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Bowen to Cairns - Tropical North Queensland
Bowen beach scene © Tourism QLD

Bowen to Cairns - Introduction
Sugar cane farm near Ingham, Tropical North Queensland © Tourism QLD North of Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays on the Queensland coast is Bowen (pictured above), the busy centre of the surrounding fruit and vegetable growing region - mangos in particular are extensively grown here. Bowen is rather spread out along the coast and the main retail centre has some good murals showing the history of the town.
From Bowen it is still about 550 km by road to Cairns with a mixture of lovely beaches, national parks, sugar cane farms (as pictured near Ingham)  and working towns and ports on the way. We have further broken this down into two sections - Bowen to Ingham and Cardwell to Cairns

Bowen to Ingham

1861 and named after Queensland’s first governor. It is the Most northerly major town on the Whitsunday Coast.  Bowen is at the hub of a vegetable and fruit growing area and is renowned for tomatoes and mangoes. Seasonal farm/picking work is found here.
The World Theatre and Henry's Restaurant, Charters Towers, Tropical North Queensland © Tourism QLD TOWNSVILLE  Sprawling Townsville is 1359 km north of Brisbane and is a large city with a strong military presence. It is a departure point for Great Barrier Reef cruises and has an airport.
Pretty Magnetic Island is close to Townsville, accessed by Fastcat ferries.  Secluded Orpheus Island is accessed by seaplane from Townsville.
CHARTERS TOWERS 135 km inland from Townsville and definitely deserves the tag 'historic city'. Has a very pleasant atmosphere, many lovely old buildings (as pictured) and is well worth an overnight stop to explore.

PALUMA RANGE NATIONAL PARK www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park(Paluma)
Just over 60 km north of Townsville with beautiful views and an area of tropical rainforest.
Wallaman Falls, Girringun National Park, Tropical North Queensland © Tourism QLDINGHAM 110 km north of Townsville and a centre for sugar. Lucinda is Ingham’s port and is famous for its incredibly long jetty (5.76 km) from which sugar is loaded into cargo ships. If you have sharp eyes you can just about spot it from Orpheus Island!
West of Ingham is Australia's highest sheer drop waterfall, Wallaman Falls, at 305 metres (pictured) - part of the Girringun National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au(Girringun), previously known as the Lumholtz National Park. West of Girringun is the Undara Volcanic National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au(Undara)  which has the world's longest flow of lava originating from a single volcano.

Cardwell to Cairns

View from Mission Beach, Tropical North Queensland © Tourism QLDCARDWELL   58 km north of Ingham, Cardwell has cruises/ferry to the nearby wilderness gem of Hinchinbrook Island.
MISSION BEACH  Just north of Tully is Mission Beach (pictured), accessed by a loop road off the main highway. It comprises a string of four settlements and has a growing amount of good standard accommodation and restaurants. Dunk Island is offshore and there are boat transfers from Mission Beach, including day trips.
INNISFAIL  Has a number of 1920s and 1930s buildings, having been rebuilt after a cyclone in 1918. It is a sugar town and centre for the surrounding agricultural region.  Between Innisfail and Cairns is the excellent Wooroonooran National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park(Wooroonooran)
... and on to Cairns
 
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Truly Australia have attempted to give an honest and objective description of the topics covered on this page and have deliberately avoided regurgitating tourist office media releases. The information shown has been compiled from a variety of reputable sources and our own experiences. We check and review this information from time to time, but we assume no responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the details given.