Find the region's top attractions

Home to a heap of unmissable attractions, Bundaberg is where the Reef officially begins.

The Bundaberg Rum Distillery is one of the region’s most popular attractions, but if you’re yearning for a Southern Great Barrier Reef holiday packed with natural attractions, head to Bargara. This family-friendly seaside town boasts a stunning coastline and as it’s just a few kilometres from Mon Repos, home to nesting and hatching turtles for around six months every year - you can easily combine the two in a day.

And as Bundaberg is home to the southernmost two islands of the reef – Lady Elliot Island and Lady Musgrave Island – it’s no surprise that it’s a popular jumping-off point for Southern Great Barrier Reef adventures. 

Heron and Wilson are two of the most popular Southern Great Barrier Reef islands accessible from Gladstone by boat, seaplane or helicopter, but you’ll find no shortage of attractions on the mainland also.

The super laid-back hamlets of 1770 and Agnes Water with their stunning coastal scenery are two of the top attractions in the region and this spectacular part of the coastline is also ideal for whale watching – if you’re visiting during  the whale-watching season from July to October, be on the lookout for migrating humpback whales and their calves!

There are plenty more natural attractions nearby, including the rugged landscapes of Deepwater National Park and Curtis Island where you can experience turtle hatching season in Gladstone. Curtis Island is Queensland’s third-largest turtle rookery and with a vehicle and passenger ferry operating 5 days a week, it’s another amazing destination to witness turtles nesting and hatching in the region. 

There’s so much more to Rockhampton and the Capricorn region than ‘Reef and Beef’, but if you’re after amazing marine adventures and hearty fare, you’ve certainly come to the right place! The Capricorn region is home to two of the most spectacular islands in the Southern Great Barrier Reef, family-favourite Great Keppel and Pumpkin Island – which you can rent all to yourself! The coastal enclave of Yeppoon is a popular place from which to access the Reef and islands like Great Keppel, but there’s also plenty to do and see here without leaving the mainland. Along with Yeppoon’s many draw cards, the beaches, sand dunes, creeks, rainforests and mountains of Byfield National Park and State Forest are a great place to start, as is Blackdown Tableland National Park which lies about two hours drive from town and boasts the Gudda Gumoo Rockpools as one of its most popular attractions.