Things to do in Proserpine, Queensland

The best things to do in Proserpine, Queensland include coffee-tasting at Whitsunday Gold Coffee, the Proserpine Water Park and crocodile cruises.

Proserpine, Queensland, tends to get overlooked. Mackay is the only properly sizable city in the Whitsundays region, while Airlie Beach is the tourism hub. Proserpine, on the drive from Mackay to Airlie Beach, is where the Whitsunday Coast Airport is. If you want flights to Airlie Beach, you arrive at Proserpine Airport, hire a car, then drive somewhere more exciting.

Things to do in Proserpine, Queensland: Proserpine Water Park

There are, however, a few things to do in Proserpine. The most fun of these is splashing about in the Proserpine Water Park. If you’re expecting a theme park-style water park with massive slides and rapid rides, you’ll be disappointed. The Proserpine Water Park is essentially a big playground with lots of water features. Kids will merrily splash around in it, and kill an hour or so.

At the opposite end of the scale of things that kids will love is the Proserpine Historical Museum. This museum tells the story of the Whitsundays region, with a major focus on the cattle and sugar industries. As with such museums in just about every medium-sized town in Australia, the Proserpine Historical Museum is well-meaning but inessential.

Things to do in Proserpine, Queensland: Whitsunday Gold Coffee

It’s not just sugar that grows in these parts, however. Coffee does too, as you’ll discover at Whitsunday Gold Coffee on the Bruce Highway. Whitsunday Gold Coffee is one of the largest coffee plantations in Australia, with 140,000 Arabica coffee trees on site. You can stop by to sample the home-grown coffees, although the coffee plantation tours are no longer running.

The best tours to do around Proserpine are the Whitsunday Crocodile Safaris day trips. These tours include a crocodile-watching day trip on the Proserpine River and a wagon train trip around the wetlands. Whitsunday Crocodile Safaris offers pick-ups from Airlie Beach, but you can drive to the base east of Proserpine if you wish.

Lake Proserpine and Cedar Creek Falls

Otherwise, the best things to do in Proserpine aren’t actually in Proserpine. To the west, there’s Lake Proserpine, a reservoir created by the Peter Faust Dam. Lake Proserpine is a good spot for fishing, camping and boating.

To the east is the Conway Forest Reserve, which is mostly left as forest undeveloped for recreation. There is, however, a road to Cedar Creek Falls, which is a good photo stop.

Cedar Creek Falls near Proserpine, Queensland. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland/Brooke Miles

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