Townsville’s geographical position in the centre of the Coral Coast makes it the ideal base to explore this unique region. The Great Barrier Reef protects the coastal waters from the swells of the Pacific. The green coastal ranges form a picturesque backdrop seen from the sea. A multitude of individual reefs beckons to be explored. The YONGALA is one of the most famous wreck dives, and dive trips leave Townsville daily. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is based in Townsville. At the Reef HQ, a tropical aquarium invites you to walk in a glass tunnel through a wonder world of coral, colourful fish and sharks. The Billabong Sanctuary is a famous wildlife park where you can cuddle koalas and python snakes. The Pandora Museum only just opened recently. It displays artifacts retrieved from the watery grave of the PANDORA. The Pandora was on her way back to England with some of the mutineers of the BOUNTY, when disaster struck and she was lost after striking the Great Barrier Reef. Seen from the lookout at the top of Castle Hill the city spreads out below you with Magnetic Island in the distance and the Pacific stretching out to the horizon.

Townsville is situated at the eastern end of the Flinders Highway, the North’s major road leading west into the loneliness of the Australian Outback.