Queensland
Outback Queensland , the west of the state, is thinly populated by tenacious farming communities swinging precariously between famine and survival, and seems hard to reconcile with the lushness of the wet tropics. The population is concentrated in the
relatively fertile highlands along the Great Dividing Range , running low behind the coast; on the far side, featureless plains slide over a hot horizon into the fringes of South Australia and the Northern Territory. Almost untouched by overseas visitors, the
only places attracting tourists in any numbers are the Stockman's Hall of Fame at Longreach, the oases of Carnarvon Gorge in the Central Highlands, and the northwest's Lawn Hill Gorge . But elsewhere the opportunities for exploration are immense,
with precious stones , fossils , waterholes and Aboriginal art in abundance.
Choosing where to go is often determined by the most convenient starting point. Main roads and trains head west from the coast at Brisbane, Rockhampton and Townsville; interstate bus services from Townsville are good, but otherwise the highways
are only partially covered. If you're driving , your vehicle must be sound and you should carry essential spares, as even main centres often lack replacements.
Unless you're experienced and well equipped, you'll find that western summers effectively prohibit travel, with searing temperatures and violent flash floods that can isolate regions (especially in the Channel Country on the far side of the Great Dividing
Range) for days or weeks on end. Consequently, many tour companies, information offices and motels simply shut up shop between November and March, or at least during January and February. On the other hand, water revives dormant seeds and fast-growing desert flowers,
which cover the ground to the horizon in good years. At other times, expect hot days and cool nights, plenty of dust and sparse landscapes.
Southeast Queensland consists of an eight-hundred-kilometre stretch between the New South Wales border and Fraser Island containing many of the classic features that lure visitors to Australia's second-largest state. Surf rolls in to long, sandy beaches, backed
by vibrant towns in exotic settings; behind them, the land rises a thousand metres or more to lush, rainforest-clad plateaus. It's one of Australia's busiest tourist venues, a factor that will be central to your impressions of the region: some love the hype and pace
of it's higher-profile attractions; others loathe it for the same reasons and despair of ever finding an untramped corner.
However, though parts of Southeast Queensland undoubtedly live up to their glitzy reputations, there's far more to the region than its popularity on the "drunken backpackers" trail would suggest. Set down towards the border, the state capital Brisbane
is an attractive, relaxed city with good work opportunities and a lively social scene, with some very underrated scenery within easy reach - the best of which are the giant, wooded, sand islands of shallow Moreton Bay . South of Brisbane, the Gold Coast
is Australia's prime domestic holiday destination; while its reputation was founded on some of Queensland's best surf , this now takes second place to a belt of beachfront high-rises, theme parks, and the host of bars and nightclubs surrounding Surfers
Paradise . But even here there are quieter corners, such as the often almost empty beaches at the Gold Coast's southernmost town, Coolangatta ; while just an hour inland, the Scenic Rim 's green heights provide the perfect antidote to coastal
concretions, with a chain of national parks packed with wildlife and endless hiking trails. Heading north of Brisbane, fruit and vegetable plantations behind the gentle Sunshine Coast benefit from rich volcanic soils and a subtropical climate. Noosa
is the hub here, an up-and-coming resort town with more beaches and famous surf. Beyond looms Fraser Island , whose surrounding waters host an annual whale migration and where huge forested dunes, freshwater lakes and sculpted coloured sands form the backdrop
for exciting safaris in a 4WD.
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