Queensland’s Top 15 Natural Attractions

I need to get out more.

It’s been a while since I talked about Queensland’s top 150 icons, but the last time I did it was about the top locations. I was surprised to see that I had been to eight out of 15 that made the final list.

But now, as we look at the fifth category which is natural attractions, it’s a totally different story. So far, I have only seen two of the top natural attractions in Queensland, and I’m not really sure how much of one of those I have seen.

We were on the way back from the Australian Zoo when we took the opportunity to take the tourist route, which would include views of the strangely named (by Captain James Cook) Glasshouse Mountains…

Glasshouse Mountains

I’m sure there is more, but it was beautiful being there.

That means I have plenty to do to catch up. It should be fun doing it as to cover all 15 I need to visit (starting at number 15) the Undara Lava Tubes, reputedly the largest Lava tubes in the world, Magnetic Island, a mountainous island offshore from Townsville, Springbrook National Park renowned for waterfalls, Barron Falls which is best viewed during the wet season and at number 11 is the second of the natural attraction I have seen.

Moreton Bay is a part of Australia’s coastline that is just a tad north of Brisbane city. Scarborough, Margate, Redcliffe and Woody Point are all around the bay and so is the beautiful Nudgee Beach.

That'd be Moreton Island in the background

So, that means I have the entire top 10 still to do. It may take me some time, given the vastness of Queensland, but I do hope to do it all. And I will, of course, take my camera.

So we can all look forward to the Bunya Mountains, Lamington National Park, Stradbroke Island, Carnarvon Gorge and at number six, Outback Queensland! Yes, I think they do mean all of it. Wow, that will take some time.

Once I have nipped around the outback, I’ll just need to pop along to Daintree Rainforest, Australia’s largest rainforest, and then do the Whitsundays which is an area surrounded by a collection of 74 tropical islands and is also close to a rather attractive area of the South Pacific Ocean which will get a mention in a minute.

As I have already done the Glasshouse Mountains at number three, I can go straight to Fraser Island which is the largest sand island in the world. And from Fraser, I may as well just keep on heading north for a few hundred more kilometres until I reach Queensland’s and no doubt Australia’s number one natural attraction.

The Great Barrier Reef.

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Don’t get me wrong, I do miss places like the Lake District and Cornwall, but I have way too much to see here to even think about it. And even when I’m done here in Queensland, I still have another six big states to check out.