The landscapes and experiences change daily as one travels north across Queensland. Hand-feeding dolphins on Moreton Island give way to Hervey Bay’s World Heritage-listed whale nursery. Then there are the kangaroos running over paddocks near Agnes Water, the platypus scuttling through the Broken River, and the cassowaries parading down jungle pathways.
The unifying denominator is nature. Queensland’s natural surroundings, with their woodland waterfalls, lush mountain rivers, enormous sand dunes, and multicolored reefs, offer an abundance of wildlife encounters and dreamy, untouched landscapes. Additionally, these moments are widely accessible to people traveling throughout the state. And new methods to appreciate them are constantly emerging.
From urban green spaces to rural retreats
Even Brisbane, the pulsating, ever-changing metropolis of Queensland, reserves space for nature to thrive. The City Botanic Gardens’ decorative ponds, bamboo groves, and weeping fig trees are located just adjacent to the Brisbane city center. You can enjoy the figs from the river on one of Riverlife’s water bikes, which appear to be a cross between an exercise bike and a catamaran.
Brisbane is also the gateway to the Scenic Rim region’s national parks, waterfalls, and mountain retreats. You may sleep beneath bright night skies in Wander’s off-the-grid eco-pod here, near Lake Wyaralong and a vineyard, inside an ancient caldera. Alternatively, choose deluxe accommodations with verandas that overlook the lush countryside at Hazelwood Estate, a polo club, and Wagyu cattle farm.
While K’gari (Fraser Island) is most renowned for its four-wheel driving activities, the 56-mile Fraser Island Great Walk brings visitors closer to nature by allowing them to see it on foot. The trails pass through coastal forest and subtropical rainforest, as well as more famous, evocative sand dunes and ultra-swimmable freshwater lakes. Fraser Island Hiking takes four days to complete the walk, with overnight stays in a bush eco-house on the island.
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Culture of the coast
The Whitsunday Islands’ reef-fringed waters are a snorkeler’s paradise, but now it’s possible to gain an Aboriginal viewpoint on these natural wonderlands. Whitsunday Paradise Explorer’s latest two-day tour has an Indigenous Ngaro guide. It begins with a visit to an Aboriginal rock art cave, followed by a stroll through the rainforest, where traditional bush foods and medicines are sampled. Additionally, the Ngaro Indigenous Cultural Tours examine centuries-old hunting practices and allow participants to try their hand at throwing a traditional fishing spear.
Wilson Island turtle season
Wilson Island, at just two hectares in size and bordered by white sand beaches, has the classic desert-island-castaway vibe. Eco-tents can accommodate up to 18 visitors, and tourists spend most of their time snorkeling among parrotfish, clownfish, and staghorn coral. However, something larger does not take long to arrive. Between November and March, green and loggerhead turtles nest and hatch on Wilson Island, 80 kilometers off the coast of Gladstone. It’s a delight to see them slog their way up the sand to give birth.
Observe life on a station
Mt Mulligan Lodge, located on a working cattle station 35 minutes by scenic helicopter or 2.5 hours by four-wheel drive from Cairns, offers luxury accommodation and an infinity pool. However, the activities bring you considerably closer to more than Brahmin cows. Options include kayaking for barramundi, tubing down the Hodgkinson River in search of birds, and meeting nimble wallabies or freshwater turtles on a nature tour around Mt Mulligan Weir. However, nothing surpasses watching the escarpment’s colors shift as the sun sets while sipping a drink at the bar.
The Daintree Rainforest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Queensland, was recently returned to its native Aboriginal owners. And at Mossman Gorge, you can see how nature and indigenous culture are inextricably linked. Walkabout Adventures, which is run by Aboriginal people, not only visits the most gorgeous rainforest locations but also explains how the Kuku Yalanji people have traditionally utilized indigenous flora for food and medicine.
The newly rebuilt Silky Oaks Lodge, also in the Daintree, combines opulent care with a jungle feel in its treehouse-inspired suites.
With Trailfinders, explore Queensland.
There are few places on the earth where the experiences you have are completely unique.
Queensland’s natural beauty and balmy environment continue to infuse happiness and motivate its citizens to continue establishing the state’s undeniable position as the greatest address on the planet. Life is straightforward, authentic, uncomplicated, unhurried, and uncomplicated. There is an abundance of beauty, new experiences grow up at every turn, and everything is so accessible. Queensland is a place where honest people and stunning landscapes continue to create perfect moments time and time again.
Find yourself in Australia and say G’day to a fantastic trip with Trailfinders, the UK’s No. 1 Down Under Tour Operator. TF’s multi-award-winning consultants have traveled widely throughout Australia and are here to assist you in planning the perfect holiday.
It is critical that you have a helping hand and a tour operator you can trust to organize your travels now more than ever. Trailfinders pays for the entirety of your vacation, holding your funds in Trust until your travels are complete, which means that you will receive a same-day return if your plans change.
