Stay warm all year round: 5 Must See Places in Queensland, Australia

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment, there is a good chance that you are probably stuck in a freezing winter. Well here in Queensland, Australia, I am sitting around in shorts and a t-shirt and wondering if I should put the air conditioning on or not. The fact is, really, here in Queensland it is almost always warm all year round, so if you are thinking about spending your holidays in Australia to escape the cold of winter, head up to Queensland where you will never feel the cold again.

This large state that takes up the North-Eastern corner of Australia is a place of natural beauty and great diversity when it comes to tourism. Many people that travel to Australia tend to stick around Sydney and Melbourne with a short trip to the Red Center, which of course are all must see places, but they are missing out on so much by not visiting Queensland. If you’re unsure if you should visit Queensland or not, here are five places I think you must see when you travel to the Sunshine State:

Great Barrier Reef

Diving on the Great Barrier Reef: Photo by Bruce Tuten

The largest reef in the world, the Great Barrier Reef would have to be one of the true natural wonders of the world. Stretching over 2600km in length along most of Queensland’s coast, the Great Barrier Reef is full of life, with amazing displays of coral and tropical sea life. There are around 900 islands on the reef, and it can be accessed at many points along the Queensland coast.

Cairns

Palm Cove near Cairns: Photo by skyseeker

This small city is the gateway to Tropical North Queensland. It is one of the best places to take a cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef to scuba dive, snorkel and visit some beautiful islands such as Green and Fitzroy Islands. This warm and humid city is surrounded by beautiful places to visit from gorgeous sandy beaches to lush tropical rain forest and mountains, so you could spend weeks and weeks here alone.

Witsunday Islands

Whitehaven Beach: Photo by Rob-Jamieson

Located on the central coast of Queensland, this group of 74 islands surrounds the main Witsunday Island. This beautiful group of islands is another excellent place to access the Great Barrier Reef and it is the perfect place to hop on a sailing cruise to explore the islands. The most popular places include Whitehaven Beach, Hamilton, Daydream and Hayman Islands.

Fraser Island

Lake McKenzie, Fraser Island: Photo by fvanrenterghem

Heading further down the coast towards Brisbane is the largest sand island in the world, Fraser Island. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Fraser Island is a unique ecosystem of sand dunes, rain forest, eucalypt forests and fresh water lakes that are mostly contained within a National Park. This spectacular island is best explored by 4WD and there are many tours that head here, or if you are proficient enough, you can even hire your own vehicle to explore the sandy beaches and green interior of the island.

Gold Coast

No visit to Queensland could be without a visit to the Gold Coast. Located in the very south east corner of the state on the border with New South Wales, the Gold Coast is only about 100km south of Brisbane. Surfer’s Paradise is probably the main draw to the Gold Coast with it’s nice beach and nightlife, however there is a lot to do here from the many fun theme parks to the beauty of the Gold Coast hinterland area.

There is so much to see and do in Queensland that if you wanted to, you could simply spend your entire winter here and be warm all year round. So when you travel to Australia, make your way up north. You will love it.

This post was written by me thanks to Freedom Australia