From the world’s most famous reef, the largest sand island and rich Indigenous history that dates back over 60,000 years, there is so much to delight families in sunny Queensland.
Whether you’re after a relaxing break or a wild adventure, Port Douglas and Cairns, with their city conveniences and laid-back village vibe, offer a perfect holiday haven where rainforest and reef collide. With one of the world’s natural wonders on its doorstep, Tropical North Queensland not only offers the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef but the path to a treasure trove of cultural riches.
Read: 20 family-friendly things to do in Tropical North Queensland
We asked Narelle Bouveng, born and raised in Townsville, the tropical capital of North Queensland for her best local secrets. Check them out here.
Located just south of the Great Barrier Reef’s coral cays and about 250 kilometres north of Brisbane, families will love exploring the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Fraser Island. The world’s largest sand island boasts unique wildlife, epic dunes, ocean beaches, crystalline lakes and lush rainforests.
From the soft silica sands (the purest in the world) and Tiffany-blue waters of Whitehaven Beach to Bowen’s gorgeous beaches and the tiny wisps of sand hidden away on secluded islands, the Whitsunday Islands boast an incomparable beauty.
Located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef – the largest living organism on Earth – its 50 mesmerising shades of blue are filled with pretty living corals, lavishly-hued fish, marine turtles and more than 30 species of whales and dolphins. And with everything from catamarans, tall ships and speedboats to helicopters and seaplanes standing by to take you out to explore, visitors are spoiled for choice on how to experience it. Mainland Airlie Beach is the gateway to the islands and the reef, with excellent accommodation for families, including the feature-packed BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort. If you’d rather an island idyll, Daydream Island Resort & Living Reef provides a perfect playground for families.
Synonymous with Aussie family holidays, the Sunshine Coast’s superb beaches and fertile hinterland have long been a favourite destination for Aussie kids. Little groms will want to flock to south-facing Kings Beach and Caloundra’s Happy Valley for epic waves, while littlies might prefer the calmer waters of Mooloolaba and Noosa Main Beach. If you’d rather explore than swim, the dreamy coloured sands of pretty Rainbow Beach might be a better pick. There’s an embarrassing amount of national parks, with family favourites including Noosa National Park, Great Sandy National Park and the volcanic peaks of Glass House Mountains National Park.
Make sure you visit the feathered, furry and fearsome inhabitants of Australia Zoo will have the kids roaring with laughter as they happily snap selfies with Skippy, cuddle koalas and chat with the cockatoos at the interactive wildlife conservation facility.
If it’s epic adventure and attractions your family is craving, the Gold Coast is on overload with its thrilling, chilling and water-spilling theme parks, a rite of passage for Australian school kids. From the action-packed, adrenaline-pumping thrill rides of Dreamworld and cool slides of WhiteWater World to the Hollywood highs of Movie World and fishy fun of Sea World, kids can slide, ride, coast and splash their way through their holiday. Or if your family prefers to get its thrills from Mother Nature, there’s an overload of that too with endless stretches of stunning beaches, incredible animal experiences and the lush rainforest of the hinterland.
With kids so fixated on the indoors and devices, Jarramali Rock Art Tours is a way to connect with the land and its traditional owners. Your family (kids over three are welcome) can head into Quinkan country with owner and host Johnny Murison, sleeping in tents or under the stars in beautiful bushland by the side of a spectacular gorge. Johnny is a Kuku-Yalanji man who is determined to educate visitors about the Indigenous history here, showing plants used for bush medicine and bush tucker as well as giving a history of the land and his family. A highlight is visiting the Magnificent Gallery, which features 450 paintings done by Johnny’s ancestors and listening to Johnny play his didgeridoo by the fire.
With its epic landscapes, rugged roads, pioneering history and fair dinkum friendly locals, Outback Queensland is a magical place for adventurous families. Get dusty shearing sheep or mustering cattle, or dirty digging deep for gold, gemstones and even 20 million-year-old dinosaur bones. Little palaeontologists can follow the Dinosaur Trail between Winton and Hughenden to see real dinosaur fossils at Winton’s Australian Age of Dinosaurs and life-size bronze dino replicas at Dinosaur Canyon. Wannabe astronauts might prefer to catch a shooting star and gaze in wonder at the star-studded outback sky at Charleville Cosmos Centre. Come back to Earth at Longreach to hear the real stories of the outback at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame, fly into the award-winning Qantas Founders Museum and switch the kids on to rural history at the Longreach Powerhouse and Historical Museum.
With palm tree-lined city streets surrounded by inviting inland waterways, 32 incredible coastal beaches, fish-filled reefs, eight wildlife-packed national parks and sprawling sugar cane farms – not to mention enticing weather all year round – Mackay is one of those totally wild destinations where reality exceeds expectations for nature-loving families. A visit to Cape Hillsborough, about a 45-minute drive from Mackay, is a must. Spectacularly strewn with creeks, beaches, waterfalls and rocky outcrops and an embarrassment of native wildlife, its star attraction is the megastar mob of agile wallabies and a couple of headline-hogging kangaroos, who arrive at Casuarina Beach every morning to graze on seaweed and seed pods as the sun rises.
Local scecret: Hidden among the lush rainforest of Eungella National Park is Camerons Pocket, a vast boulder-strewn bathing beauty that is irresistibly inviting.
This article originally appeared in Holidays with Kids magazine. To subscribe to the latest issue, click here.
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