Photos of the South Queensland Coast - from Ayr to Coolangatta, Australia

Heading south from Townsville on the Bruce Highway, the first town encountered is Ayr, the centre of a sugarcane-growing region. Passing Bowen and Proserpine, Airlie Beach is reached, a popular holiday destination and the heart of the Whitsundays region. It is a gateway to the Whitsunday Islands, the Great Barrier Reef and tropical palm-fringed beaches. Further south, past Mackay and 38 kilometres before Rockhampton, is Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast, the Gateway to Great Keppel Island and the wonders of the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

Further south, passing many great natural wonders, is the Coral Coast, and, past Bundaberg and Childers, Hervey Bay is reached with the terminal at River Heads for the ferry to Fraser Island. It is the world’s largest sand island, stretching over 120 kilometres. Just south of there is the city of Maryborough, with a rich history and classic 1800s Queensland architecture. Poona, a small town on the Fraser Coast, is a peaceful place, to camp, fish and swim, with Fraser Island in the background. Continuing further south, the Sunshine Coast is reached, with its central town of Maroochydore and beaches along the shores, of Mooloolaba, Buddina and Caloundra. Beach resorts, surf spots, and subtropical rainforests are among the most scenic places in Australia, about 100 kilometres north of Brisbane.

South of Brisbane and the border with New South Wales is the Gold Coast, the stretch of sandy beaches from the Stradbroke islands. It was the Bundjalung people’s region before the first Europeans settled here after expeditions in the 1820s, attracted by the cedars that grew in the forests. It is now famed for its long sandy beaches, surfing spots and theme parks, like Dreamworld, Sea World and others. Surfers Paradise is an upmarket seaside resort with a high-rise skyline. The 322.5-metre high Q1 building has its SkyPoint observation deck at 230 metres above sea level, offering panoramic ocean and city views. Coolangatta, on the border and nowadays almost continuous with Tweed Heads in New South Wales, was first a cedar port and later became one of the first resort towns, a position it still holds because of its beautiful beach. The coast curves towards Surfers Paradise and Southport in an almost continuous urban strip. It has been known as the City of the Gold Coast since 1959.