Gold Coast to Cairns road trip: Distance, drive time & stops
Gold Coast to Cairns road trip: Townsville to Cardwell
Beyond Townsville, the Gold Coast to Cairns road trip runs parallel to Paluma Range National Park. There are several waterfalls here, but the rock pools of Crystal Creek are most people’s favourite.
Keep going along the highway, and you’ll reach Ingham. This is where you branch off for Girringun National Park and Wallaman Falls, the highest waterfall in Australia.
For accommodation in Ingham, try the Ingham Tourist Park and the Tropixx Motel, which has its own restaurant.
Cardwell comes after Ingham. This is where you can get a boat transfer to wild, natural and resort-free Hinchinbrook Island. Australia’s largest island national park is a big hiking destination, and the four day, 32km Thornsborne Trail, is one of Australia’s top walks.
Otherwise, the top attraction is the Cardwell Spa Pools, an eerily blue rainforest swimming hole.
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.
Gold Coast to Cairns road trip: Cardwell to Mission Beach
Further along, there’s the turn off for Murray Falls. But most will keep going towards Tully. This town is home of the Golden Gumboot – one of Australia’s notorious Big Things – and Tully Gorge rafting tours.
But it’s also where you branch off for Mission Beach. The drive goes past the Mount Mackay National Park.
Top things to do in Mission Beach include mountain bike rides through the Djiru National Park, skydiving onto the beach and getting a boat transfer to Dunk Island. There’s also the chance to do smaller group 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.
Accommodation options in Mission Beach include the gardens-surrounded Mission Beach Resort, the seafront Castaways Resort and Spa and the pool-focused Mission Reef Resort.
To the north of Mission Beach, Maria Creek National Park and Kurrimine National Park offer a lot of what you’ve already seen in Mission Beach.
Click through for the next section: Innisfail and Babinda.