Learn about the history, culture, and environment of Northern Queensland at the Queensland Museum Tropics. A branch of the Queensland Museum Network, this government-run museum educates locals and visitors about this unique part of the country through permanent exhibits, temporary exhibits, talks, and tours.
Climbing gently from Mount Cook Village past native bush, subalpine grasslands, and scenic viewpoints, the 3.7-mile (6-kilometer) round-trip Kea Point Track is among the most popular day hikes in the area. Reaching the top means vistas that stretch from Mount Sefton to Hooker Valley, the Mueller Glacier moraine wall, as well as the main attraction—the 12,218-foot (3,724-meter) Mount Cook (Aoraki).
On the northeastern coast of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world, Waddy Point offers seclusion away from the crowds along with opportunities for such outdoor pursuits as fishing, surfing, swimming, kayking, and hiking. Offering campgrounds and a hotel, it’s also possible to spend the night.
The Army Museum North Queensland—also known as the Jezzine Barracks Military Museum—presents the history of the Australian military in the region through exhibits, artifacts, and interactive displays. This Townsville museum includes information from the establishment of the Australian Army in North Queensland in the late 19th century through more recent conflicts.
With more than 300 varieties of palms on display over 42 acres (17 hectares, Townsville’s The Palmetum represents almost every species of palm that exists throughout the world. Visitors can meander along walking paths through the trees and admire the tropical birds that thrive in this lush tropical environment.
At the heart of the Great Sandy National Park, the Cooloola Recreation Area provides wild landscapes and coastal views to rival neighboring Fraser Island. Adventurers that choose to stay on the mainland can explore woodlands, waterways, and wildflower-blanketed headlands bordered by towering sand dunes and rocky cliffs.
Located within Windjana Gorge National Park, these ruins built from local limestone in 1884 are all that is left of the Lillimooloora homestead and police station—the site of the historic clash between the region’s Aboriginal residents and settlers. Today, only the ruined sandstone walls of the police station remain—sitting on a plane with cliffs rising behind them, they seem out of place in the wild surroundings.
