Top 10 Things to Do on a Brisbane to Townsville Road Trip, QLD

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It’s a distance of just over 1,300 kilometres from the Queensland capital Brisbane to what’s often referred to as the state’s second capital — Townsville.

The largest city in North Queensland has plenty to recommend it as a travel destination, and you could just jump on a plane and be there in a couple of hours. Job done. But the drive between Brisbane and Townsville is peppered with amazing experiences and memorable must-sees. If you have the time, this is a road trip where the journey very quickly becomes the destination!

The route is defined by the glittering Coral Sea to your right, the omnipresent peaks and troughs of the Great Dividing Range to your left, and bountiful farming and grazing land in between. Quintessential country towns rich in period architecture, and secluded coastal communities with incredible beaches are waiting to be explored, and you’ll encounter more than a few surprises along the way.

Brisbane to Townsville Road Trip – Google My Maps

It’s a distance of just over 1,300 kilometres from the Queensland capital Brisbane to what’s often referred to as the state’s second capital – Townsville. The largest city in North Queensland has plenty to recommend it as a travel destination, and you could just jump on a plane and be there in a couple of hours.

Having recently done this roadie with a caravan in tow, I’d suggest giving yourself a week to do the trip. That will allow you enough time to get off the main drag where you want to, and to do most of the activities listed in this story.

So, without further ado, let’s hit the Bruce! Here’s a checklist of ten top things to do on a Brisbane to Townsville road trip, and selected recommendations for places to stay if you’re camping or caravanning.

1. Enjoy a donut day on the Sunshine Coast

Given the state of the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast at present, it may seem like your week on the road will begin and end in a traffic jam outside Burpengary (one of Brisbane’s outer northern suburbs). Be patient; this congestion too shall pass. Before long you’ll be hitting the laidback Sunny Coast, which needs little introduction and is packed with attractions — including famous Australia Zoo — the legacy of wildlife warrior Steve Irwin. The Zoo is located just off the Bruce Highway at Beerwah and won’t take too much of a detour to see.

For something a little different though, take exit 224 after passing Nambour and head for Kenilworth in the Mary Valley. Framed by the Mary River and the ridges of the Blackall and Conondale Ranges, this small town oozes country charm. However, it’s not just the picturesque setting that pulls the crowds; they also come for the Kenilworth Country Bakery’s famous doughnuts. The queue can stretch up the street (especially on weekends) but, like outside Burpengary, be patient.

Tip for where to stay: The Kenilworth Showgrounds accommodates campers and caravanners with powered and unpowered sites. The glass is green, the amenities are clean, and the town is right on your doorsteps. Full marks.

2. Down a spoonful of fun in Maryborough

Continuing north through Gympie — home to the famous Gympie Music Muster festival and the Mary Valley Rattler heritage train service (well worth doing if you have the time and want to see more of the Mary Valley) — will bring you to marvellous Maryborough, which may take the cake as the biggest surprise of your trip. This trim town of 30,000 has some seriously stunning period buildings, several amazing heritage attractions (including the must-see Gallipoli to Armistice Trail), and a connection to one of the world’s favourite nannies. PL Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins books, was born above a bank in the main street in 1899, and that building is now a captivating museum dedicated to the umbrella-toting, high-flying disciplinarian. This is a practically perfect overnight stop.

Tip for where to stay: If you want to get away early from Maryborough, the Maryborough Showgrounds and Equestrian Park is situated right on the Bruce Highway just north of town and welcomes campers/caravanners. There’s not a lot of shade, but the sites are spacious and close to clean amenities.

3. Ride the rails in Bundaberg

From here you’ll be travelling through verdant sugar cane country to regional hub Bundaberg, but give yourself a good two hours to stop and explore the bustling town of Childers en route. Like Maryborough, Childers has a wealth of heritage buildings, including the Palace Hotel. It was converted into a hostel for fruit pickers in the 1980s and was infamously the target of a deadly arson attack in 2000. Fifteen people lost their lives in the blaze. The building now houses the Visitor Information Centre and a poignant permanent memorial to those who died. One of my favourite buildings along the main street is the old Paragon Theatre. It has a cafe in the foyer and while you’re waiting for your coffee, ask if you can take a peek inside the auditorium.

