Things to Do in Townsville

Townsville Things to Do

The Strand

The Strand is a marvellous playground open to all.  This beach front promenade run along the seaside foreshore in the suburb of North Ward, and entry is free!  The Strand has a magnificent view of the Port of Townsville and Magnetic Island, as well as views stretching all the way out to Cape Cleveland.
Here you will find a jetty, recreational park, restaurants, cafes, a series of headlands, a free water park, picnic areas and swimming pools and enclosures.

Reef HQ Aquarium

Reef HQ Aquarium is the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium, designed as a demonstration of the Great Barrier Reef on land. The idea was to make the Reef accessible to everybody at a low cost, and so gain community support for the protection of “the real thing”.

Keeping aquatic creatures in captivity is not an easy task. The primary requirement in the design and construction of Reef HQ was to replicate, as close as possible all the environmental conditions that could be found on a coral reef. That is some achievement considering that the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest and most complex reef system.

Billabong Sanctuary

Billabong Sanctuary has over 100 species of mammals and reptiles, and more birds than imaginable!

Spread over 11 hectares of natural habitat, Billabong prides itself in offering the benefits of a wildlife park without the usual busy-ness of most zoos.

Most of the animals live on-site permanently. The natural billabong in the middle of the Sanctuary also encourages a huge variety of native wildlife to visit.

The stars of the show at Billabong include koalas, wombats, crocodiles, snakes, dingos and cassowaries. See all of these animals in the Billabong live shows each day, and even have your photo professionally taken along side them.

Barramundi Fishing Farm

The Barra Fishing Farm is 30 minutes from the centre of Townsville, no bookings are necessary. Try your hand at catching your own barramundi, or join the redclaw races. When your have had enough of fishing, there is the 300 metre golf driving range or a game of aqua or mini golf to enjoy.

Australian Inst Marine Science (responsible for Barrier Reef)

The Australian Institute of Marine Science is a research institute that is responsible for the Great Barrier Reef.

It’s set in 207 hectares of national park and marine reserve at Cape Ferguson. The Cape is free from development, biosecure and offers clean seawater in a protected harbour.

Public tours, covering the Institute’s research and its relevance to community interests, are offered on Friday mornings from March to November. Bookings are recommended.

Waterfalls

Alligator Falls. Alligator Creek flows through Bowling Green Bay National Park in a series of cascades, deep pools and waterfalls. The five hour Alligator Falls circuit walk is of moderate difficulty. The track runs roughly parallel to Alligator Creek through open forest, until the final stages of travel through rocky vine thicket to emerge at the Falls.

Wallaman Falls. Wallaman Falls most significant feature is an abrupt plunge of 268 metres down a sheer cliff to create Australia’s tallest single drop waterfall. Southwest of Ingham in the Girringun National Park, the Falls are a series of cascades on Stony Creek in a World Heritage area. Above and below that magnificent single drop their are cascades over numerous ledges that together bring the Falls total drop to 305 metres.

Markets

Cotters Market. The Cotters Market is North Queensland’s largest arts and crafts market held each Sunday in Flinders Mall.

Strand Night Market. The Strand Night Markets offer craft, entertainment, food, fashion and home and leisure displays on the first Friday of the month from May to December in Strand Park.

Showground Market. The Showground Market features bric-a-brac, second hand goods, clothes and produce each Sunday morning.