DESKTOP 3133 - PORT DOUGLAS

Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland,approximately 60 km north of Cairns. In the 2016 census, Port Douglas had a population of 3,504 people. The town's population can often double, however, with the influx of tourists during the peak tourism season from May to September. The town is named in honour of a former Premier of Queensland, John Douglas.

Port Douglas developed quickly based on the mining industry. Other parts of the area were established with timber cutting occurring in the area surrounding the Daintree River and with settlement starting to occur on lots around the Mossman River by 1880. Previous names for the town included Terrigal, Island Point, Port Owen and Salisbury. The town is situated adjacent to two World Heritage areas, the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme,
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DESKTOP 3022 - TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. It is in the dry tropics region of Queensland, adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2015 population estimate of 180,333. Considered the unofficial capital of North Queensland by locals, Townsville hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major business administrative offices for the northern half of the state.

 

Popular attractions include "The Strand", a long tropical beach and garden strip; Riverway, a riverfront parkland attraction located on the banks of Ross River; Reef HQ, a large tropical aquarium holding many of the Great Barrier Reef's native flora and fauna; the Museum of Tropical Queensland, built around a display of relics from the sunken British warship HMS Pandora; Castle Hill, the most prominent landmark of the area and a popular fitness destination; The Townsville Sports Reserve; and Magnetic Island, a large neighbouring island, the vast majority of which is national park. 

This is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
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DESKTOP 2960 - RAINFOREST

rainforest | ˈreɪnfɒrɪst | noun: A luxuriant, dense forest rich in biodiversity, found typically in tropical areas with consistently heavy rainfall: Save the rainforests | [mass noun] : Tracts of rainforest | [as modifier] : Rainforest plants.

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DESKTOP 2822 - TROPICAL

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DESKTOP 2618 - FRASER ISLAND

Fraser Island (K'Gari, Gari) is a heritage-listed island located along the southeastern coast of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 250 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. Known as Fraser Island, it is a locality within the Fraser Coast local government in the Wide Bay–Burnett region. Together with some satellite islands off the southern west coast and thus in the Great Sandy Strait, Fraser Island forms the County of Fraser, which is subdivided into six parishes. Among the islands are Slain Island, Tooth Island, Roundbush Island, Moonboom Island, Gardner Island, Dream Island, Stewart Island, and the Reef Islands, all part of the southermost parish of Talboor.

Its length is about 120 kilometres and its width is approximately 24 kilometres. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992. The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1,840 km2. It is also Queensland's largest island, Australia's sixth largest island and the largest island on the East Coast of Australia. It was formerly the homeland of the Butchulla tribe. 

The island has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast. Unlike on many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by the plants.

Fraser Island is home to a small number of mammal species, as well as a diverse range of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including the occasional saltwater crocodile. The island is protected in the Great Sandy National Park. Fraser Island has been inhabited by humans for as much as 5,000 years. Explorer James Cook sailed by the island in May 1770. Matthew Flinders landed near the most northern point of the island in 1802. For a short period the island was known as Great Sandy Island. The island became known as Fraser due to the stories of a shipwreck survivor named Eliza Fraser. Today the island is a popular tourism destination. Its resident human population was 194 at the 2011 Australian Census.

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DESKTOP 2467 - SUNSET

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

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DESKTOP 2082 - TROPICAL

North Queensland in Australia ticks all the boxes for a wonderful tropical experience...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 1965 - BRISBANE AUSTRALIA

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of 2.24 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred on Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3 million. The Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, approximately 15 kilometres from its mouth at Moreton Bay.

The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River valley between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range. The metropolitan area sprawls across several of Australia's most populous local government areas, including the City of Brisbane, which is by far the most populous LGA in the nation. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite.

Brisbane is named after the Brisbane River on which it is located, which in turn was named after Scotsman Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres north of the central business district, which was founded in 1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825. Free settlers were permitted from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

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DESKTOP 1756 - TROPICAL

Tropical North Queensland is the northern part of Queensland, Australia, an area from about the city of Mackay north to the tip of Cape York. The tropical region of Queensland covers 54% of the state's area some 934,600 square kilometres, and includes the whole area above the latitude 23.5 degrees south, taking in an area from Rockhampton north. 

