1. Sail into the Cooktown Expo 2020
2020 is a big year for Australia, marking 250 years since British explorer, Captain James Cook, sailed up the east coast of the country, diarising his epic journey and capturing new botanical discoveries. The explorer made three shore landings in Queensland: the town of 1770, half way between Bundaberg and Gladstone; Lizard Island where he climbed Cook's Look to chart a course through the treacherous reef; and Cooktown, where his crew spent 48 days fixing a broken ship hull. Today, Cooktown is one of the nation's last frontiers and a gateway to great wilderness encounters and epic Indigenous experiences. It's also the best place to mark the past but celebrate the present with Cooktown Expo 2020, to be held from 17 July - 4 August.
2. Crystalbrook soon to boast three Cairns hotels
It's boom time in the tropics where three Crystalbrook Collection hotels now dominate the hospitality landscape in Cairns. Riley, the city's first new five-star hotel in more than 20 years, opened in late 2018 and was followed last year by Bailey. The 311-room Flynn will follow suit and open next April with a mission to entertain. Described as the wild child of the hotel trio, Flynn was designed by local Port Douglas architects. There's a hint of the heat as cute cabanas line what can only be described as a human aquarium – a glass-walled swimming pool that magnifies every move. Then there is the Whiskey and Wine Bar, which comes with cane furniture and brushed brass trim, straight out of the past. To minimise their impact on the environment, all Crystalbrook Collection hotels embrace the #responsibleluxury ethos, which they claim enhances rather than compromises the quality of their guests' experiences.
https://www.crystalbrookcollection.com/flynn/more
3. Walk the new Cobbold Gorge Glass Bridge
Cobbold Gorge in the far north Gulf Savannah country now has an amazing glass bridge. Perched 17 metres above the astonishingly beautiful gorge, it links one side of a 207 square-kilometre working property to previously un-entered virgin terrain. Below are sharp escarpments with colourful pink hues reflecting the rugged sandstone formations. Opened late last year, Cobbold Gorge's glass bridge is another tick on the list of nature-based activities that also includes electric boat cruises, guided interpretive nature walks, stand up paddle boarding and hiking.
4. Shell out for this awesome turtle encounter
In November the turtle cycle of life begins as ancient mother turtles emerge from the waters of the Southern Great Barrier Reef and haul their bodies up the Mon Repos beach, near Bundaberg, to nest. The season lasts until March and has taken on a whole new dimension, thanks to the launch of a $22 million dollar turtle centre that will take interpretation to another level. Prices are designed to provide good value for families – a night of natural encounters costs $65.00 for two adults and two children.
https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/mon-repos/turtle-centre.html
5. Snoozing under the sea
What lies beneath? Australia's first underwater hotel, Reefsuites, will open in the summer of 2020. Moored offshore at Hardy Reef, 40 nautical miles from Airlie Beach, Reefsuites will offer guests the privacy of their own under-the-sea holiday pad on the Great Barrier Reef, where they will wake up to marine life. Priced from $749 per person, the overnight underwater stay includes all meals and beverages plus a dinner under the stars and an optional private, guided snorkelling tour.
https://cruisewhitsundays.com/experiences/reefsuites/
6. Undersea art as well
Continuing with the sub-aquatic theme, the Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA) off the coast of Townsville is set to reinforce the work done at Reef HQ Aquarium when it opens in April 2020. Providing inspiration for reef and ocean conservation action, MOUA - the only underwater art museum in the Southern Hemisphere - will have four intriguing installations located at The Strand on the city foreshore, Palm Island some 65 km out from the mainland, and picturesque Arthur Bay at Magnetic Island. The largest installation is the John Brewer Reef Coral Greenhouse, a monumental underwater garden shed built on the pristine outer Great Barrier Reef and offering world class dive and snorkel experiences. The installations are designed by world-renowned underwater sculptor Jason De Caires Taylor, the creator of MUSA in Mexico and Museo Altanico in Spain.
Meanwhile, some 400 km south of Townsville, the Whitsunday Islands are already wowing underwater visitors with sculptures dotted around popular locations easily reached by day trippers and bare boaters. Take your snorkel and fins and spot the Maori Wrasse at Blue Pearl Bay, Hayman Island, the Manta Ray sculptures at Manta Ray Bay, Hook Island and the turtles at Langford Spit near Hayman Island.
7. Go to the place where Aussie aviation first started
Outback Queensland is the birthplace of Australian legends. Waltzing Matilda was first performed in Winton, Australia's first worker's strike was in Barcaldine and the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd (Qantas) was founded in … well, therein lies the argument. Local lore has it that Qantas was conceived in Cloncurry, launched in Winton and raised in Longreach. Next year as the clock ticks down to 16 November and a massive 100 years of Qantas operation, show your support for the safest airline in the world and jet back to where it all started. Tick off all three destinations but leave enough time to visit the Qantas Founders Museum and salute the flying kangaroo.
8. Airport and seaport expansion in Southern Queensland
The Port of Brisbane will welcome some of the world's largest cruise ships when the $158 million upgrade to the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal opens in 2020. The new terminal will more than double the capacity and provide easier access to sailing options up to the Whitsunday Islands, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.
And thanks to a $347 million upgrade of the Sunshine Coast Airport including a new north-west/south-east runway and expanded terminal facilities, there will soon be more room for large aircraft like the Airbus A330 and Boeing 787. The new runway is scheduled for completion in late 2020 and is set to bring more tourists to the collection of coastal villages north of the Queensland capital.
https://www.sunshinecoastairport.com.au/corporate/expansion-project/project-background/
Photos, clockwise from top left, turtle hatchling at Mon Repos beach (photo TEQ), Reefsuites (photo Cruise Whitsundays), Qantas Founders Museum (photo Tourism Queensland), Longreach, Flynn Hotel, Cairns; Port Douglas; Museum of Underwater Art at John Brewer Reef; Cobbold Gorge (photo Nathan McNeil).