3 Days in Townsville, Queensland, Australia

Townsville, Queensland, Australia

If you ever find yourself with 3 days in Townsville, either because you got The Bends from scuba diving and need to use their hyperbaric chamber or because you saw a picture and through it look beautiful (I hope it’s the later), check out this list of things to do!

The Strand

Spend one of your days walking along The Strand, a beautiful stretch of Townsville coastline.

Start your walk with a refreshing iced coffee from Mello Cafe.

With a cool coffee in hand, finish making your way to the strand and give your self some time to soak in the first view. The water is an enticing turquoise blue and let’s not ignore the trees! How uniquely shaped, green, and lush are they?!

As you keep walking you’ll come across Strand Park. Don’t forget to take your shoes off, dig your toes into the grass, and let your body ground.

At the end of the strand, take a lap around the Strand Rockpool and if you’re brave, take a dip! This pool area was built to provide a less risky place to swim away from the jellies, but be careful because they may still find their way in.

Next, head up the Kissing Point walking track and checkout the view from the fort up top.

View from Kissing Point

Queens Gardens

If you still have some more walking in you, the Queens Gardens is a must on your second day.

Stroll through the walking paths and admire the vast variety of plants and trees.

Maybe even bring a book and nestle under this shady tree for an afternoon of reading.

This tree had lofty branches with beautiful red flowers

Castle Hill

If you’re feeling rested after relaxing in Queens Gardens, head toward Castle Hill.

You needn’t go to the top to find worthy views (but if you have it in you definitely do!), the bottom of the Goat Track is already beautiful. Make sure to look both up at Castle Hill and back out at the town and water below.

Magnetic Island

If you’re in Townsville, you can’t miss Magnetic Island so head out there for day 3!

This island provides opportunities to spot koalas and rock wallabies in the wild!

Getting There

A 20 minute ferry from SeaLink North Queensland will take you out to Magnetic Island.

Tickets can be purchased right at the ferry terminal and the schedule can be found on their website.

Dani’s Drive Tip: Public transportation on the island is limited to the bus system which only takes cash. I recommend checking the bus schedule as you’re moving around and knowing what your return time options are. Given the buses are going back and forth across the island, the pickup intervals are not consistent and sometimes there is an hour between buses.

Koalas

Koalas are most commonly spotted along the Wumbu Forts Walk.

To get here, take the 250 bus to the Radical Bay Road stop.

This full hike is 6.6 miles (10.6 km) round trip, but you may not need to hike all the way to the end to spot koalas.

As you’re hiking, make sure to carefully watch the trees. They can be hard to spot, but if you’re lucky, you’ll see one just off the trail.

Koalas need at least 20 hours of sleep each day to be careful to remain quiet and not disturb them if you find any.

Learn more here.

A koala snoozing in the tree

Horseshoe Bay

After admiring the koalas, catch the bus on to Horseshoe Bay.

Here you can enjoy the beach and grab some food. The passion fruit sorbet at Adele’s is delicious!

Rock Wallabies

You’ll have the best chance of spotting rock wallabies just before sunset.

If you want to feed them, make sure to snag some food (I recommend carrots) before hand as stores close early. You can pick some up at the grocery store right by the ferry terminal when you arrive on Magnetic Island.

To get to the rock wallabies, take the 250 bus to Arcadia/Alma way, cross the street, and they walk the short stretch of Armand Way out to the point.

If you look closely, you may even find a wallaby with a baby in it’s pouch!

Cutest little baby wallaby

Sunrise/Sunset

If you decide to stay on the island one night, make sure to catch the stunning sunrise or sunset.

Hungry?

If you’re hungry for a full meal, there are several restaurants to choose from on Magnetic Island.

I enjoyed the grilled mackerel with tartare sauce and sweet potato fries from Stuffed on Seafood. It was reasonably priced and easy to get to from the ferry terminal.

Thinking about going scuba diving while you’re in Queensland? Check out my post on completing the PADI Open Water Scuba Certification on the Great Barrier Reef! Or get some ideas for a chill weekend in Byron Bay.