Queensland

Australia and New Zealand

Queensland

Queensland is a state of variation. Australia's second largest state, it measures 1,727,500 square kilometers and stretches from a tropical zone in the north to a temperate zone in the south.

It's the holiday state with some of the world's most beautiful surfing beaches, the Great Barrier Reef (one of the natural wonders of the world), vast deserts in the west, spectacular mountain scenery, and extensive cultivated fields and pastureland.

The great tropical north coast is a magnet for tourists. During the winter there is an exodus of mostly retired people from the southern states wanting to escape the rigors of the winter months.

There are several first class trains run from Brisbane to Cairns with roomettes and dining cars. You can get off and on along the way, stay as long as you like and take your car along if you wish.

The famous Gold Coast is a one-hour drive south of Brisbane. It's motto is "beautiful one day and perfect the next" The Gold Coast stretches some 30 kilometers along beautiful sandy beaches. The sand is flat and the water beautifully clear and warm so that it lures scores of walkers every morning for their constitutional.

Surfing beaches are patrolled every day at intervals of about one kilometer. An international airport, international hotels, resorts and multi story holiday units are lined along the beachfront. Golf courses are internationally known. There are many other attractions for tourists to spend weeks enjoying the area.

Brisbane, Queensland's capital city was originally settled in 1824 and sited on the Brisbane River. It has many historic places of interest, botanical gardens and international hotels. It's a cultural city. The Queensland Cultural Centre across the river is one of the most comprehensive centres for the arts in Australia.

150 kilometers to the north of Brisbane is the Sunshine Coast and is much like the Gold Coast with similar accommodation and attractions. Frazer Island, at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast is the largest sand island in the world at 123 kilometers long and 14 kilometers wide. You can walk for miles along the beaches without seeing another living soul. Still further north is the start of the Great Barrier Reef at Mackay and the Whitsunday Islands with over twenty secluded resorts. Many tourist boats of various sizes ply from many ports to the reef.

Traveller's Notes

Our last trip to Queensland was to the Gold Coast. We drove up from Sydney, with stopovers at Tamworth and Toowoomba on the way arriving next day at about 3pm. We found a new fully furnished unit on the 6th floor and on the beachfront for $200.00 per day. Having a car allowed us to explore the hinterland of Surfers Paradise. We walked the beach every morning before surfing the waves. Everyone seems to eat out for breakfast. We dined on the beachfront in the middle of the day. The pictures show the locations. We did this same sort of thing at Noosa, 130 km north of Brisbane, a few years before where we also found a beautiful new resort at which to stay.
We had a caravan for many years and at one time pulled it up the coast to Cairns. About 4000 kilometers from Sydney. It was a great trip. On the way we stopped at Prosperpine for a week, abandoning the caravan in the van park and staying at a 5 star Golf resort called Sheraton Laguna Keys --- Then on to Cairns.
Over the last twenty years we have been to Queensland on numerous occasions. To the Barrier Reef, Hamilton Island and day cruises to some of the other islands. We have had helicopter rides over the reef and a day 4wheel tour of Frazer Island.

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