Adelaide to Cairns road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops
Adelaide to Cairns drive: Townsville to Mission Beach
Congratulations, you’ve finally reached the Queensland coast, and from here the Bruce Highway largely sticks to the coast.
It’s another 235km from Townsville to Mission Beach, skirting Paluma Range National Park on the way. There are several waterfalls in this national park, but the star attractions are the rock pools of Crystal Creek.
Carry on up the Bruce Highway, and you’ll hit Ingham. Detour here for Girringun National Park and Australia’s highest waterfall, Wallaman Falls.
Ingham accommodation picks include the Ingham Tourist Park and the Tropixx Motel.
Cardwell to Mission Beach
After Ingham comes Cardwell, where you can take a boat transfer to Hinchinbrook Island, Australia’s largest island national park.
The 32km Thorsborne Trail is the highlight on Hinchinbrook Island, which is kept deliberately wild and resort-free.
Otherwise, go for a swim in the eerily blue Cardwell Spa Pools.
Best Cardwell accommodation choices
The best places to stay in Cardwell are:
- For a holiday park with an outdoor pool and children’s playground: Cardwell Beachcomber Motel and Tourist Park.
- For prime location: Cardwell Beachfront Motel.
- If those two are fully booked: Kookaburra Holiday Park.
Turn off for Mission Beach at Tully, home of the Golden Gumboot, and you’ll pass Mount Mackay National Park.
Things to do in Mission Beach include mountain biking in Djiru National Park, skydiving onto the beach and getting the transfer boat to Dunk Island. You can also book Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tours.
5 great Mission Beach experiences to book in advance
- Small group Great Barrier Reef snorkelling cruise – with pristine snorkelling on the Outer Reef, barbecue lunch and snorkelling equipment provided.
- Hull River National Park eco cruise – spotting wildlife in the mangroves.
- Full day sports rafting on the Tully River – tackle the rapids while rafting through the rainforest.
- Skydive from 15,000ft – and land on the beach.
- Dunk Island day trip – with plenty of time for rainforest hikes.
Mission Beach accommodation picks include the gardens-blessed Mission Beach Resort, the waterfront Castaways Resort and Spa and the pool-centric Mission Reef Resort.
Click through for the next section: Mission Beach to Cairns.