Things to do in Ayr, Queensland
The best things to do in Ayr, Queensland include the Ayr Nature Display, Stardust Drive-In cinema and Yongala wreck dives from Alva Beach.
Ayr, Queensland, is one of the biggest towns on the drive from Airlie Beach to Townsville. It’s essentially a service town for the sugar cane industry, but it’s also the administrative centre of the Burdekin Shire.
Most visitors will plough through Ayr on the Bruce Highway, heading north or south to somewhere more exciting in Queensland. But there are a few things to do in Ayr.
Things to do in Ayr, Queensland: Ayr Nature Display
On land, the most interesting things to do in Ayr are the Ayr Nature Display and Stardust Drive-In Theatre. The Ayr Nature Display is an oddball sort of place that manages to be charming at the same time. Ostensibly, it’s a dead-animals-in-jars collection. There are hundreds of crabs, butterflies, moths and cones lovingly preserved behind glass.
But what makes the Ayr Nature Display so delightful is that these dead creatures are presented as if they’re artworks. The mosaic art on show might not be a masterpiece, but there’s so much love and heart behind it, you’d be churlish to get picky.
Things to do in Ayr, Queensland: Stardust Drive-In
The Stardust Drive-In Theatre is a slice of retro movie-going. You basically pull up in your car, watch movies on the giant screen, and fill your face with hotdogs and popcorn. The Stardust Drive-In Theatre in Ayr is a little more dog-eared and rough around the edges than the Yatala Drive-In near Brisbane and Sydney’s Blacktown Drive-In. But this cinema it still has enough old-fashioned romance to make it worth a look, and tickets cost $10.
Yongala wreck dives from Alva Beach
But the main reason to visit Ayr is diving the SS Yongala Wreck. Most trips to the Yongala depart from Townsville, but they can spend two-and-a-half hours getting to the wreck.
Yongala Dive departs from Alva Beach, just north of Ayr. And its boats take just half an hour to get to the Yongala dive site. This means a far higher proportion of your trip is spent diving one of the world’s great wreck dives. An extraordinary wealth of marine life flits around the rusting remains of the ship. Day trips with Yongala Dive cost $262, and can be booked online.
The best accommodation in Ayr
The top accommodation picks in Ayr are:
- For a family-friendly holiday park: Discovery Parks Ayr.
- For a motel that gets it right: Country Ayr Motel.
- For cheap rates and a pool: Ayr Max Motel.
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