Home to large Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal communities, Townsville is located in the dry tropics of northern Queensland. This means that the city, with a population of around 150,000 people, enjoys on average 320 days of sunshine every year.
Australia’s largest tropical beachside city, Townsville could be said to have an almost triangular shaped city centre with Cleveland Bay on the one side, Ross Creek on another and Castle Hill on the third side.
Townsville is twinned with the city of Thuringowa, which is situated 15 kilometres to the north and home to Rugby World Cup 2003 venue the Dairy Farmers Stadium, and offers tourists the chance to go scuba diving on the world famous Great Barrier Reef.
Must see attractions are the Billabong Sanctuary (where you can hold a koala), the Reef HQ which is the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium, the Museum of Tropical Queensland, where you can learn about HMS Pandora and Magnetic Island, home to reportedly Australia’s largest koala colony.
The restaurants and bars of Townsville are located in three main precincts – Flinders Street East, The Strand and Palmer Street with the latter regarded as the “restaurant strip”. Between them they cater for a variety of cuisines with both cafés and restaurants.
Townsville offers a wide range of accommodation for different budgets, much of which can be found in the city centre and the Strand waterfront, including the Adventurers Resort, Civic Guest House and the Aquarius on the Beach.