Queensland, with its population of around 3 million, covers 700,000 miles, and is twice the size of Texas. It is called the Sunshine State because it is above the Tropic of Capricorn and has warm to hot weather year-round.  The state is home to five of Australia’s 13 World Heritage areas, the most famous being the Great Barrier Reef. Queensland is where the Australians go to vacation and is a must-see destination for tourists because it is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree Rainforest and the Whitsundays.  It is also a wonderful place for families.  Check out Cairns and the Gold Coast under Brisbane.

The state has great weather, a fantastic coastline, 110-million-year-old rainforests full of rare plants and animals, golden beaches, islands, the Outback, the Great Barrier Reef, resorts and fun parks, cruises, safaris, colorful towns and friendly people. Queensland produces bananas, pineapples and sugar.   Queensland’s aboriginal and islander cultures span 40,000 years, which makes the aboriginals the oldest and most diverse surviving indigenous culture in the world. 

If you are a movie buff, you will be interested to know that Queensland is no stranger to Hollywood as it has served as a backdrop to movie favorites Fool’s Gold, Matrix Trilogy, Peter Pan, the Thin Red Line, Dead Calm and Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s 10-part television mini-series Pacific.  Scoobey-Do was filmed at Tangalooma Dolphin Resort.   Baz Luhrmann took over the little town of Bowen to film “Australia”. 

Map courtesy of Queensland Tourism

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