Capricorn Region Guides Attractions Events in Queensland

Alpha, the 'Town of Murals', was established in 1884 and is part of Jericho Shire, one of Queensland's largest cattle producing areas. Located on the Capricorn Highway, its streets are named after poets, the main street being Shakespeare Street.

The town is known for the 27 murals painted on various buildings throughout the town. Each mural depicts a different aspect of pioneering and contemporary Outback life.

The Jane Neville-Rolfe Gallery also boasts an excellent range of artworks from local artists and travelling shows.

The volunteers at the Rowley Roberts information centre can show you examples of petrified wood and direct you to where you can see its natural setting. Don't miss the photo opportunity at the bottle tree across from the Information Centre. An optimist installed a tap in the bottle tree - there's no news as to whether water has started to flow as yet.

Alpha has a pub where you can enjoy a meal and drink, along with a cafe and a bakehouse that serves award winning pies. Mobile phones can get reception but there are also pay phones. Alpha also has its own airstrip and hospital.

Anakie is positioned at the Sapphire Gemfields 'crossroads' along the Capricorn Highway, and hosts Australia's largest sapphire exhibition, the 'Gemfest - Festival of Gems' over four days each August. Visit the historic Anakie Hotel which had to be partially rebuilt in 1971 after a disgruntled patron blew out the front section with gelignite. You can also enjoy the community rejuvenated town dam area.

Anakie has your accommodation covered with a bed and breakfast, caravan park and hotel/motel. The nearest hospital is located at Emerald, and there is a service station, along with a local pub for meals and drinks.

Blackwater is known as the Coal Capital of Queensland and the Blackwater International Coal Centre showcases the Central Highlands Coal Industry for the world. Located on the Capricorn Highway, Blackwater also boasts a fine Japanese Garden, reputed to be the best of its kind in Queensland, that marks the relationship between Blackwater and its sister city Fujisawa, Japan.

The Lions Park is well known for one of the largest displays of flags in the world, each flag being representative of one of the 37 nationalities who laboured together in their efforts to establish the district's coal industry.

Anglers are welcome to drop a line in the Bedford Weir which is stocked with barramundi. 26 kilometres north of town, there are boating, camping, toilet and shower facilities. Don't miss the Saratoga fishing competition in September.

Just 55 kilometres east from the township of Blackwater you will find the spectacular Blackdown Tableland National Park. Offering you spectacular views and hundreds of plants and wildlife species, some of which are only found in the park. You can enjoy the picnic areas, fireplaces, lookouts, camping area and scenic walking tracks that feature throughout the park.

The Capricorn Coast is exciting, diverse and breathtakingly beautiful. Visitors to the Coast enjoy golden days and balmy, moonlit evenings with the brilliant sunsets and scents of the tropics as well as the crispness of a temperate climate. The Coast is under the Tropic of Capricorn, for which it is named, and it sweeps along the Pacific Ocean at Central Queensland just a 30 minute drive from the Beef Capital of Australia, Rockhampton, and only 600 kilometres from the capital, Brisbane.

You can still enjoy a beach to yourself at the Capricorn Coast with views of Great and North Keppel Islands and the many smaller islands, which act as stepping-stones to the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef.

Great Keppel Island is a popular island to visitors and is accessible by a 30-minute ferry ride. Ferry services operate daily out of Rosslyn Bay.

Yeppoon is the Coast's major town, which has retained its village style appeal, yet offers a variety of wonderful restaurants, accommodation and shops. Just north of Yeppoon is the Capricorn Resort, set on 22,000 acres of nature and offers two world standard golf courses, whilst to the south at Zilzie, the Reef Palms Complex offers night-time golf with a floodlit course, featuring a world-first - synthetic golf course.

The beaches along the Capricorn Coast are touched by the legacy of Captain James Cook. Emu Park, the second largest town on the Capricorn Coast, has honoured Cook's exploration with a monument, the famous 'Singing Ship', a soaring white sculpture with Great Keppel Island as a back drop.

Lammermoor, Kinka, Mullambin and Kemp beaches, Cooee Bay and the Causeway Lake, all line the Capricorn Coast offering many pleasures, wonderful accommodation and so much beauty you will never want to leave.

The Capricorn Coast is easily accessible by road, rail, coach and air and is situated 38 kilometres north east of Rockhampton.

Duaringa is located 107 kilometres west of Rockhampton along the Capricorn Highway. The small town is the essence of a small rural community.

Duaringa is the oldest township in Duaringa Shire with buildings dating back to the 1860s and a corner of the local hotel has been preserved to show how early pioneers lived.

The Mackenzie Park has a man-made waterfall and is also home to the rare endemic Duaringa Stringy Bark, known as "Budgeroo" trees. These trees were of great cultural significance to the early indigenous community who used its bark to make rope, baskets and building materials.

Free hot showers and camping amenities are available. Try the hotel for dinner and a drink.

Emu Park is situated along the Capricorn Coast, 45 kilometres east of Rockhampton. Emu Park is host to the Singing Ship, a monument overlooking the coast line. You can take a scenic drive of Yeppoon before arriving in Emu Park or drive straight from Rockhampton which passes the Koorana Crocodile Farm.

From Emu Park you can also visit Great Keppel Island for a day trip, or enjoy the quiet, peaceful surrounds that Emu Park has to offer.

Great Keppel Island in Central Queensland boasts 17 pristine beaches. The island is mostly composed of natural bushland with several walking tracks and lookouts for you to enjoy. But it’s the beaches that really set Great Keppel apart from other islands. And with the fringing coral reefs off the island, you’ve found a perfect holiday escape.

