A Taste of Townsville

The capital of Tropical North Queensland, Townsville has 300 days of sunshine a year, making it the perfect destination to visit all year round. There is plenty to see and do in the city between the North Queensland Cowboys NRL games;  food, fashion and music festivals; the Townsville horse races; day trips to Magnetic Island, snorkelling and scuba diving tours including to the SS Yongala wreck, exploring the rainforests and waterfalls of the hinterland and relaxing along The Strand.

Sports

Townsville is a proud supporter of the NQ Cowboys and play in front of enthusiastic home crowd at least once each month until August. Townsville encourages the younger generation to get excited about sports too with the Sanitarium Weet-bix kids TRYathalon which will be held at Townsville’s Riverway on the 20th of May. June and July are the months for cars with the outback car tour, Motoco RV Dam Fine Rally and V8 supercars. July brings the races to town – the local ladies get their fascinators, dresses and shoes organised for the Townsville Ladies Day Races on the 14^th and the if one day isn’t enough the Townsville cup is on the 21^st.

Festivals

Groovin’ the Moo Music Festival is Australia’s only touring regional event, featuring Public Enemy, 360, crowd favourite Bluejuice, Kaiser Chiefs and Australia’s premier hip hop group Hilltop Hoods. Be sure to discover the upcoming Australian acts including Matt Corby and Perth’s San Cisco. Townsville is also home to the Townsville Fashion Festival, Townsville Food and Wine Festival, Full Noise Festival and the Xstrata Greek Fest.

Magnetic Island

Known affectionately as Maggie by the locals, it is a suburb of Townsville with around 3000 people, many whom commute each day from Magnetic Island on the regular ferry service. The journey with Sunferries only takes 25 minutes; where as Fantasea’s vessel takes both cars and passengers on a 40-45 minute trip. There is lots to do at Magnetic Island, visit the numerous swimming beaches, waterfalls and lakes; cafes, restaurants and pubs; book an adventure tour, scenic flight, enjoy golf and water sports including sailing and snorkelling, fishing and snorkelling, diving, jet skiing, Kayak tours, yachting and reef cruises.

Snorkelling and Diving

There are numerous snorkelling and diving opportunities from Townsville and Magnetic Island. Yongala wreck is a must do dive site which offers divers an incredible experience to view bull rays, eagle rays, sea snakes, turtles, sharks and numerous schools of colourful fish that patrol the wreck. If you don’t like swimming, snorkelling or diving don’t be disheartened; Townsville is home to the largest living coral reef aquarium, Reef HQ. The Reef HQ has many different exhibits including an interactive island where you can discover, explore, touch and play.

Snorkelling in Townsville

Hinterland

Alligator Creek falls, Crystal Creek and Paluma range are all in close proximity to Townsville CBD, and provide a perfect day trip location with picnic areas, swimming and hiking options. Only six kilometres north of Townsville’s city centre is the Townsville Town Common Conservation Park, a bird lover’s paradise. Home to as many as 280 bird species, this is the perfect place to visit the six observation points and take the walking track for views over the park and the coastline.

Townsville Hinterland

Restaurants

There are many different restaurant areas featuring delicious meals of seafood, steaks and international cuisine. Walk along Palmer Street to take in the myriad of cafes and restaurants where beautiful scenery compliments delicious meals. Flinders Street offers bars and restaurants in close proximity to the city’s nightlife.

Dining in Townsville

The Marina

Home to Jupiters Townsville Hotel and Casino, this is the gateway to Magnetic Island. Offering incredible views out to the bay and islands, the area is home to restaurants, bars and entertainment. The casino puts on regular musical performance such as The Country Rock Superhits Show and special touring shows like Manpower. For those wanting to place a bet, the house offers Texas Hold’em Poker, Roulette and Blackjack. 

Breakwater Marina

The Strand

This fantastic beachfront promenade features long pathways perfect for walking, rollerblading and bike riding; a jetty, recreational parks, a free water park, swimming pools, picnic areas and numerous different restaurants, cafés and bars. On the fourth Friday of every month The Strand holds the night markets and each year it hosts the Carols by Candlelight for Christmas and fireworks on New Years Eve.

Melbourne: What you need to know

The City

In Melbourne there is a multitude of laneways just begging for exploration. Discover trendy bars and cafes, plus exciting street art. In the more refined arcades you can browse through couture boutiques, discover new designers and spend up big at vintage stores. After hitting the shops kick back with a coffee at one of the many cafes in Degraves Street, the cobbled bluestone laneway from Flinders Street to Flinders Lane. 

Melbourne Laneway

Sport

Melbourne has a calendar packed full of sporting events. The Australian Open Tennis Tournament kicks off the year with 2 weeks of heart pumping tennis action in January; March brings the Formula 1 Grand Prix to Albert Park (just east of the city); winter offers AFL games each week at the MCG or Etihad Stadium in the redeveloped Docklands and the year caps off with Melbourne Cup Spring Racing Carnival. Sunlover Holidays enjoys a great tradition of offering packages to the Melbourne Cup each year. Choose from entry with reserved seating to marquee packages including lunch and drinks. 

Melbourne Cup Carnival

Shopping

The city centre offers QV, Queen Victoria Market and the GPO with a offer a range of shopping options from budget to designer. Treasures are to be found in the laneways and alleyways, so don’t be scared to lose your way, as you might stumble across a gem. The best way to navigate the city is by the free city circle tram. On the fringe of the city centre is Bridge Road in Richmond, home to many high street factory outlets; Gertrude Street in Fitzroy offer eclectic clothing labels and Chapel Street in South Yarra and Prahran offers boutiques, designers and high street stores. Don’t miss Topshop, the first of the famous British fashion chain stores to open in Australia. There are also several large shopping malls offering the chain clothing stores and department stores in the suburbs of the city. To learn from those in the know, take a shopping tour of the best spots in the city. 

Tram outside of Flinders Station

Music

There is a thriving live music scene in Melbourne. Inner city hipsters enjoy intimate venues in down city laneways or above a corner pub in streets such as Brunswick in Fitzroy. East of the city rock, folk and indie bands can be found playing in the trendy suburbs of St Kilda, Windsor and Prahran. Chapel Street in particular is well known for nightclubs, bars and restaurants that fill the streets each Friday and Saturday night.

Comedy

Continuing with the trend of enjoying live entertainment comes Melbourne Comedy festival. Each year in March and April comedians from around the world take to Melbourne to enjoy one of the largest comedy festivals in the world.  If you can’t get to the city in autumn, you can still enjoy comedy all year in the smaller venues such as Comedy at Spleen.

Melbourne

Art

Spend an afternoon strolling through the halls of the National Gallery of Victoria’s international collection or the Victorian Arts Centre. For outdoor art fused with architecture walk through Federation Square. If you prefer discovering new art then head to the laneways to find street art and small galleries offering local artists. 

Dining

Food and wine is a passion in this city. Visit Lygon Street in Carlton for great Italian fare, Lonsdale Street in the city for Greek food or Little Bourke Street in Chinatown for Asian dishes. Travel in March and you can be a part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Over 250 events are open to the public, including markets at Southbank, Federation Square and the Docklands. There are master chef classes, cooking displays, wine tastings, degustation dining events, five course brunches, international cuisine evenings and chocolate making classes.