Orpheus Island

Orpheus, the traditional homeland of the Manbarra people, is a heavenly 13-sq km island 80km north of Townsville, with a national park that's part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Its dry sclerophyll forest is a geographical anomaly this far north, one where bandicoots, green tree frogs, echidnas, ospreys and pesky feral goats roam free, the latter as part of a madcap 19th-century scheme to provide food for potential shipwreck survivors. Visitors gravitate towards the eucalyptus-scented hiking trails and crystal-clear snorkelling.