The beaches and urban core of Townsville are at the gateway to rainforests, islands and the Great Barrier Reef.
While not as popular as its big sister Cairns four hours (or one hour flying) to the north, Townsville is an equally intriguing Australian beach town at the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics of North Queensland. The town itself boasts some beautiful shoreline, a peaceful botanic garden, lively markets, and fascinating museums. Here’s a brief guide for a weekend trip to Townsville.
Markets
Australians love their markets, and residents of Townsville are no exception. Every Sunday morning, 150 vendors descend on Flinders Mall for a giant arts, crafts and food bazaar. The Strand Markets, held the first Friday of the month between May and December at Strand Park, offer more entertainment and cultural options, and the Townsville Artist Market offers the best in local art and craft every other month at the lovely Riverway complex.
Northern Beaches
From Bushland Beach just north of town to Balgal Beach about 40 minutes away, Townsville is a springboard for some beautiful coastal getaways. A wide creek, boat launch, and stinger nets (too keep the jellyfish away from November to May) as well as camping sites and cabin rentals make Balgal Beach one of the most popular beach escapes.
National Parks
Accessible from Townsville by ferry, Magnetic Island is an appropriate name for the natural wonderland of eucalypt forests, rugged cliffs, and sandy bays on the doorstep of Townsville. Two thirds of the island is national parkland, home to 166 different animal species including Northern Australia’s largest colony of wild koalas. Mount Spec and Paluma National Parks are other favorites on the edge of the Wet Tropics of North Queensland world heritage area for birdwatching and waterfall wading. Girringun National Park, however, is home to the jaw-dropping Wallaman Falls—the largest single-drop cascade in the Southern Hemisphere.
Historic Experiences
Steeped in gold rush, military and outback heritage, the Townsville area offers a number of unique experiences for history and culture buffs. The town of Charters Towers was at the center of the gold boom in the 1880s and still reveals colonial architecture and the Miner’s Cottage which date back to that time. The area is also known for ranching history. If you visit in late April, you won’t want to miss the 10 Days in the Towers Festival, an outback-style celebration of country music, poetry and ranching. About an hour south of Townsville, Burdekin Shire is home to some of the country’s largest sugar cane plantations. It’s also the site of the Burdekin Grower horse race.
Snorkeling and Diving
Probably the biggest reason for a weekend trip to Townsville is to snorkel or dive at famous shipwreck sites and along the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef. Unbeknown to many, Townsville is home to one of the best dive sites in all of Australia: the S.S. Yongala shipwreck site, roughly 48 nautical miles from town. The Great Barrier Reef has been infamous for shipwrecks throughout naval history, but the Yongala actually sank during a cyclone in 1911. Over the years, the ship has grown a sharp layer of coral that today attracts gropers, marble rays and trevally of large sizes as well barracuda, eagle rays, turtles, sea snakes and bull sharks. Of course, other fantastic reef and island dive spots can be found around here including the lesser-visited Orpheus Island and the atolls in the Palm Island group.
For an aerial overview of the rainforests and offshore islands of this North Queensland area, book a scenic helicopter flight over Townsville.
—Serena Renner
Weekend Trip to Townsville from Cairns & the Tropical North Things to Do