Private beach in Pelourus Island as part of Pelorus Private Island resort. Photo / Ashleigh Bridget
The Gold Coast enjoys roughly 300 days of sunshine a year. Winter temps in the Great Barrier Reef hover between 21-30C. On the Sunshine Coast, the sun is up by 6.30am, even in July. Do we need to go on, or are you ready to visit Queensland this winter?
Here are 10 new things you can do in the Sunshine State in 2024.
Welcome to Brisbane’s only restaurant where waitstaff will present you with a menu ... and a harness. Vertigo invites guests to teeter off the city’s iconic Brisbane Powerhouse, four storeys above the ground. While the impressive views across Brisbane are one reason to don a safety harness and climb into your seat at a height of 17m, the menu is also a highlight. For A$250pp, enjoy dinner from restaurant Bar Alto, or go early and try the recently added brunch menu. Guests can also get out of their seat (if you dare) and go for a wander along the rooftop. You may want to skip dessert — there’s only one way out of this dining venue, and it’s off the edge. Brave a post-dinner dropline descent off the side of the building. Better yet, as of April 2024, Vertigo’s sky-high dining experience is accessible for wheelchair users. vertigobrisbane.com.au
Where were you the last time you had a beer? Your local pub? The office for Friday drinks? Pffft, what a bore. In Queensland, they enjoy their pints mid-air while flying over phenomenally scenic places such as Moreton Bay and North Stradbroke Island. Straddie Brewing Co’s new BrewAiry Tour is Australia’s only in-flight beer-tasting experience. Departing Brisbane, passengers can expect a tasting of three of Straddie Brewing Co beers’ most popular sips, as well as epic views and a lap of the island before landing in Dunwich on Stradbroke Island. The wheels may be down, but the tour is far from over. From here, you’ll continue — on land — to Straddie headquarters: the island’s first and only brewery, where there are more beers to be swigged. straddiebrewairytours.com.au
Who doesn’t love glamping? It’s the budget-friendly way to connect with the outdoors while also enjoying a decent night’s sleep (and thread count). New to Magnetic Island, 8km offshore from Townsville, is Magnetic Glamping, a unique wellness resort boasting eight high-end safari tents, all of which have en-suite bathrooms and a kitchenette, lest we forget hotel-quality beds and crisp white sheets. Barbecues are also available — to throw shrimp on, and the like. Cocooned in lush gardens and native bush, wake to the dawn chorus, take a guided tour of the island, cool off in the pool and snorkel in the sea with turtles. Prices start from $240pp (about NZ$260). magneticglamping.com.au
Officially debuting in 2020, this year marks the completion of the second stage of the Southern Hemisphere’s first underwater gallery. Now featuring the Ocean Sentinels, a collection of eight underwater sculptures that are all modelled on leading marine scientists or passionate advocates for the Great Barrier Reef. Unless you’re a mermaid, you’ll need dive or snorkel gear to experience both the Ocean Sentinels as well as other exhibits such as the Coral Greenhouse. This enormous 9m stainless-steel building houses 20 “reef guardian” figurines all under the water; viewable with a snorkel, but better with diving gear. The museum is an obvious highlight for visitors, but it’s also proving a mecca for marine life. Various tour operators ferry guests to and from the underwater realm. moua.com.au
Do fish sleep? Do starfish twinkle when the lights are off? All these burning questions (and more) are answered on a night dive with Blue Dive Port Douglas. Offering private dive charters into the big, dark blue for up to seven guests, start out from Port Douglas Marina in the afternoon and come dusk, dip your flippers in for a twilight dive. When day creatures knock off for the day, a host of nocturnal ones emerge for a midnight party. Expect to see reef sharks, crabs, eels and other night-loving ocean life. bluedive.com.au
Perhaps you’ve accepted that winter is inevitable, but your wardrobe still screams summer. Time for a Brisbane shopping spree. Throw in a personal stylist and all-round fashion guru with a sound knowledge of the city’s best shops and you have Spree With Me, a bespoke retail experience and four-hour shopping and styling tour, complete with food-and-drink stops. Discover Brisbane’s fashion hotspots while learning about colour mapping to maximise your new picks. spreewithme.com
Nothing feels better than a holiday laced with every luxury trimming. The latest super-luxe residence to grace Pelorus Island, an idyllic drop of land in the Great Barrier Reef and just off the coast of Townsville, is Pelorus Private Island. Home to four private suites, a beachfront pool and a private beach, you’ll probably share the sun-soaked deck with more lace monitors than other human guests. The water is teaming with turtles and reef fish while tailored massages and sunrise beach yoga are available on repeat. Enjoy a personalised, chef-prepared menu, snorkelling right off the beach, and arrival by private helicopter (30 minutes from Townsville) or via a scenic 4.5-hour private yacht charter. pelorusprivateisland.au
Your body is a temple — of Taj Mahal quality — so lavish it in gold and diamonds at one of the most indulgent spas in Surfer’s Paradise. Open since November, the Chuan Spa at the Langham Gold Coast offers the most opulent body rituals. Think massages using 24-carat gold body oil and full body exfoliation with crushed diamonds. While many of us may have enjoyed a hot stone massage, at Chuan they use solid gold hot stones, and if exfoliation by diamond doesn’t sound bougee enough, try the crushed caviar. Open to hotel guests and the public, there’s also a yoga, pilates and meditation studio, fitness centre and swimming pools, both indoor and out. langhamhotels.com
If you fancy a nine-hour road trip west of Brisbane, into the big ole Outback, your efforts will be rewarded at Cunnamulla Hot Springs. Open since February, bathe in the brand-new free-flowing hot pools (there are seven to hop between) and melt away any niggles and jiggles from the journey. Straddling the banks of the Warrego River, reap the benefits from mineral-rich artesian water and slather on some cooling Australian clay as part of the facility’s signature Body Clay Ritual. Aside from thermal rejuvenation, there’s also a cold plunge pool. Stay in the area and live like Outback residents; Cunnamulla township is a 2-minute drive away, with waterside campsites and ample places to eat and drink. cunnamullahotsprings.com
Launching in mid-2024 (ie In the middle of winter and the perfect time for a Queensland holiday), Happitat is set to be a world-first cliff park in the Gold Coast hinterland. Sitting 400m above the valley floor on a 200m-high cliff face, consider it an outdoor playground for adventurists. Boasting three ziplines, one of which is also Australia’s highest zipline, the terrain is ideal for mountaineering and tackling Via Ferrata courses with tight rope sections and suspension bridges. Get outdoors, reconnect, and have the buzz of a lifetime while you’re at it. happitat.com.au
GETTING THERE
Fly direct from Auckland to Brisbane in 3 hours 40 minutes with Jetstar, Qantas and Air NZ. Fly to the Gold Coast in 3 hours 35 minutes with Air NZ and Jetstar. Destinations such as Cairns and Sunshine Coast require a stopover.
DETAILS
From skipping the queues to planning your parade spot, here's all you need to know.