Great Keppel Island truly has something for everyone. With spectacular snorkelling and scuba diving and some excellent bush walks through the National Park, you’ll never be longing for choice. There are also several accommodation options available.

Great Keppel Island is just off the coast of Rockhampton, which makes it easily accessible for day trips as well as extended holidays. Great Keppel Island, it's a tropical paradise waiting for you to explore.

Located along the Capricorn Highway, between Emerald and Barcaldine in Queensland's Outback, Jericho's streets are named after scientists. The town is renowned for the Crystal Trumpeters, a striking sculpture constructed in memory of the Biblical Jericho, which was said to be destroyed by trumpeters marching around the city's walls.

Take a step back in time at the 36 car drive in, the smallest in Australia. Movies are shown once a month. Enjoy the peace sitting by a billabong under a Coolabah tree at Redbank Park - there are no ghosts to worry about here!

Once Keppel Sands (south of Yeppoon) went by the name of The Sandhills. Sandhills along the beach front were about all there was, until a sleepy town amidst the sugar cane plantations started to emerge. That's all changing these days, particularly since real estate started going 'through the roof'.

The majority of the sugar cane plantations have all but gone and a different community has developed, partly due to tourism, a burgeoning real estate market and, one would imagine, the excellent fishing. The town is set on a tidal stretch of water and that makes for good crabbing and fishing.

A 'must visit' is the Joskeleigh South Pacific Museum, which highlights the role played by the Kanakas, brought out by the 'blackbirders' to work the sugar cane fields as indentured labour.

There's a good picnic area by the beach.

With wide open beaches lapped by the calm, gentle waters of Keppel Bay, Kinka Beach, just 15 minutes’ drive south of Yeppoon, is the perfect seaside destination for families looking for an affordable getaway.

Kinka Beach holiday-makers enjoy unfiltered views over the water to the world-renowned Great Keppel Island. Its quiet locale and tranquil waters make Kinka Beach an excellent swimming beach for all ages and abilities. Grab a bucket and spade and make the most of the clean sand and idyllic location.

The seaside hamlet of Emu Park is just three kilometres down the road offering a range of shops, cafes and facilities to ensure your stay is a comfortable one.

At the northern end of Kinka Beach is Causeway Lake, offering great picnic and barbecue facilities and pretty water views. A local kiosk sells bait and tackle along with ice creams and treats for the whole family.

Explore the lake by boat, catamaran, kayak, paddle boat or canoe, available for hire at the local boat shop. Take the kids fishing, throw in a crab pot, or at low tide visit the nearby rock pools and delight at the strange and wonderful creatures who call this place home.

Several beachside units with pools are available for hire and the area also has a number of good caravan parks and holiday villages offering self-contained units, cabins, and camping facilities.

Marlborough is situated 102 kilometres north of Rockhampton in the Livingston Shire along the Capricorn Coast. It can be reached along the Bruce Highway, and is the site of the chrysoprase mine. There is motel and caravan park style accommodation and the Marlborough Historical Museum to visit.

Protected from the elements behind an enormous volcanic outcrop, Rosslyn Bay is just seven minutes’ drive south of Yeppoon on the beautiful Capricorn Coast. The steep volcanic outcrop that shelters the bay was formed over 70 million years ago and is one of the most fascinating geological formations in the area. A short, but vigorous walk to the summit reveals magnificent views of the Keppel Islands, the surrounding coastline and volcanic formations.

Rosslyn Bay Harbour is a hive of activity with ferries regularly departing for Great Keppel Island, along with Keppel Bay cruises, bareboat charters and recreational fishing cruises. Local fishing trawlers also make use of the harbour, returning with freshly caught reef fish, prawns, bugs and mud crabs. Visitors can indulge in this mouth-watering bounty at the Rosslyn Bay Fisherman’s Co-op where it’s guaranteed fresh!

Nearby Statue Bay and Double Head are renowned fishing destinations where you’ll find Black Jewfish, Cod, Tuna and Mackerel. The rock wall surrounding Rosslyn Bay Harbour is also known as a good spot to wet a line.

North Queensland’s largest marina, Keppel Bay Marina, is also located at Rosslyn Bay, boasting 400 berths. Enjoy a scrumptious lunch at the Marina cafe as you look out over the cool blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Snuggled on the Queensland coast just 175 kilometres north east of Rockhampton is the tranquil town of Stanage Bay. Turn off the Bruce Highway and travel through cattle properties, which can be abundant with wildlife - especially after the wet. You don't have to travel far before you find pure peace, loads of fresh reef fish and barramundi, huge mud crabs, serene beaches, mountainous bushwalking, beach combing around cliffs and caves, islands, whales, turtles and dugongs. Stay for a week or a day. Camp or rent one of the clean, self contained houses, from budget to luxury.

The Caves, 25 minutes on the Bruce Highway travelling north of Rockhampton, sounds a rather fascinating place to visit and it is! This is the home of the Capricorn Caves. They are above ground and with wheelchair access, they are popular with all. There is something about an above ground cave, as it can dilute that fear associated with claustrophobia.

There are daily guided tours of these caves which were first discovered in 1882. Mid-December to mid-January, during the Summer Solstice, there is an extra special treat, with the sun's rays penetrating deep into the caves. There is a good old character-type pub on hand, along with cabin and camping facilities.

Located just to the south of Emu Park and Yeppoon, along the Capricorn Coast, Zilzie is gaining prominence as one of Australia's booming destinations, with significant new tourism and residential developments underway.

With beautiful beaches and magnificent views across to the Keppel Islands, Zilzie is just 35 minutes from Rockhampton.