The 5 Best National Parks in Tropical North Queensland, Australia
Guest post written by Brandi, owner of ifwegoto.com
Australia is known for its vast expanses of outback, seemingly endless beaches, and notoriously dangerous animals. With the exception of the Great Barrier Reef, many foreign tourists don’t really consider incorporating Tropical North Queensland into their Australian itinerary. This region, located in the continent’s northeast, is home to dozens of National Parks! Each park is incredibly unique and offers a variety of eco-tourism experiences suitable for just about every type of tourist!
Here are our top 5 park recommendations that you should consider visiting on your next trip to Far North Queensland!
Barron Gorge National Park
Barron Gorge National Park is located in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, just outside of a popular mountain town known as Kuranda. The park is best known for Barron Falls, which is over 250 meters tall and known as the most popular waterfall in all of Queensland! Barron Gorge is also famous for its many lookouts and well-maintained hiking trails that take visitors through some of Australia’s most beautiful tropical rainforests.
This park is also extremely accessible with the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and the Kuranda Scenic Railway, which take visitors right through this amazing natural highlight. The cableway and railway are also great options for nature-lovers who are unable to or do not want to hike to be able to take in the stunning view.
Daintree National Park
Perhaps the most famous location on this list is Daintree National Park, which is home to the oldest and most biodiverse tropical rainforest in the world. Within Daintree National Park is the world-famous Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the white sandy beaches of the Coral sea and fringes the Great Barrier Reef - making it one of the most ecologically diverse locations in the entire world!
The park is only accessible by a cable ferry, which allows visitors to take their vehicles across the Daintree River. Although the park may seem isolated, it has plenty of facilities, lodging options, and activities for tourists such as the Daintree Discovery Center, guided bushwalking tours, Daintree river cruises, exotic ice cream tasting, and more!
Eungella National Park
Eungella National Park takes visitors into the longest continuous stretch of subtropical forest in Australia. Most of the park is extremely remote and inaccessible to visitors, but don’t be deterred by this! It makes it one of the best areas in the region to find wildlife, most notably, the duck-billed platypus! The platypus is normally a rare and elusive animal, but Eungella’s Broken River is known as one of the best spots in Queensland to find them! In addition to an extensive river trail, there are multiple points which give you sweeping views of the sub-tropical rainforests and mountains!
Whitsunday Islands National Park
The Whitsunday Islands National Park is easily one of the most beautiful places in Queensland. It is a popular national park for divers and snorkelers, being home to one of the best areas to visit the Great Barrier Reef! It is also home to Whitehaven Beach, which is continually ranked as one of the best beaches in the world with its crystal clear blue waters and 12 kilometer stretch of soft, fine white sand.
Staying on the Whitsundays Islands is prohibitively expensive for most visitors, with hotel prices averaging at about A$463 per night - even on the most “inexpensive” island. However, there are many day tours from nearby Airlie Beach, a vibrant beach resort town, that will take you to explore the Whitsundays... or you can even opt to camp on them!
Magnetic Island National Park
No, this island isn’t actually magnetic! However, many describe the island as having a “magnet-like” pull on people, attracting thousands of visitors every year! The island, over half of which is designated to National Park, is known for its friendly rock wallabies, beautiful beaches, WW2 era installations, numerous hiking and snorkel trails, and its thriving population of wild koalas!
Tourists can reach the island by two ferry options: a high speed catamaran for walk-on guests and a passenger/car ferry. There are plenty of options for accommodations and visitors can choose to rent a car, scooter, or take one of the buses which run all day long to get around. If you’re really adventurous, you can even ditch transit and stick to the trails - the island is tiny!
Hi! I'm Brandi! In the last couple of years I've gone from never having left the country to visiting over 25 of them! I made IfWeGoTo to share my experiences and travel tips in hopes that you find something useful to you too!
