Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 6 . QUEENSLAND & THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Tips Life’s a Beach
Which Queensland beach is right for you? Surfers will head to the Gold
Coast or Sunshine Coast close to Brisbane; divers to the Great Barrier Reef.
North of Gladstone, deadly box jellyfish, known as “stingers,” put a stop to
all swimming on the mainland (but not the islands) from October to May.
Never swim in unprotected seas at that time. Cairns, Townsville, and
Airlie Beach have beachfront man-made lagoons to make the choice easy,
and many other popular beaches have small net enclosures for safe swimming,
but it can be a drag having to stay within those. If you love swimming
and you’re visiting this part of Queensland in stinger season, choose
a hotel with a good pool!
farther south to the beautiful Whitsundays, which are generally beyond the
reach of the rains (although not beyond the reach of cyclones).
GETTING AROUND By Car The Bruce Highway runs along the coast
from Brisbane to Cairns. It is mostly a two-lane highway, and the scenery is
pretty much eucalyptus bush land, but from Mackay north you will pass
through sugar cane fields.
Tourism Queensland publishes regional motoring guides. All you are likely
to need, however, is a state map from the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland
(RACQ), 300 St. Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, QLD 4006
(& 13 19 05 in Australia). In Brisbane, you can get maps and advice from the
RACQ office in the General Post Office (GPO) at 261 Queen St. For road condition
reports, call & 1300/130 595 (recorded message), or 07/3361 2406. The
state’s Department of Natural Resources (& 07/3896 3216) publishes an
excellent range of “Sunmap” maps that highlight tourist attractions, national
parks, and the like, although they are of limited use as road maps. You can pick
these up at newsagents and gas stations throughout the state.
By Bus McCafferty’s (& 13 14 99 in Australia) and Greyhound Pioneer
(& 13 20 30 in Australia) make the trip from Brisbane to Cairns in about
28 hours, stopping at most towns along the route. Both have good-value passes.
See chapter 2 for more details on getting around by bus.
By Train Queensland Rail’s Traveltrain (& 13 22 32 in Australia; www.travel
train.qr.com.au) operates two long-distance trains along the Brisbane–Cairns
route, a 32-hour trip aboard The Sunlander or about 8 hours less on the new
high-speed Tilt Train. Traveltrain also operates trains to Outback towns. See the
“Getting Around Australia” section in chapter 2 for more details.
By Plane It isn’t the cheapest, but it is the fastest way to eat kilometers in such
a big state. Qantas and its subsidiary airline Sunstate (book through Qantas)
serve most coastal towns from Brisbane, but only a few from Cairns. Virgin Blue
services Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gold Coast, and
Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast.
1 Exploring the Great Barrier Reef
It’s the only living structure on Earth visible from the moon; at 348,700 sq. km
(238,899 sq. miles), it’s bigger than many countries; it’s over 2,000km (1,250
miles) long, stretching from Lady Elliot Island off Bundaberg to just south of