Queensland
Queensland (QLD) is usually described as Australia's 'holiday state'. Tourists and vacationers attest that the state is a perfect holiday and vacation destination as there are numerous beaches, National Parks and rainforests. Geographically, Queensland is a huge landmass, located at the northeastern portion of the Australian continent. But because it is bordered in the east by the Pacific Ocean and the Coral Sea, it is just logical that there are many islands where beaches are appealing. Landscapes add to Queensland's attractions as well as different festivals and social activities.
Many travelers and tourism experts describe Queensland as the Sunshine State. Because of its geographical location, weather is usually warm, perfect for beach outings, and many of the tourist destinations in the state are in the tropics. Due to its large size, it is expected that there is variation in climate throughout Queensland. Generally, seasons are pronounced as wet and dry. Queensland's wet season comes in November, December, April and May, while drier and cooler climate is observed for the rest of the year.
The major tertiary industry in Queensland is tourism. Because of its scenic sites and beautiful landscapes, millions of offshore and interstate tourists flock Queensland all throughout the year. Main tourist destinations include the regions and cities of Sunshine Coast, Whitsundays, Fraser Island, Gold Coast, The Great Barrier Reef and Stradbroke Island. The theme parks add to the attraction, including WhiteWater World, Dreamworld, Sea World, Movie World and Wet 'n' Wild.
Places popular for natural beauty include, as mentioned, Gold and Sunshine Coasts, where the most popular and ideal beaches in the state can be found. For waterfalls, picnic areas and lookouts, the Great Dividing Range and the Bunya Mountains are well known. As for island vacations and adventures, Hitchinbrook and Whitsunday Islands are exemplary. Queensland is the site for five preservation areas listed in the United Nations' World Heritage. These are the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, the Great Barrier Reef, Fraser Island, Australian fossil mammal sites and Wet Tropics.
Aside from tourism, retail and mining industries also contribute much to the revenues of Queensland. There are numerous shopping centers at major urban centers. Mines produce huge outputs of silver, lead, zinc, copper, coal and gold. As for agricultural products, Queensland produces decent volumes of peanuts, pineapples and bananas.
Moreover, regular festivities and events make Queensland all the more interesting. There are 111 wine and food festivals held across regions and communities in the state. Because there is much space and recreational sites, there are tennis and golf tournaments held at regular designated occasions like surfing, car racing and cycling competitions. Fishing competitions are interesting at the Great Barrier Reef, while cricket, rugby and Aussie Rules matches are usually sports attractions, which turn out to be talk-of-the-town.
Queensland is a natural paradise, an interesting urban center and a recreational state in Australia, all in all. If you are planning for a well-deserved vacation, be assured that you surely will not encounter any boring and dull moments when you take a Queensland holiday.
Queensland (abbreviated to QLD) has a number of National Highways and particularly in South East Queensland (SE QLD), high quality motorways (freeways). Queensland has major ports including the Port of Brisbane and regional subsidiary ports at Gladstone and Townsville.
Regions of interest in Queensland include: Brisbane, Logan City, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, Fraser Island, Whitsundays (Airlie Beach, Whitehaven Beach, Hamilton Island, Daydream Island), Far North Queensland or Tropical North Queensland (Cairns, Port Douglas,The Daintree), North Queensland (Townsville, Magnetic Island), North Stradbroke Island, South Stradbroke Island, the Great Barrier Reef. There are literally hundreds of cities and towns for you to visit in Queensland. Queensland's towns are very diverse in culture and nature.
