Australia tourism

Queensland islands
Islands of the Tropical North

You'll know you're in paradise when you see the range of idyllic islands scattered off the coast of Tropical North Queensland. Each island has its own personality.
Lizard Island has drawn international attention and garnered major awards for its stylish resort. Located right on the Great Barrier Reef, Lizard Island has over 1,000 hectares of National Park, 24 unspoilt beaches and an abundance of marine life. Remote and ruggedly beautiful, Lizard is surrounded by the finest beaches and waters of any Great Barrier Reef Island.
Find total privacy at Bedarra Island, its first-class facilities have hosted royalty. Bedarra is Australia's most exclusive island boasting a resort of 16 Villas designed to blend in with the beauty of their natural surroundings. When it comes to relaxing in glorious seclusion, Bedarra Island is the perfect retreat.
Close to Cairns, Green Island is a picturesque tropical coral cay harbouring reef gardens. Beneath the tempting turquoise waters are fish and marine life that will fascinate you for hours. Stroll through the lush cool rainforest, laze on white coral sands or by the inviting swimming pool.
Fitzroy Island’s fringing reefs are popular with snorkellers. The Island is the third most northerly island in the Great Barrier Reef. Butterflies, bushwalks through eucalypt and tropical rainforests, coral beaches and excellent snorkelling and diving on the reef can also be enjoyed.
Try to glimpse the turquoise Ulysses butterfly on Dunk Island, an idyllic rainforest isle. Guests visiting Dunk Island will gain an immediate sense of being in a tropical paradise delighting in the perfect harmony created by
balancing rainforest views with vistas of brilliant blue sky.
Hinchinbrook is the perfect place to restore body, mind and spirit. This is the Island to choose if you want peace, beauty and tranquillity. It is the world's largest island national park and abounds in flora, fauna, palm-fringed beaches, mangrove waterways and rugged granite crags.
Orpheus Island is a small boutique island for the discerning traveller. The fringing reefs on the north-east and north-west are great for snorkelling and diving. The Island boasts 1,100 species of fish, 340 species of coral, playful dolphins, and in season offers the exhilarating experience of sighting families of humpback whales. You'll know you're in paradise when you see the range of idyllic islands scattered off the coast of Tropical North Queensland. Each island has its own personality.
Lizard Island has drawn international attention and garnered major awards for its stylish resort. Located right on the Great Barrier Reef, Lizard Island has over 1,000 hectares of National Park, 24 unspoilt beaches and an abundance of marine life. Remote and ruggedly beautiful, Lizard is surrounded by the finest beaches and waters of any Great Barrier Reef Island.
Find total privacy at Bedarra Island, its first-class facilities have hosted royalty. Bedarra is Australia's most exclusive island boasting a resort of 16 Villas designed to blend in with the beauty of their natural surroundings. When it comes to relaxing in glorious seclusion, Bedarra Island is the perfect retreat.
Close to Cairns, Green Island is a picturesque tropical coral cay harbouring reef gardens. Beneath the tempting turquoise waters are fish and marine life that will fascinate you for hours. Stroll through the lush cool rainforest, laze on white coral sands or by the inviting swimming pool.
Fitzroy Island’s fringing reefs are popular with snorkellers. The Island is the third most northerly island in the Great Barrier Reef. Butterflies, bushwalks through eucalypt and tropical rainforests, coral beaches and excellent snorkelling and diving on the reef can also be enjoyed.
Try to glimpse the turquoise Ulysses butterfly on Dunk Island, an idyllic rainforest isle. Guests visiting Dunk Island will gain an immediate sense of being in a tropical paradise delighting in the perfect harmony created by
balancing rainforest views with vistas of brilliant blue sky.
Hinchinbrook is the perfect place to restore body, mind and spirit. This is the Island to choose if you want peace, beauty and tranquillity. It is the world's largest island national park and abounds in flora, fauna, palm-fringed beaches, mangrove waterways and rugged granite crags.
Orpheus Island is a small boutique island for the discerning traveller. The fringing reefs on the north-east and north-west are great for snorkelling and diving. The Island boasts 1,100 species of fish, 340 species of coral, playful dolphins, and in season offers the exhilarating experience of sighting families of humpback whales.

Artefacts & crafts

As well as rock painting and etching, Australia’s Aboriginal people have a long tradition of making and decorating artefacts. These range from musical instruments to weapons and (at Arnhem Land in Australia’s far north), wooden sculptures of ancestral beings, birds, fish and animals.
At various places throughout Australia – Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, for instance – visitors can spend a day or longer with traditional Aboriginal people, learning the use of plants, bark painting, weaving, playing the didgeridoo and using the woomera (a type of spear-hurling stick).
Ancient artefacts may be viewed in museums throughout Australia. Modern versions can be bought in shops and galleries. To ensure that the economic benefit derived from the sale of artworks flows back to indigenous artists and their communities, Australian Aboriginal people have developed a label of authenticity to help identify authentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander art, cultural products and services. The label uses the Aboriginal colours of black, red and yellow and a boomerang symbol.
The boomerang and the didgeridoo are two objects closely associated with Australia’s indigenous peoples. The boomerang, a curved wooden throwing stick, comes in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Not all boomerangs were designed to come back – accuracy was more important. They were used for hunting and as weapons. Ceremonial shields were produced in some parts of Australia, along with clubs (nulla nullas), spears and woomeras.
The didgeridoo, a deep-toned woodwind instrument at the heart of much Aboriginal music, was originally made by using suitable eucalypt branches – usually those hollowed out by termites. The tubes were decorated with ritual designs and fitted with a mouthpiece made from native honeybee wax.