Queensland Short Breaks and Holidays

Posts Tagged ‘holiday’

Queensland’s beaches rank right up the top with the best beaches in the world, with visitors flocking from every direction to enjoy the long white coastal stretches and shimmering waters. From Coolangatta through to Daintree in the far north, you are guaranteed a taste of paradise. The ideal choice of travel is by campervan, as you have the freedom and flexibility to stop as long as the waves are rolling and the sky is blue. There are plenty of caravan parks dotted up and down the Queensland coast, ideal to be used as a base to swim and explore.

Growing up in Queensland, I spent most of my holidays on the Gold Coast, and today’s favourite tourist beaches were my playground. Coolangatta, located about half an hour from Surfers Paradise, has an esplanade perfect for small children to paddle, and is also a popular meeting place for surfers. Further up is beautiful Burleigh beach, known for its pine trees lining the sand. Although a lot more populated than all those years ago, this is still one of the premier beach locations on the coast.

Nobbys and Main beaches are long and inviting. There is plenty of space for families, surfers and sunbathers. Sunrise is one of the favourite times to enjoy the salt air and meet the early morning walkers, populating the shoreline up and down the coastline. Surfers Paradise is the most famous and known as the tourist strip for obvious reasons. The beaches are fantastic and excellent for surfing, but I would stick to the local beaches just to get some towel space.

The Sunshine Coast beaches have a more relaxed pace, Maroochydore being my favourite. With excellent surfing beaches, ideal caravan parks (Cotton Tree is one of the best) and large shopping centres you could spend weeks here and always have something to do. Alexandra Headland is one of the most popular locations for surfers, with breaks to be found along most of the coastline.

Noosa Heads is one of the most well known destinations on the north coast, with an abundance of holiday choices. There are four beaches, the most popular at Hastings Point for swimming and surfing. Tea Tree and Granite Bay are more suitable for experienced surfers. From Hastings there are some easy beach walks taking you around the headland to a lovely beach alcove. The beach is the heart of Noosa and every walk seems to wind back to its sandy stretches.

Once you start the trek up to Cairns and beyond, you need to plan your itinerary and then take the plunge as there are a lot of miles in between.However, the rewards are priceless, with exquisite pure white beaches waiting for you. Close to three hours from Brisbane, Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island, with the equally beautiful Rainbow Beach a complete destination in itself. The advantage is that crowds are smaller and the beaches are endless, the perfect place to escape.

Halfway between Cairns and Townsville is an undiscovered paradise, Mission Beach. There are not many places where the sun shines every day of the year (well almost) and the rainforest meets the sand and coconut palms. Combined with the pristine, flat beach and rippling waves you have the ideal tropical holiday.

The beaches just north from Cairns are unique and unparalleled. The most famous is Palm Cove, offering something for every type of beach holiday maker. There is a long jetty for fishermen, plenty of water sports, tall palm trees lining the entire stretch of beach and a number of restaurants and shops when you need a break from the sun. Surfers may have to venture elsewhere, such as Yorkey’s Knob where half metre waves are delivered which still a bonus for this region.

Trinity Beach is another favourite with locals and tourists and easily accessible from Cairns via the Captain Cook highway. The Cairns esplanade now features a large lagoon ideal for families, and a great retreat for those who would prefer to base themselves close to the city.

Heading further north to Port Douglas, Four Mile Beach is one of the last of Queensland’s jewels. This is remote and beautiful, with the palms common to this area combine to create the perfect holiday destination. Although this area
is common to stingers there are nets in place so you can still enjoy a swim.

Whichever location you choose, you will have to keep coming back to make the most of the sun, surf and sand in Queensland greatest treasures, its beaches.

Jenny Brewer is a travel agent whose passion is writing. After spending her leisure time writing time writing childrens stories, she now enjoys writing about travel destinations. For more of her articles visit Campervan Hire Australia

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Whale watching on the east coast of Australia is fast becoming one of the most popular activities during the Australian humpback whale migration season. Where is the best whale watching, and are there any differences between watching the whales in Queensland or New South Wales (NSW)?

The humpback whales migrate along both the east coast and west coast of Australia to find warmer waters during the Antarctic winter for breeding and giving birth to their calves. Humpbacks travel up both coasts, stay for a while and then return to their Antarctic feeding grounds for the summer.

The Australian whale watch season is approximately from May to November each year. The whales arrive earlier in the southern part of the east coast and as late as July in far north Queensland waters.

East coast whale watching is probably more popular, not because it is any better than the west coast, just that there is a greater population and a greater density of tourist or commercial whale watching operations based at various points on this coast.

Most of whale watch cruises operate from NSW or Queensland. Here are some of the pros and cons for each location.

NSW

• Often first to spot whales and the last to wave goodbye at the end of the season.
• No breeding grounds, the whales are mostly on the move either north or south.
• In NSW whale watching boats are allowed to watch whales at any distance from the shoreline.
• Water and daytime temperatures are cooler further south therefore less comfortable for whale watch cruise passengers.
• Popular whale watch spots include Sydney, Jervis Bay, Coffs Harbour, Port Stevens, Byron Bay and Tweed Heads.

Queensland

• Whales stop to breed or birth their calves in several locations from Hervey Bay through to Port Douglas.
• Many choices for whale watch cruises to cater for visitors to Queensland during the winter months.
• In Queensland whale watch cruises must go out to 3 miles offshore before they are allowed to commence watching the whales.
• Queensland has a more temperate weather during the whale watching season as it is closer to the equator. Water temperatures are warmer and visitors can enjoy warmer days on the water making it more comfortable to watch the whales.
• Queensland’s south east coast whale watching enjoys one of the longest whale watching seasons with whales going in both directions during the mid season.
• Popular whale watch spots include Coolangatta/Tweed Heads, Gold Coast, Brisbane’s Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, Whitsundays, Cairns and Port Douglas.

In south east coast of Queensland there are many whale watch cruise operators . The two most popular areas are Hervey Bay and Gold Coast. There are certainly far more opportunities to go whale watching in Queensland. The weather is usually warmer and kinder to the whale watchers too!

My advice? Wherever you are, if there is an opportunity to go see these magnificent creatures get out there and enjoy it. It is an experience of a lifetime.

Learn more about the Gold Coast whale watching season on Gold Coast Australia Travel Tips.

Annie runs, researches and writes for the website Gold Coast Australia Travel Tips, which was established in 2006 to help tourists and locals discover some of the secrets of Queensland’s famous Gold Coast.

Guide to Gold Coast Whale Watching Season at http://www.Gold-Coast-Australia-Travel-Tips.com/whale-watching-season.html

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