However, what is generally accepted as Tropical "North" Queensland includes the cities of Mackay, Townsville and Cairns and the Australian islands of the Torres Strait. It also includes several world heritage listed areas, such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics. Within the tourism industry, the phrase is used to mean varying areas of the tropical region of the state, usually within Far North Queensland.

One thing everyone agrees on, however, is that northern Queensland has some of the most beautiful beaches and crystal clear seas in the world!

This post is part of the Blue Monday,

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DESKTOP 1562 - RAIN FOREST, AUSTRALIA

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DESKTOP 1379 - TROPICAL SEA

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DESKTOP 1337 - PALM COVE

Palm Cove is a beach community in Far North Queensland, Australia located 27 kilometres north of the city of Cairns. It is named after the palm trees that line the beach. At the 2006 census, Palm Cove had a population of 1,215.

Palm Cove is located in Far North Queensland on the Australian coast. Arlington Reef is the closest section of The Great Barrier Reef to Palm Cove being around 30 km offshore. The reef shelters the inshore waters from the Coral Sea swells creating relatively calm waters between the reef and the beach. To the west of Palm Cove is the Macalister Range National Park which is part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage area.

Since Palm Cove is located in a tropical climate, the average summer temperature is between 24˚C and 33˚C; average winter temperature is between 14˚C and 26˚C. The major industry for Palm Cove is tourism. Palm Cove is also a tourist destination due to its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. Palm Cove is the location of many world-renowned resorts and hotels such as the Drift Resort, Alamanda, the Mantra Amphora Resort, Peppers Beach Club, and the Reef House.

The pristine beaches and Palm tree lined paths are used by joggers, walkers and cyclists and netted life guard patrol swimming enclosures offer safe access to the sea all year round. The Palm cove jetty is one of the regions most popular fishing spots where anglers regularly catch species such as mackerel, Giant Trevally or "G.T's" and shark.

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DESKTOP 645 - STREETS BEACH, BRISBANE

A Brisbane, Queensland, South Bank icon, Streets Beach is a must-visit while you’re in the Parklands. It is Australia’s only inner-city, man-made beach and it boasts a sparkling lagoon surrounded by white, sandy beaches and sub-tropical plants. Streets Beach is free to use and is patrolled by qualified lifeguards all year round.

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DESKTOP 574 - GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA

Gold Coast is a coastal city in southeastern Queensland on the east coast of Australia. The city is 94 kilometres south of the state capital Brisbane. It is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and the most populous non-capital city in Australia.
 
Gold Coast has the largest cross-state metropolitan area population in Australia, due to the inclusion of Tweed Heads, New South Wales in its metropolitan area. Gold Coast's metropolitan area converges with that of Greater Brisbane, forming part of an urban conurbation of over 3 million people.
 
The first settlement in what is now South East Queensland was as a penal colony at Redcliffe. The Gold Coast region remained largely uninhabited by Europeans until 1823 when explorer John Oxley landed at Mermaid Beach. The hinterland's red cedar supply attracted people to the area in the mid-19th century. Later in 1875, Southport was surveyed and established and grew a reputation as a secluded holiday destination for upper class Brisbane residents.
 
The Gold Coast region grew significantly after the establishment of the Surfers Paradise hotel in the late 1920s. The area boomed in the 1980s as a leading tourist destination and in 1994, the Gold Coast City local government area was expanded to encompass the majority of Gold Coast's metropolitan area, becoming the second most populous local government area in Australia after the City of Brisbane.
 
Gold Coast is today a major tourist destination with its sunny subtropical climate, surfing beaches, canal and waterway systems, its high-rise dominated skyline, theme parks, nightlife, and rainforest hinterland, making tourism one of its most significant industries. Gold Coast will host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
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