24.11.2018 | Australia, Travel

7 Secret tips for Townsville – North Queensland

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G´day and welcome to Townsville – where the sun shines more than 320 days a year! There’s an endless supply of adventure to be experienced. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful areas in Australia and I am so happy to share some tips for some great adventures with you:

1. Castle Hill Lookout in the sunrise
2. Enjoy The Strand in Townsville 
3. Take the ferry to Magnetic Island
4. Explore the hidden gem Jourama Falls
5. Hike down to the Wallaman Falls
6. The beautiful area around Lucinda
7. Best view on Hinchinbrook Lookout

1. Enjoying the Sunrise at Castle Hill Lookout

The Castle Hill Lookout is a popular hill in the middle of Townsville – you will meet a lot of sporty locals walking up the hill, but you can drive and park at the top as well. From above you will have a spectacular view over Townsville and the long coastline. The sunrise and sunset light is beautiful and you can see clearly Magnetic island in front of the mainland.  

2. The Strand – Townsville

If you are driving through Townsville you should spend some moments to enjoy “The Strand”, the main beach of Townsville. There are some really nice cafés and shops to explore and palm trees frame the beaches. From every direction, you have a great view of Magnetic Island. Imagine comfortable 28 degrees, a light breeze and a picnic under the refreshing palm shadows.  

3. Take the ferry to Magnetic Island @thisismagneticisland

The ferries departing every hour and depending on your available time you can spend there a day until 1 week. TTake a hiking trail through the jungle until you reach an isolated beach, book a kayak tour with @magnetic_island_sea_kayaks or do a sailing trip. We only had one day and we explored the island by foot. The ferry costs 33 AUS Dollar per person to and from. Parking at the ferry terminal adds up 7 Dollars for the whole day. Already the ferry trip is wonderful, you will see the beautiful hilly Townsville and Magnetic Island, which looks a little bit like Jurassic Park. You will arrive at the “Nelly Beach”. With a whole-day bus ticket for 7,20 AUS Dollar per person, you can explore the whole island. At first stop at “Horseshoe Bay“. We bought some avocado toast with vegetables and banana bread in a nice café and walked along the wonderful beach. The palm trees are standing directly next to the ocean. From the Horseshoe Bay, you can start a hiking trail through the jungle to “Radikal Bay“. The trail was beautiful, but you have to walk a few meters difference in altitude. It was totally worth it because the beach at the end of the trail was absolutely fantastic! The beach is located in between big rocks, and due to the isolated location, no one was there. We only saw a boat in the little bay with the turquoise water and the palm trees. From the Horseshoe Bay, you can take the bus to the area between Geoffrey Bay and Alma Bay. In the afternoon the rock wallabies say hello and you are allowed to feed them with fruits like an apple. Afterward, we enjoyed the view at Alma Beach and in the evening we took the ferry back to Townsville. If you have more time left, I highly recommend booking a kayak tour with @magnetic_island_sea_kayaks to some of the most hidden gems and beaches, only accessible by boat or kayak. There are also some amazing sailing trips.

4. My secret tip – a hidden gem: Jourama Falls

Early in the morning at 5:30 am we drove with our camper van from a rest area behind Townsville to the Jourama Falls. From the bigger roads, you will turn into a little jungle road. If it rained a lot the last days, the rivers bursting their banks and flooding the road, but in the main season, it wasn´t a problem with a normal camper. A short hiking trail leads to the Jourama Pool Rocks. At first, the water in the jungle didn´t look that great, but further up you will see the real and clear rock pools. We climbed up the rocks until we reached the second last waterfall. Then we jumped daringly into the fresh water. Ohh it was amazing – a wonderful cooling and we were all alone. I am pretty sure that there isn´t any animal inside ;). You can also climb to one pool further up and swim to the little waterfall. If you don´t like to climb up the rocks you can also walk the hiking trail to the lookout. If I remember rightly there are hiking trails to the highest waterfall as well.

5. Hiking down to Wallaman Falls – the biggest waterfall

The road to the Wallaman Falls is absolutely amazing! We drove through high sugar cane fields in the morning sun. In the little town “Ingham” we bought some muesli bars for our hike. We then drove the serpentines up the hill, stopped by some cows standing on the street :). The roads through the jungle and the big fern are amazing. On the top, you can leave your car at a parking space. From the first viewing platform, you will see the stunning waterfall in the middle of the jungle from above. We reached Wallaman Falls with just the right light to capture the full 268-meter drop and a 20-meter deep basin, from the viewing platform above. This is Australia’s highest single drop waterfall and truly is a most spectacular site! The hiking trail down to the waterfall was very exhausting but it was totally worth it! However, you should have a good fitness level. I highly recommend going there as early as you can, after 10 o´clock it gets a little crowded. Along the little jungle trails, we got to the food of the Wallaman Waterfall. We climbed up the rocks to the waterfall, pay attention it is really slippery and wet! The waterfall dropped so softly and beautifully! Despite the mass of water, it wasn´t noisy at all. It was pretty warm in the valley and felt very tropical due to the humidity. Most of the time we had the whole spot for ourselves and view up to the big waterfall and the power of the water was overwhelming. Then we made our way back up.

6. Lucinda – access to Hinchinbrook Island

If you have enough time and money I would highly recommend to book a sailing trip with “Absolute North Charters” from Lucinda harbor to Hinchinbrook Island. The island and the beaches are absolutely unspoiled and hiking trails lead to the beautiful Zoe Falls with crystal clear water. Unfortunately, there is no cheaper ferry. If you don´t have the time go to Hinchinbrook Lookout (number 7). However, a visit to Lucinda is totally worth it because the sugar cane fields and the panorama of high mountains in the background are extremely unique. We stopped at some train tracks winding through the whole town.

7. The most beautiful viewing platform: Hinchinbrook Lookout

We enjoyed the sunset from the very easy to access Hinchinbrook lookout, located straight off the main high way and no more than a 100m walk. Gazing out across the channel all the way to Hinchinbrook Island as it was bathed in the afternoon glow was a truly magical way to end the day. The beautifully formed sand dunes and the winding river looked like a jungle paradise. The only bad thing was the many sand flies, so take along some insect spray. The next night we stayed on a Big 4 in Cairns for 43 AUS Dollar per night. *** Dieser Artikel enthält Werbung, da Marken genannt werden.