardensBotanicalPark has a rainforest and black bean walk.
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Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
A contemporary art gallery in a stately 1885 former bank. Exhibitions focus on north Queensland artists.
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Charters Towers Folk Museum
The Charters Towers Folk Museum holds a dusty collection of the town’s antiques.
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Queens Gardens
If you fancy a lazy picnic, head to these ornamental gardens at the base of Castle Hill.
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Anderson Park
AndersonPark is more focused on tropical northern Queensland trees.
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Craft Market
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Bungalow Bay Koala Wildlife Park
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Reef HQ Aquarium
Townsville's excellent aquarium is a living reef on dry land. A staggering 2.5 million litres of water flow through the coral-reef tank, which is home to sharks, rays and over 100 fish species, plus brilliantly hued coral. Kids will love seeing, feeding and touching turtles at the turtle hospital. Talks and tours throughout the day focus on different aspects of the reef and the aquarium.
Adjacent to the aquarium, you can continue to experience life underwater at the IMAX cinema.
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Radical Bay
Radical Bay once housed a resort, and a replacement is in the pipeline. In the meantime it's a peaceful spot. You can walk across the headland to Horseshoe Bay, taking a detour down to the unofficial nudist beach of Balding Bay (3.4km return).
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Nelly Bay
This bustling harbour is where the island experience begins and ends if you come by passenger or car ferry. Nelly Bay has a wide range of eating and sleeping options and a decent beach. There's a children's playground towards the northern end of the beach and good snorkelling on the fringing coral reef.
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