Most visitors to Bundaberg head straight to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery to sample one of Australia’s most famous tipples. The visitor centre and museum are housed in repurposed fermenting tanks in a former bond store. It’s extremely well done. Plane and train spotters should head to the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens to check out the excellent Hinkler Hall of Aviation and Australian Sugar Cane Railway. The latter is operated solely by volunteers and operates on selected dates (check their Facebook page for details). Beautifully maintained steam and diesel locomotives carry passengers in repurposed sugar cane carriages on a circuit of the tranquil gardens.

Watch our video of the top things to do in Bundaberg:

Top Things to Do in Bundaberg, Queensland 2020 | City Guide – The Big Bus

Welcome to The Big Bus tour and travel guide’s YouTube channel. Only got a couple of days to get to know the city of Bundaberg in Queensland’s Wide Bay-Burne…

4. Splash down in Seventeen Seventy and Agnes Water

It’s time to go off course just a little. Follow the signs from the Bruce Highway to the twin coastal enclaves of Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy (1770) — so named in honour of Lieutenant James Cook’s landing here in 1770 while charting Australia’s east coast in the Endeavour. The excellent Agnes Water community-run museum can fill in any blanks on that subject. Agnes and Seventeen Seventy are commonly referred to as Queensland’s best kept secret, and you’ll soon work out why: the beaches are stunning and uncrowded! Seventeen Seventy is one of the few places in Queensland where you can enjoy a water sunset (over Bustard Bay), so plan to spend at least one night here.

Tip for where to stay: Zen out at the fabulous 1770 Eco Camp — a five-minute drive from the heart of Agnes. The facility is beautifully integrated into its 42-acre bushland setting, and offers powered/unpowered caravan/camping sites and a number of very reasonably priced glamping tents.

5. Pay your respects to the Beautiful Betsy in Kroombit Tops

You’ll need a full day to tackle this one, so plan to stay overnight in the port city of Gladstone. The WWII bomber Beautiful Betsy was travelling from Darwin to Brisbane on 26 February, 1945 when she came down in a remote corner of Kroombit Tops National Park just before dawn. The exact location of the crash site remained a mystery for half a century, but was finally solved in 1994 with the discovery of wreckage in the thick blue gum and blackbutt forest that carpets this ancient volcanic landscape. Eight lives were lost in the tragedy — two Australian and six US servicemen. Today, visitors can trek to the site, which has been preserved by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Access is by 4WD, and only during good weather. Take the sealed single lane Tablelands Road from Calliope and go easy when the tar ends. The trip from Gladstone takes roughly 2.5 hours each way.

6. See amazing modernist art in Rockhampton

A leisurely hour’s drive from Gladstone will deliver you into the historic heart of Rockhampton — the beef capital of Australia. Cowboy boots and Akubras are the dress code here, and yes, you will get a great steak (try the Great Western Hotel, which dates back to 1862). But perhaps less expected will be the opportunity to see one of the country’s finest collections of Australian modernist art at the newly opened Rockhampton Museum of Art (formerly the Rockhampton Art Gallery).

Architecturally stunning, and with state-of-the-art facilities, it’s a fitting home for a collection that encompasses works by Albert Tucker, Fred Williams, John Brack, John Perceval, Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan, and the list goes on. The story of how the collection (estimated to be worth around $15 million) came about is a fine example of regional resourcefulness. Ask a curator to fill you in!

Watch our video of ten top things to do in Rockhampton:

10 Top Things to Do in ROCKHAMPTON, Queensland, Australia | Ultimate Rockhampton Travel Guide

Support our channel and save on travel by joining our new Top Traveller Club! 😄 Member benefits include a branded travel water bottle delivered to your door, and 10% off day and multi-day tour bookings worldwide!

7. Taste the sweet life in Sarina

The further north you go on this trip, the deeper you’ll get into sugar cane country. The earth is rich and red, fields of green sway in the breeze, and jaunty sugar cane trains trundle across the landscape. Life in the city of Mackay largely revolves around sugar production, so it’s worth finding out more about the industry as you approach Queensland’s 8th largest city. Located in the small town of Sarina, 30 minutes’ drive south of Mackay, the award-winning Sarina Sugar Shed has a small scale working sugar mill on display and offers guided tours that walk guests through the production process. The tour culminates in a tasting of the house-made preserves, liqueurs and schnapps for the adults, and fairy floss for the kids.

If this is your first visit to the Mackay region, drop by the neighbouring Mackay Region Visitor Information Centre (housed in the refurbished Sarina railway station).

8. Go platypus spotting in Eungella National Park

Mackay is also home to some amazing wildlife viewing opportunities. The most famous is the roos-on-the-beach-at-dawn in Cape Hillsborough National Park, which has featured in several big budget marketing campaigns (including for Qantas and Tourism Australia). You also have a chance to see one of the country’s most elusive critters, the platypus, at Broken River in Eungella National Park — 90 kilometres west of the city. Once you’ve conquered the hairpin turns and reached the top of the Clarke Range, it’s a ten-minute drive to the river crossing. Eyeballing these notoriously shy duck-billed curiosities takes time and patience, but the rewards are huge. There are three spotting platforms, linked by a rainforest boardwalk.

Tip for where to stay: The town of Finch Hatton is nestled at the foot of the Clarke Range and Finch Hatton Showground accommodates campers/caravanners for a very reasonable fee. All sites are grassed, and you get a great view of sunset behind the range.

9. Bring the big blue to you in Airlie Beach

You may not have time on this trip to head out and immerse yourself in the beauty of the Whitsunday Islands, but what’s commonly referred to as the ‘big blue’ (feast your baby blues on any image of famous Whitehaven Beach and you’ll understand why) comes to you at photographer Shane Batham’s Into The Blue Gallery in Airlie Beach. This is one man’s homage to the extraordinary iridescent colour of the water that defines this sublime part of Queensland. Shane’s panoramic images are truly stunning, and you may just decide to take one home as a souvenir of the trip!

Watch our video of top things to do in Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays:

Ten Great Things to Do in AIRLIE BEACH and the WHITSUNDAYS, Australia | Ultimate Travel Guide

Queensland’s Airlie Beach has long been a popular stop on the east coast backpacker trail, but today it’s a holiday hot spot for anyone wanting to experience the extraordinary beauty of the Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef. Think turquoise waters, amazing beaches, palm trees swaying in the breeze, and incredible snorkelling and diving.

10. Slurp down a serve of sorbet at Bowen’s Big Mango

Just an hour up the coast from Airlie Beach (but slowed down significantly by road works during our trip, so take it easy) is the relaxed holiday hamlet of Bowen. It has some notable claims to fame: the town’s Grand View Hotel famously featured in the film Australia with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman; one of its beaches — Horseshoe Bay — regularly makes the list of the finest patches of sand in the country; and it’s the home of arguably Australia’s favourite mango. And a refreshing serve of mango sorbet awaits you at the iconic Big Mango tourist facility, not to mention a fine addition to your Instagram feed as you pose for the obligatory selfie with this statuesque piece of fruit.

From here, it’s an easy two-hour drive into Townsville.

Tip for where to stay: If you want to stay by the water in Bowen, try the NRMA Bowen Beachfront Holiday Park. The caravan sites are modestly sized, but you can pay an upgrade fee to be right on the oceanfront. They also have waterfront cabins available.

Browse our range of Queensland tours and experiences here.

Do you have any suggestions to add to our list of top things to do on a Brisbane to Townsville road trip? We would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.

Cover image: Tourism and Events Queensland. Additional images: Bigstock

 

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